Dr. Mark Beckles has over 30 years’ experience in financial services. He has global executive leadership experience in banking, insurance, risk management and non- profit leadership.

Mark is a retired executive of RBC Royal Bank. In his most recent role he was responsible for RBC’s community investment initiatives and leading stakeholder relations to cultivate and maintain key relationships across Canada including policy makers, partners and stakeholders to advance RBC’s community investment priorities.

Mark previously served as Head, RBC Insurance Advice Centre, responsible for over 500 licensed insurance advisors who provide insurance advice and solutions to 750,000 RBC Insurance clients across Canada and served as Regional Vice President, Retail Banking at RBC with market responsibility for North Mississauga and Scarborough. He also has significant non-profit leadership experience, most notably as President & CEO of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund (Canada).

He currently serves as a board member of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and chairs the audit and finance committee. He is serves on the board of Fulbright Canada. He also serves on the advisory committee of the Lincoln M. Alexander Award, Global Skills Opportunity and The Canadian Multicultural LEAD Organization. Most recently, he was Vice Chair and Board member of the William Osler Health System.

In 2011, Mark received the City of Toronto Bob Marley Award for his commitment to diversity and City Building. He was also recognized for his work in support of the Canadian Sickle Cell Network. In 2012 he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal for community volunteerism.

In 2015, Mark received the Harry Jerome Award for Professional Excellence. In 2016 Mark received the Barbados 50 Independence honors for community service and in 2017, Mark was awarded the African Canadian Achievement Award for Leadership and Management.

Mark holds an MBA in International Business from the University of Bradford and has completed executive programs with Richard Ivey School of Business and holds the Institute of Corporate Directors designation (ICD.D). In 2024, Mark was conferred Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) by York University in recognition of his decades of transformational business leadership and impact to community organizations across Canada.

Mark was honoured with the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal for his outstanding contributions in leadership, philanthropy, and community service. This accolade not only celebrates his commitment to positive change but also cements his legacy as a transformative leader.

Claudette McGowan is a global information technology leader with more than 20 years of success leading digital transformations, optimizing infrastructure, and designing new approaches that improve service and cybersecurity experiences. She has worked in the technology industry for several organizations such as Deloitte, Metropolitan Police Services, North York General Hospital, Bank of Montreal and TD Bank.

At BMO, Claudette served as the Chief Information Officer, Enterprise Technology Employee Experience, and at TD she was the Global Executive Officer for Protect Fusion & Cyber Experience.

Claudette is currently the Chief Executive Officer for Protexxa, a Canadian-based cybersecurity software and services company.

Claudette is an active member of the Canadian innovation ecosystem. She is the Founder of the Black Arts & Innovation Expo, and Chair of the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism (CILAR), a group of senior business leaders committed to creating platforms that break down systemic barriers within the innovation economy. McGowan recently co-led the launch of Phoenix Fire & The Firehood, a multi-million dollar women-focused angel fund and network for women in technology.

Her commitment to community is evidenced by her multiple board seats for leading organizations such as Air Canada, MaRS Discovery District, SickKids Hospital Foundation, BlackNorth, CILAR, Elevate Technology Festival, University of New Brunswick Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity, and the U.S. Consul General of Toronto U.S.-Canada Innovation Council.

Claudette holds a BA from Lakehead University, MBA from Athabasca University, Hon Doctor of Laws from Carleton University, and is currently in the Computer Science PhD program at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Stanley Julien, a well-respected banking professional, was born in Trinidad and later relocated to Montreal, Canada, at the age of 7, under the guidance of his determined mother. As the youngest of eight siblings, Stanley drew inspiration from the success of his family members and the vibrant cultural environment of the Montreal-based Caribbean Black immigrant community.

In his formative years at the Negro Community Centre, a cultural cornerstone in the Montreal Black community, Stanley cultivated a strong sense of pride in his heritage. Mentored by elders, he was taught math, English, piano, and African history, shaping his commitment to community development and fostering a deep appreciation for assisting others. Stanley himself started teaching young people English, math and African history at the Umoja day camps he once attended as a child.

Presently serving as the Head of the Special Accounts Management Unit – Canada at BMO Bank of Montreal, Stanley leads a team dedicated to optimizing economic returns, restructuring distressed businesses, and safeguarding and expanding assets within his purview.

His extensive banking career includes noteworthy roles such as Regional Vice- President – Commercial Banking, Atlantic Provinces Division, and Managing Director – Credit Structuring, Corporate Finance Division.

Beyond his professional pursuits, Stanley has been actively involved in community volunteer activities, demonstrating a passion for coaching and mentoring young individuals. In 1997, he co-founded the Canadian Association of Urban Financial Professionals (CAUFP) and served as its president in 1999. The organization is committed to encouraging young talent to consider the financial services industry as a viable career option, fostering professional development among its members, and advancing financial literacy within the black community.

From 2005 to 2010, Stanley chaired the BBPA National Scholarship Fund, overseeing the distribution of over $1 million in scholarships annually to more than 150 black students across Canada. His dedication to community development earned him the prestigious Planet Africa Award in 2007.

In 2022, Stanley was honoured as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Canadians by Afroglobal Television. He actively serves on several volunteer boards, notably as a founding patron of the Blackhurst Cultural Centre, a non-profit hub and destination that provides opportunities to experience the rich culture and history of Canadians of African and Caribbean ancestry. Stanley played a pivotal role in securing a substantial $750,000 donation from BMO to the Centre in 2023.

Additionally, he is a member of the Turnaround Management Association, the Insolvency Institute of Canada, and serves as the co-executive sponsor of the Black Professional Network within Bank of Montreal. In a heartfelt tribute to his late mother, (Christine Ross-Julien), Stanley established an annual scholarship in her name in 2020. Awarded to two Black university or college students pursuing degrees across various fields, the scholarship reflects his mother's belief in the paramount importance of education.

Stanley holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance from Concordia University, an MBA from Dalhousie University, and is recognized as a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers. Married to Karen for over 30 years, they share the joy of raising two adult children, Anisah and Akil.

Ray Williams is committed to community engagement, in particular in the area of diversity and inclusion efforts. He serves on leadership boards for various organizations, including 100Strong Foundation.

He is an outspoken champion of workplace diversity and is a Past & Founding President (2000) and continuing member of The Canadian Association of Urban Financial Professionals (CAUFP) the pre-eminent professional trade organization for minorities in the financial services industry. He has been actively involved at all levels since its inception in 1997, and in that capacity acts as a mentor to a number of individuals.

From 2000 to 2006, Mr. Williams was an advisor to the federal government as part of an External Advisory Group (EAG) on Embracing Change, a program designed to reconcile the evident disparities of visible minorities within the federal public service and federally-regulated industries, advising specifically though not exclusively, the President of the Public Service Commission (PSC), the President of the Publics Service Human Resource Management Canada (PSHRMAC), and the Clerk of the Privy Council ( at the time Alex Himmelfarb).

Between 2005 and 2008, Mr. Williams was instrumental in engaging the National Bank’s participation in The BankSETA International Development Program, which each year brought to Canada up to 16 senior South African banking executives from previously disadvantaged groups. The six-week development program (part of the South African Financial Services Charter) combined academic learning with on-site workplace days at leading Canadian financial institutions including National Bank Financial.

A firm believer in inspiring change within his community, Mr. Williams volunteers in various capacities as a mentor and has sat on the Board of numerous organizations, including the Canadian Foundation for Aids Research (CANFAR 2007-2012). Mr. Williams was also Co-Chair of CANFAR’s Investment Committee and was an Advisory Board Member. He was also member of the Pension Investment Committee of the United Way of Greater Toronto (2008 -2013).

Mr. Williams is a Co-Founder & Chair of the Black Opportunity Fund, established in 2020 and designed to be the largest fund in Canada addressing anti-black racism through social & economic empowerment.

He is also a member of Centennial College’s Financial Services Program Advisory Committee and has been a past Guest Lecturer at both Centennial and McMaster University, De Groote School of Business. He also sat on the Pension Investment Management Committee (PIMC) of the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) of Canada.

He is currently an Executive-in-Residence (EiR) at Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, sits on the George Brown College Foundation (GBCF) as Board & Investment Committee Member & is a Board Member and Audit Committee member of the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP), one of Canada’s top think-tanks as well as Canadian Ditchley.

He has been the recipient of various awards from Community, including the Planet Africa Award for Professional Excellence in Dec 2012. In October of 2013 Mr. Williams was nominated by the Canadian Diversity Business Council (CDBC) as part of the second cohort of 50 individuals deemed Board ready. In June 2021 He was nominated as a Champion of Change by Women in Capital markets (WCM). In 2018 Mr. Williams was awarded The Ontario Black History’s Society (OBHS) Rev Addie Aylestock Award –“Paving the way for others to follow” as the organisation celebrated its 40th year In 2019 he was presented with the President’s Award at the Annual Harry Jerome Awards.

Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted is the Global Lead for Nutrition and Public Health at WorldFish, a One CGIAR entity. She was awarded the 2021 World Food Prize for her ground-breaking research, critical insights, and landmark innovations in developing holistic, nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquatic food systems. She also received the 2021 Arrell Global Food Innovation Award for research innovation. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and Vice Chair of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021: Action Track 4 - Advance Equitable Livelihoods, and also a Food Systems Champion.

Dr. Thilsted studied at the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine in Trinidad where she earned a BSc. in Tropical Agriculture in 1971. She began both her career and her life’s theme of making strides within and for a developing society as the first and only female agricultural officer in the Tobago Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries. Two years later, she returned to Trinidad and took on her first research-centred job at The UWI’s Faculty of Natural Sciences.

She holds a PhD from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark and holds an Honorary Doctorate from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

She has taught and researched at the University of Dar es Salaam and the Sokoine University in Tanzania as an FAO Associate Expert; and then as the Associate Head.

Several of her projects have been funded by organizations such as USAID, the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Thilsted was closely involved in the organization of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021, guiding the Summit's work related to building sustainable and equitable food systems. She is also involved with the Global Action Network in mobilizing activities for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) and UN Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025).