Bob Elton

Bob Elton is a Corporate Director who is currently serving as the Chair of RB Global. Past roles include serving as a partner with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and executive roles including CEO of BC Hydro as well as CFO of Eldorado Gold Corp and Chief Risk Officer of Vancity Savings Credit Union.

He has served on Boards for organisations including Ritchie Brothers, Corix Utilities, BCI and Simon Fraser University, and on Advisory Boards including the Pembina Institute and Aisle, as well as being an Adjunct Professor at the Sauder School of Business at UBC. Bob also served as a member of the Canada Electricity Advisory Council in 2023/4, including chairing a working group which was focussed on the financial implications of these issues.

He was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the New Energy Architecture, and served on CPA Canada’s Advisory Board on Sustainable Business. His extensive work on diversity and inclusion includes acting as a Director of the Minerva Foundation for BC Women.

Claudine Bouchard

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating and Infrastructure Officer, Hydro-Québec

President and Chief Executive Officer, Société d’énergie de la Baie James

Claudine Bouchard was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Operating and Infrastructure Officer at Hydro-Québec in 2023. In this capacity, she oversees the development of an increasingly smart and interactive energy system designed to provide high-quality electricity service in keeping with customers’ needs. She is also tasked with
making the grid more resilient to extreme weather events.
Also serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of Société d’énergie de la Baie James (SEBJ), Ms. Bouchard is responsible for Hydro-Québec’s highly diversified infrastructure and assets, including 87 generating stations, some 264,000 km of transmission and distribution lines, 2,600 km of roads, 375 bridges, 5 airports and more than 350 buildings with a total replacement cost of some $350 billion. She manages a capital program that will increase from $6 billion in 2024 to $14 billion in 2029, as well as the company’s refurbishment and expansion projects. Her teams provide the expertise and technical support needed to carry
out both current and future projects, while also optimizing work methods and processes related to environmental management and occupational health and safety. The progress achieved in this regard by Hydro-Québec—which ranks among the largest contractors in Québec—has led to a 26% reduction in the company’s workplace accident frequency rate over the past two years, making it six times lower than that of the Québec construction industry.
A seasoned manager known for her human leadership, Ms. Bouchard has over 25 years’ experience at Hydro-Québec, where she has held positions of increasing responsibility in several fields. As Executive Vice President and Chief Infrastructure and Energy System Officer, she oversaw the completion of the $7.4-billion Romaine hydropower project in 2022— one of the largest infrastructure projects carried out in Canada in recent decades. With an annual output of 8 TWh, the Romaine complex generates enough energy to supply 470,000 households.
Ms. Bouchard holds a Bachelor of Science from Université de Montréal and an MBA from Université du Québec à Montréal and Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, as well as a Masters Certificate in Marketing Communications Leadership from York University. She also completed a business negotiations program at Harvard.
Certified by the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés, she serves on the board of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec (FCCQ). In addition, she is a member of the FCCQ’s executive committee, chairs the organization’s human resources committee, sits on the urban forestry leaders committee set up by the Société de verdissement du Montréal métropolitain (Soverdi) and has led Hydro-Québec’s Centraide Leadership campaign since 2018. Moreover, she volunteers as a leader of the A Effect and as an ambassador in the Women’s Leadership Program of the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie SaguenayLe Fjord.
In October 2021, Ms. Bouchard received the prestigious Woman of WaterPower Award from Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE) and WaterPower Canada (WPC) in recognition of her contribution to the Canadian hydropower industry and the advancement of women in the renewable energy sector.

Francis Bradley

President and CEO, Electricity Canada

Francis Bradley is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Electricity Canada. Founded in 1891, Electricity Canada (formerly the Canadian Electricity Association) is the national voice for sustainable electricity for its members and the customers they serve as the country works towards a net zero by 2050 future.

Electricity Canada members include integrated electric utilities, independent power producers, transmission and distribution companies, power marketers, manufacturers and suppliers of materials, technology, and services. The Association supports, through its advocacy efforts, the regional, national, and international success of its members.

Francis is the co-chair of the National Cross-Sector Forum, overseeing Canada’s Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure. He also sits on the Steering Committee for the Electricity Sub-Sector Coordinating Council (ESCC), the Board for the Energy Council of Canada (ECC), the Positive Energy Advisory Council, and is a founding Board member of the Canadian Transportation Alliance. At the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) Member Representatives Committee and Board of Trustees’ meetings,

Francis represents Electricity Canada and advocates strongly for its members in their activities related to the Electric Reliability Organization Enterprise, and its role in ensuring the reliability and security of the North American bulk power system.

Prior to being named CEO in June 2019, Francis managed Electricity Canada’s day-to-day activities as Chief Operating Officer since 2014. During that time, he also was a member of the National Advisory Committee of Canada’s Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction and was a co-chair with the Standards Council of Canada of the Smart Grid Standards Advisory Committee.

In 2019, Francis created and continues to host “The Flux Capacitor” podcast series featuring discussions about the future of electricity with CEOs, regulators, political figures, and leaders from civil society. The Flux Capacitor has recently aired its one hundredth episode.

Emily Whetung-MacInnes

Chief Emerita Emily Whetung grew up in Curve Lake First Nation and left long enough to pursue a higher education at Trent University and Osgoode Hall Law School. She married a Mohawk from Wahta and convinced him to build a life on the Chemong side of Curve Lake. She practiced Real Estate Law in Peterborough for a decade while she started to work on the next generation of Whetungs, raising two lovely little boys.
Serving as Chief of Curve Lake from 2019-2022, Chief Emily is passionate about the rights of First Nations people, ensuring her community has every opportunity to thrive, protecting the environment for all future generations, protection of Treaty Rights, finding ways to ensure economic advancements occur in sustainable manners, and building healthy relationships between First Nations and Canadians.
Chief Emily is the Director of Indigenous Partnerships, Business Development at Ontario Power Generation and a Governor at Ontario Tech U. Recently she served on the Anishinabek Nation Leadership Council, the Canadian Electricity Advisory Council, the Electrification and Energy Transition Panel for Ontario, and as the vice-chair to the Indigenous Advisory Council for Small Modular (Nuclear) Reactor Action Plan. Chief Emily continues to use her expertise and knowledge to ensure that that voices of Indigenous people are heard and respected.

Bruce Lourie

Bruce is president of the Ivey Foundation, an Adjunct Professor at the School of Policy Studies, Queen’s University, and a Board director of several organizations including the new Canadian Institute for Clean Growth and Climate Change. He is a former Director of the Independent Electricity System Operator, the Ontario Power Authority, the Ontario Trillium Foundation and many others. He is a founding Advisory Board member of Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, an Advisory Board member of the Canadian Energy Research Institute and visiting faculty at the University of Oxford Social Finance Program.
Bruce is well known for his work in convening collaborative efforts among businesses, NGOs and government. He played a pioneering role in connecting environmental issues to human health, most notably with his leadership in the phase-out of coal-fired power plants in Ontario, the single largest climate action in North America. And also as the co-author of two best-selling books, including the internationally acclaimed Slow Death by Rubber Duck. He is the founder of Summerhill Group, one of Canada’s leading energy efficiency consultancies.

Lesley Gallinger

President and CEO, IESO

Under Lesley Gallinger’s leadership, the IESO oversees the safe and reliable operation of Ontario’s bulk electricity system, ensuring affordable electricity is available when and where people need it.
As part of its mandate to plan and prepare for the future, the IESO works with sector partners to identify energy needs, develop supply options, drive innovation, and harness data and information for decision-making. The IESO also delivers energy efficiency and demand management programs that contribute to the cost-effectiveness and reliability of Ontario’s power system.
Throughout her career, Ms. Gallinger has focused on driving strategic change within complex organizations to deliver shareholder and stakeholder value. Prior to joining the IESO, she served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Elexicon Energy, a large municipally-owned electricity distributor in Ontario, which she led through a sizeable merger integration. She has also held senior roles in the electricity sector that include Chief Strategy and Financial Officer at the Electrical Safety Authority as well as VP, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs and Chief Financial Officer at Oakville Hydro.
Ms. Gallinger sits on several boards, including the Ontario Energy Network where she serves as Vice Chair, and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization. Prior to joining the IESO she also served on the boards of the Ontario Energy Association and the Electricity Distributors Association. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University, is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Certified Public Accountant (Illinois). She has also completed the Chartered Director and Audit Committee Certified program at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University.

Wendy Franks

A seasoned renewable energy leader, investor and board director, Wendy’s passion lies in building businesses within the clean technology space and delivering superior results through fundamental assessment of risk-adjusted returns. Her expertise lies in areas including hydrogen, storage, fuel cells and other renewable power technologies (offshore wind, onshore wind, solar).
Wendy is currently CEO of Canadian Power-to-X Partners, a green hydrogen development company focused on decarbonizing Canadian industry. CPXP targets delivering cost-competitive low-carbon hydrogen to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors of the Canadian economy.
She was formerly the Chief Strategy Officer, Head of Hydrogen and New Initiatives at Northland Power, where she successfully built the battery storage business, including the Oneida 250MW battery storage project – a great example of world-class infrastructure that can be built in Canada.

Wendy was a member of the Canada Electricity Advisory Council supporting the Federal government, and Minister Wilkinson, on a strategy to create a clean, reliable and affordable electricity grid.
Prior to Northland, she was Senior Principal, Relationship Investments at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board where she managed a $4 billion investment portfolio spanning both private and public equity. Wendy served on the boards of Renew Power, one of the largest renewable power companies in India and Essential Utilities, a NYSE-listed water and natural gas utility. Prior to that, she was an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company. Wendy holds a PhD in Bioelectronics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Zurich, Switzerland) as well as degrees in chemical and electrical engineering.

Tim Eckel

Mr. Eckel is a consulting engineer focusing on the areas of utility energy transitions and asset management. He has spent more than 40 years in the electricity industry, most of which was with SaskPower, the provincial electric utility in Saskatchewan.
During his time at SaskPower he led the implementation of an asset management business model for the Generation, Transmission and Distribution divisions. He was also responsible for the Corporation’s sustainment and long-term planning, including the plans for net-zero and transmission expansion. He led the Grid Modernization initiative which included the Advanced Meter Infrastructure, Advanced Distribution Management System and the Bulk Energy Storage programs.

He has been a member of several council/committees with a number of provincial, national and international organizations including Electricity Canada (EC), North American Reliability Corporation (NERC), the Centre of Excellence for Advanced Technological Innovation (CEATI) and the Saskatchewan Electric Reliability Authority (SERA) and was the Saskatchewan representative on the Canadian Electricity Advisory Council which recently published their final report. He presently is a member of the Electrifying Canada Advisory Panel.
Tim holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Regina. He is a professional engineer and member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan. Tim also has the Institute of Corporate Directors Designation.
Mr. Eckel and his wife Bernie have two adult children and call Regina, SK home.

Phillipe Dunsky

Philippe brings 30 years of business and policy experience focused on a singular passion: helping clients accelerate and navigate the clean energy transition effectively, responsibly and at scale. He has the honour of leading a first-rate team of 60+ professionals, and the privilege of supporting clients among North America’s climate leaders.

As a trusted adviser to both executives and policymakers, Philippe helps organizations chart the course toward decarbonization without losing sight of economic imperatives. His experience spans the full array of solutions across both energy supply and demand (buildings, mobility and industry). His work is informed by over three decades of experience assessing markets, designing policies and programs, conducting techno-economic studies, building regulatory frameworks and defining market strategies. He is regularly called as an expert witness at regulatory proceedings.

Philippe is a sought-after speaker, an experienced board administrator and is regularly appointed to public interest advisory committees. In 2023, Philippe was appointed Chair of the Canada Electricity Advisory Council. He is also Co-Chair of Efficiency Canada and an Advisor to the Clean Economy Fund, among other positions. Philippe was recognized in 2021 as one of Canada’s Clean50 leaders and was named a Top 100 Impact CEO in 2022.