PowerUp Summit

Coming Soon

Garnet McElree, Chief Inspiration Officer at LMNO; Founder of Modern Being

Garnet McElree is the Chief Inspiration Officer at LMNO and recent founder of Modern Being, decoding the human experience — or at least trying to read the fine print for the rest of us

Through his fast-paced, story-rich talks, Garnet explores the behaviors and invisible forces influencing how we shop, scroll, snack, and show up in the world.

Before launching Modern Being, he built a two-decade career as one of Canada’s leading creative directors, collaborating with brands like SaskTel, McDonald’s, Telus, and Gap. His work has earned national and international recognition for creativity, brand strategy, and design — but what audiences remember most is his ability to make the complex feel simple, the serious a little lighter, and the ordinary extraordinary.

Garnet is also the proud founder of Mopop: The Museum of Pop Culture — a remixable museum that playfully reexamines the cultural artifacts and guilty pleasures we pretend not to love (but totally do).

Equal parts strategist, storyteller, and cultural decoder, Garnet brings curiosity, humor, and prairie optimism to every stage he steps on. Whether unpacking AI fatigue or exploring what’s next for human creativity, his mission is simple: to help people and brands move from reaction to traction — one inspired idea at a time.

View Garnet on LinkedIn

Steven Langer, Founder and CEO, Well by Design

As a trusted international keynote and TEDx speaker, Steven is known for cutting through the noise and shifting the mindset on wellness. He combines compelling stories, thought-provoking data, and practical insight to inspire real change.

Steven leaves audiences with more than inspiration. He equips them with tools to move forward in ways that feel clear, authentic, and achievable. Whether he is speaking to executives, frontline workers, or leadership teams, people consistently say the same thing: they feel seen, understood, and ready to lead, live, and connect with intention.

View Steven on LinkedIn

Ryan Townend, CEO and Owner, WJ Agency

As CEO and Owner of WJ Agency, Ryan Townend leads a full-service marketing and branding firm that serves clients locally, nationally, and globally.

With over three decades of experience, Ryan is known for blending bold strategy with creative execution to drive meaningful business growth for clients in vast number of industries. He is a trusted voice in the Canadian marketing landscape, having been a marketing expert on Global TV for over 10 years where he offers insight into branding, advertising, and consumer trends. Ryan is also a sought-after keynote speaker, regularly presenting at national conferences, industry panels, and business growth summits.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Ryan is a passionate community builder. He hosts Ryan’s Roundup, a monthly corporate social that brings together business leaders, entrepreneurs, and the broader public to spark connection and collaboration. He actively supports numerous charities and nonprofit initiatives, helping them elevate their profile and impact. Ryan also lends his expertise as a board member and advisor to a range of organizations across sectors. Ryan’s leadership at WJ is defined by a commitment to innovation, collaboration, and elevating brands that are ready to grow. His work continues to shape how businesses across the globe communicate, compete, and connect.

View Ryan on LinkedIn

Rosalie Hughes, Founder & CEO of Hughes Recruitment & Strategy Collective; Co-Founder of Catalyst Talent Solutions

Rosalie Hughes is an entrepreneur, strategist, and trusted advisor who helps organizations scale with clarity and momentum. As Founder & CEO of Hughes Recruitment & Strategy Collective, and Co-Founder of Catalyst Talent Solutions, she has built companies that go far beyond recruitment; partnering with leaders on HR strategy, succession planning, employer branding, and organizational design to create workplaces positioned for sustainable growth.

With nearly two decades of experience in human resources, leadership advisory, and talent strategy, Rosalie has worked with start-ups, scale-ups, and established market leaders to build high-performing teams and equip executives with the tools and clarity to lead with confidence. Her work bridges the gap between people and business strategy, aligning leadership, culture, and brand to accelerate growth.

Known for her bold yet practical approach, Rosalie challenges conventional thinking by reframing HR and recruitment as strategic levers for success. She is passionate about helping organizations unlock the potential of their people while shaping environments where both leaders and teams thrive.

Rosalie holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Human Resources Management and professional designations as a Registered Professional Recruiter (RPR) and Chartered Professional in Human Resources (CPHR).

View Rosalie on LinkedIn

Coming soon.

Iliana Oris Valiente, Futurist, Corporate Executive, ‘Digital Twin’ Innovator

Iliana Oris Valiente, CPA, CA, is a recognized authority on AI, future of work strategy, and global talent mobility. She has been featured in various media outlets, including television, radio, and print, from The Financial Times to Bloomberg and beyond, for her experience as a Fortune 500 executive, board member, and VC investor. As Managing Director and Head of North America Innovation Centers at Accenture, Iliana has built and scaled innovation hubs delivering over $500 million in client impact by leading multidisciplinary teams in design, data, and technology across emergent areas like AI and cross-industry transformations. She serves on the boards of directors at Sunnybrook Hospital and CPA Ontario, advises venture-backed startups, and regularly shares her investor insights with family offices and emerging fund managers. Iliana’s lived experience as a global citizen—working and living across many countries—drives her thinking on flexible-location strategies and has inspired her signature frameworks. She’s the creator of The Potted Plant Theory, a neuroscience-based leadership framework shared with over 1,000 executives, and Iliana is one of the first people to clone herself by building Laila, a fully interactive AI digital twin that she demos on stage.

Iliana translates complexity into human-centered strategy and teaches leaders to:

• Understand the AI landscape and how to use it as a growth engine to capture measurable ROI with her three-layer framework (Foundation → Applications → Human Experience). Her framework has become a go-to playbook in C-suite offsites, investor forums, and board retreats worldwide.
• Embed rapid-pilot AI initiatives across functions to build a culture of experimentation at scale.
  Surface the “silent majority” of hidden digital-nomad talent within organizations and decode global policy signals in visas, taxes, and benefits, and how to harness this trend to maximize opportunity in a global talent market.
• Tackle big questions of philosophy and ethics, identity and agency in an era of agentic AI—designing a future world humans truly want to live in.

From C-suite offsites and all-hands employee townhalls to HR summits and investor forums, audiences leave inspired, equipped with signature frameworks, and ready to act on the trends reshaping work, mobility, and human-machine collaboration.