Your people will talk about Randy Taylor for years to come. He is a master at helping others see their true potential to tap into what has always been there. His story is remarkable. His ability to connect with audiences and create lasting change is truly extraordinary. Extensive study for nearly 40 years into the science of human behaviour has allowed him to become one of the nations leading experts in human potential and leadership. Having escaped poverty, parent alcoholism and life on the streets Randy was able to overcome incredible odds. Beginning at age 28 he launched a 20- year career that propelled him to the very top in Canadian broadcasting at CFRB 1010 and as the host of Summit of Life on Global Television.
Sixteen years ago Randy left broadcasting to form Taylormadeleadership. What he brings to his profession every day include the mix of a great personal story, an original philosophy, the ability to inspire, the skills of a master storyteller combining powerful imagery and humor, decades of study and long term measurable results. In addition to his speaking engagements he has developed two dynamic new leadership and personal development programs called “The Winner Within” and “Elevate”. These programs have received national accreditation from seven of the largest companies in Canada.
Sharon Koifman is obsessed about remote leadership. After years in the web hosting industry, he started DistantJob in 2009 as the first remote recruitment agency aimed at disrupting the way companies hire. Since then, Sharon Koifman has studied and researched not only how to operate remote businesses but how to create an amazing work culture, one where people love to come to work. Sharon Koifman has dedicated his mind to finding ways – through systems and processes, services and tools – to bridge the gap between the faces in the monitor and the people in the real world.
This culminated with him becoming the author of Surviving Remote Work, an in-depth guide for both managers and employees on how to navigate the fast-growing world of remote work. Surviving Remote Work debuted in November 2020 as a #1 Amazon bestseller in its category. Sharon Koifman’s company has also launched a highly successful podcast interviewing leaders from to tech companies about the ins and outs of remote work (fast approaching 150 episodes), and will soon debut a new media company called Think Remote.
Now, we are an unprecedented time in history. A global pandemic has changed the way billions of us live and work. CEOs and workers who used to operate out of a central office suddenly find themselves working remotely, trying to be productive and content in an environment they’re not used to occupying. Sharon Koifman is the perfect guide to lead thousands of companies through these trying times, as he and his company are changing the way we think about remote.
Justin Orfus is professionally trained public speaker that brings a high level of professionalism, energy and engagement to any event he is hosting. Starting from hosting magic shows in his basement for neighbours at 6 years old, Justin has always thrived being in front of an audience. For summer jobs as a teenager, he worked as a Camp Counsellor teaching campers to host radio shows on the local camp station. His education includes Radio Broadcasting at Humber College, A communications degree from Carleton University and Stand Up/Comedic Improv at The Second City. He is also a certified public speaker with Toastmasters International.
After a successful run in the broadcasting industry at TSN and The Score, Justin Orfus transitioned to hosting live events. His big break came with the Toronto Maple Leafs. They hired him to be their first male “In Game Host” at the Air Canada Centre. Justin performed on the jumbo-tron in front of 20,000 screaming Leaf fans for over 4 years. Following this he transitioned into corporate events hosting opportunities where he represented brands such as Nike, Coke and Mattel on stage at high impact activations. Recently, Justin has branched into Weddings and Special Events performing as a MC/host for clients on their big day. Standing at 6’8, Justin’s friendly and warm-hearted presence makes him a client favourite each time he jumps on the mic!
Florence K Riley is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter from Quebec, who performs material in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Since the release of her debut album Live at Lion D’Or in 2005, Florence K Riley has continually earned accolades for her wide-ranging musical approach. Two of her albums, Bossa Blue (2006) and La Historia De Lola (2008) won Félix Awards for ‘World Music Album of the Year’, while her first Christmas opus Havana Angels – recorded in Cuba – was a huge smash in 2010. In 2013, this incredible artist, who can speak and sing fluently in four languages (French, English, Spanish and Italian), returned with I’m Leaving You, made in Los Angeles with legendary producer/bassist Larry Klein.
The album garnered Florence K her first JUNO nomination for ‘Breakthrough Artist of the Year’, as well as an ADISQ award nomination for ‘Best Anglophone Album of the Year’. She subsequently released five more albums, selling a total of 250 000 records to this day. She is now the host of the weekly CBC Music/CBC Radio show “C’est Formidable!” while completing her Master’s degree in Mental Health and her prerequisites to enter the PhD in the University of Montreal neuropsychology program next year to become a clinical practitioner. It is near the end of 2011, at the peak of a promising artistic career, the young mother of a little girl was introduced, unwillingly, to chronic insomnia, anxiety and, subsequently, deep depression. This period of her life, which she referred to as “the abyss”, led her to hospitalization, then to the long road to recovery and, finally, after receiving a diagnosis of type II bipolarity, to a state of balance.
In 2015, she released her first book, Buena Vida, in which she tells the story of her experience of mental illness. The book became a best-selling, with more than 25 000 copies sold within a few months only. Since then, Florence K chooses to use her personal experience to help raise awareness about mental health, a cause to which she devotes much of her time. Florence Riley was recognized in November 2017 by the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as one of 150 Canadian leaders in mental health. As an ambassador for Bell’s Let’s Talk campaign, she gives nationwide conferences where she shares her story open-heartedly, offering her perspective on mental health in today’s society. Whether with the Canadian Armed Forces, with the college and university community, within businesses, the medical field, community resource centers, mental health prevention associations, or in the music industry, her testimony touches the heart of her audiences and contributes greatly to the breaking of taboos and demystification of mental health issues.
In the Spring of 2019, Florence K presented a prized radio-documentary, The Hole Inside, on the air of CBC Radio, in which she shared her story and talked about what her day to day life is with a type II bipolarity disorder. In 2020, she hosted the TV show “Vivre en Funambule”, interviewing specialists about mental episode. The 6-episodes series was aired on Savoir Media. Because she strongly believes that the time has come to overcome society’s standing prejudices and taboos around mental health issues, she offers today to share her story and vision of mental health, through an open-hearted testimony. After all, we are never as alone as we may be led to believe.
It was the spring of 1994. Corey Hirsch was just 21 years old and had just backstopped Canada to a silver medal at the Olympics and was now a roster member of the New York Rangers on the way to the Stanley Cup Final. It should have been the time of his life. Should have been, but it wasn’t. Corey’s brain was on fire, wracked with deep, dark, intrusive thoughts. He +called his mother and begged her to come to New York to help. His Mom had never been to New York, but rather than looking forward to the sights of the city, she was terrified of what was waiting for her. He took her to see the city from the top of the Empire State Building.
They stood on the observation deck 102 floors above the streets and looked out at New York for a few moments. While his Mother was looking out at the horizon, Corey Hirsch turned and looked directly at his mother. He said… “I wish I could jump.” A few weeks later, the New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup, their first in 54 years. Corey would fulfill a childhood dream by drinking champagne from the Stanley Cup. A few weeks after that, he would try to take his own life. Corey Hirsch is a former NHL Goaltender, NHL Goaltending Coach, and Olympic Silver Medalist. He is an engaging speaker and host, that educates, motivates, and inspires his audience. He gives hope to those struggling with their mental health as he makes it ok to not be ok.
Corey Hirsch was drafted by the New York Rangers in 1991 and was an active roster member of the 1994 New York Rangers Stanley Cup Championship team. Traded to Vancouver in 1995, he played in over 100 NHL games, making stops in Nashville, Washington and Dallas. During his early years in the NHL, Corey suffered with severe panic attacks and depression. Due to the stigma, Corey hid his struggles in the NHL for more than 3 years, and once made an attempt on his own life. He finally reached out to a team trainer, was diagnosed with OCD, and got the help he needed. Today Corey is thriving. He has 3 children, and is the NHL broadcaster for the Vancouver Canucks. Corey Hirsch has since dedicated his life to mental health and advocating to end the stigma.
Eurico Rosa da Silva is a dynamic speaker and former professional jockey (retired December 2019), with records set around the world and over 2,900 career wins, including back-to-back wins of the Queen’s Plate (2009 and 2010) and seven-time winner of the Sovereign Awards as Canada’s Outstanding Jockey. A native of Brazil, he beat the odds to move from poverty and a debilitating illness, to travel the world and become one of the best in his sport.
Eurico Rosa da Silva has transformed himself for a busy second career following his racing days. An accredited performance coach and NLP practitioner, Eurico has built a practice helping athletes and executives reach their peak mental performance. In addition to his coaching practice, Eurico is a 3rd Degree Black Belt and co-owner of a Tae Kwon Do studio where he regularly practices the sport. A devoted husband and father of three young children, Eurico’s days are full and productive! And yet he always makes time to keep grounded, loving life and connecting with nature.
As a public speaker, Eurico is perpetually positive and engaging — his talent for connecting with people through his story and journey provides helpful lessons for everyone to achieve their best. He speaks freely on the stage with supporting slides and minimal notes, using his humour, wisdom and personal anecdotes to engage with the audience.
Johanne Vézina is a true optimist. She believes in a healthy future and our ability to build it together. Described as ‘’a motivational speaker with an authentic personality’’, Johanne advises leaders and organizations on how to create a world where people have the possibility to live every day feeling energetic and keen to eat better. With her vast experience, Johanne Vézina has developed a comprehensive understanding of today’s nutritional challenges, and how they affect the body’s various organ systems, for example food’s role on the brain’s concentration and performance.
Over the years, she has discovered remarkable patterns in eating, productivity and the environments in which people thrive to be their natural best. Johanne Vézina devotes her life to sharing her philosophy and knowledge to help leaders and organizations inspire healthy eating. Johanne Vézina’s innovative views on nutrition and leadership has attracted attention. From the software industry to the health industry, from finance to aeronautical, from big business to entrepreneurs and municipalities, She has been invited to meet with a broad array of leaders and organizations in 500 companies and conducted over 52 000 nutritional consultations. Graduated as a nutritionist from McGill University, Johanne Vézina is a member of the Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec, as well as accredited certified motivational speaker with Emploi Québec. Combining her energetic personality, and a professional focus on enjoying food, it’s easy to see how Johanne Vézina is leaving a lasting positive impact on people’s lives.
Polimoda
Polimoda
Master’s degree, Fashion trend forecasting
Master’s degree, Fashion trend forecasting
2018 – 2019
2018 – 2019
Marie-Michèle Larivée is a trend expert, speaker, teacher, future seeker and entrepreneur (intuition + entrepreneur). Marie-Michèle Larivée lives and breathes for trends, innovations and speculative futures. She analyzes evolution in consumer behaviours and translate her discoveries in strategies. With a human approach and a methodology developed over the years, she inspires companies put words and colors on data. Marie-Michèle Larivée helps humans to trust their intuition to build a better future. In the past, she worked with various companies, professional organizations, higher education helping them demystify trends. She often refers to “trends” as the “T” word as it is widely used and overused. Trends are often directly and solely associated with fashion, although trends are reflection of the current mood of society and this encompasses more than on industry.
Her approach relies on human and human behavior analysis. With a master’s degree from Italy, she developed a successful methodology. She is a trend-spotter for international research units and innovation lab including Copenhagen Institute of Future Studies, SoonSoonSoon and Trend Watching (TWIN) weekly reporting on innovations in Canada. She covers the future of retail, future consumers and future of fashion. Marie-Michèle Larivée is also a lecturer at Université du Québec à Montréal (ESG-UQAM). She is a trusted source for media and go-to trend expert for International publications. Marie-Michèle Larivée comments have been seen and heard in Business Insider, Dazed, Teen Vogue, Sourcing journal, La Presse, Elle, ABC radio and many more. She is also often interviewed on her role to read the future, a rare discipline in Canada.
University of Toronto Scarborough
University of Toronto Scarborough
B.B.A., Management & Marketing
B.B.A., Management & Marketing
Adam Rodricks has spent the last decade growing the social properties of Canada’s most prominent brands, managing all aspects of their digital marketing strategy including social listening, management of social media channels, crisis comms and social media programs. Adam Rodricks currently the National Lead of Digital Marketing Services at KPMG Canada. His work as a social media influencer has been featured on CBC, CTV, Yahoo, BNN, DigitalJournal.com, MaximumPC, WhatCulture.com, staples.com, Nintendo.ca, and his own site, https://www.adamrodricks.com. Adam Rodricks has engaged millions of followers on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram as well as viewers on YouTube, IGTV and Facebook Live. Adam Rodricks also consults for a number of small and medium businesses, and teaches a course that Adam built off of proprietary data and case studies from his own career at George Brown College. Adam Rodricks is a 2-time “Top 30 Under 30 Canadian Blogger to Watch” (Front Side Bus) and a previous winner of the National Rogers Marketing Competition, for which he also held the title of best undergraduate speaker in Canada.
University of Windsor
University of Windsor
MBA, Finance
MBA, FinanceMcMaster University
McMaster University
PhD, Human Resources Management and Organizational Behaviour
PhD, Human Resources Management and Organizational Behaviour
Haniyeh Yousofpour is a dynamic award-winning educator and a celebrated strategic negotiator, consultant, and human resources and organizational behaviour expert. Her thought-provoking and engaging techniques have garnered Haniyeh numerous global MBA and executive-level teaching accolades. Moving to Canada at age 14 from Iran, she has has first-hand experience of the challenges we face when we lack awareness of our unconscious biases and the skills to manage diversity. Her personal life has motivated Haniyeh Yousofpour to be a passionate speaker and expert in Negotiation, Diversity Management, Overcoming Unconscious Bias and Leading with Emotional Intelligence. In addition, Haniyeh has founded her own consulting firm and her passion and expertise has benefited multinational Fortune 500 companies, universities, the public sector and midsize organizations. Furthermore, Haniyeh Yousofpour has been giving key-note speeches over a decade for domestic and international audiences. She is very enthusiastic about training and development and she had developed numerous master level courses and self-assessment tools for blended and online learning.
To name a few, her teaching experience includes: Schulich at York University, DeGroote at McMaster, Rotman at University of Toronto, Canadian University of Dubai and University of Salzburg. Haniyeh Yousofpour has also been a consultant for some of the well-known international companies and universities such as Johnson and Johnson, TD Canada Trust, RBC, Toyota, Bausch and Lomb; Paragon Security, University of Toronto, Queens University, University of Ottawa, McGill University, University of British Columbia, University of Waterloo and Canadian University of Dubai. She is currently writing her debut book on how to simplify negotiation.