KS EMBA Alumni Day – Speaker Bios

Fatema Pirone is Vice President, Enterprise Digital at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). She is a bold leader who constantly strives to create impactful change; qualities that have driven her dynamic career at CIBC. With experience in Operations, Technology, Product Management, Innovation and Digital she is known to build and scale new teams, functions & frameworks across the bank.

Fatema brings a wealth of knowledge to her current role leading Enterprise Digital where her team deliver on leading digital experiences. Her leadership provokes thoughtful conversations, results in impactful execution and creates purposeful client experiences.

Fatema was recognized as WXN top 100 most powerful women in Canada in 2020. She holds an Executive MBA from Kellogg School of Management and Schulich along with a Honour Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from York University. She spends her free time with her husband, two teenage daughters and an occasional travel adventure keep her sane. She is passionate about climate change and minimizing her carbon footprint.

Mellie is the Executive Director of Competitive Product Research & Strategic Insights at Comcast where she developed Comcast INVENT™️ an Enterprise co-creation workshop for repeatable innovation at scale.

She is also an angel investor/venture capitalist, entrepreneur, IT/Technology and Management/Strategy Consultant and Product Innovation Executive with 20+ years of experience across multiple industries including telecommunications & cable, utilities & power generation, banking, healthcare, government, and food.

Mellie holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from Kellogg (Northwestern) and the Schulich School of Business (York University). She is currently pursuing her executive leadership and management certification from MIT Sloan. Mellie now resides in Philadelphia but will always call Canada home.

Pam Laycock is Senior Vice President, Chief of Staff at Torstar Corporation, where she is working with the leadership team to transform the organization for future growth and industry leadership. She has multi-disciplinary in the areas of strategy, transformation, change management, digital, new business development, brand and direct-to-consumer marketing, product management, and general management, working in both the book publishing and news media sectors and on the Canadian, US and UK businesses.

Pam sits on the Board of Directors and Strategy Committee of the Girl Guides of Canada. She also sits on the board of directors for the North American Local Media Association. Pam holds the ICD.D certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors. She sits on the Executive Council for the Ontario Chapter of the ICD.  Pam has also been appointed to the Canadian Board Diversity Council’s Diversity 50.

Pam has an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto. She is actively involved with the Schulich School of Business where she is President of the Schulich Global Alumni Network, a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council, an Executive-in-Residence, and Instructor in leadership for the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program. She is also the recipient of the Alumni Recognition Award for Outstanding Contribution to the School.

Peyvand Melati is a highly accomplished entrepreneur and angel investor who has successfully launched multiple businesses. His expertise includes in-depth knowledge of commercialization and growth of companies in major vertical industries, with a focus on AI, IOT, Clean-Tech and Med-Tech. He is an experienced leader of the start-up process from initial ideation to launch. Peyvand has a particular knack for setting priorities, developing strategies and building teams to successfully execute. He is also the a GP with the Archangel Network of Funds –  a consortium of superangels and venture capitalists.

Peyvand is a graduate of the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA program.

Deborah Rosati is a valued Corporate Director, an accomplished business savvy Entrepreneur and a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant with over 35 years of high growth and transformational leadership experience in the Technology, Consumer, Retail, Cannabis, Life Sciences, Private Equity and Venture Capital industry sectors. Deborah currently serves as Lead Director, and Chair of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee on the board of TAAL Distributed Information Technologies (CSE: TAAL) (an enterprise blockchain transaction processor). She previously served on the boards of Khiron Life Sciences (TSXV: KHRN) (a global cannabis medicinal company) as Lead Director and Chair of the Audit Committee, as well as Lift & Co. (TSXV: LIFT) as Vice-Chair and Chair of the Audit Committee.

Deborah is also the Founder and CEO of Women Get On Board Inc., an 800+ member-based social purpose company that connects, promotes and empowers women on corporate boards. Learn more: https://womengetonboard.ca.

Deborah’s work ethic is fuelled by her passion. She is a steadfast champion of business, corporate governance and board diversity through her board leadership and advocacy for her social purpose company to get more women on boards. She is a change agent who frequently engages through panel discussions, podcasts, articles and eBooks to share her expertise and thought leadership on corporate governance, board diversity, board leadership and entrepreneurship.

Deborah earned numerous nominations and awards over the years. She was recently honoured as WXN Top 100 Canada’s Most Powerful Women in the Entrepreneur award category in 2021. She has been recognized as a 2020 Director to Watch and a 2014 “Diversity 50” candidate. In 2012 Deborah was selected as one of WXN’s Top 100 Canada’s Most Powerful Women in the Corporate Director award category.

Deborah’s forward-thinking perspectives, honed from her entrepreneurial achievements and multiple governance leadership roles, make her an exceptionally valued trusted advisor, mentor and board member.

Deborah is a frequent speaker and author. Learn more: https://deborahrosati.ca

Mary Ann Yule is the President & CEO of HP Canada, a seasoned leader in the technology industry, with more than 20 years of experience. She is a trailblazer in innovative personal systems and printing technologies, including 3D printing, digital manufacturing, and related services and solutions. A leading technology company in Canada, HP is focused on creating technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere, while championing diversity, sustainability, and corporate responsibility in every community where it does business. Since joining in 2016, her proven track record of driving results continues to deliver breakthrough market outcomes across HP’s portfolio. She is credited with establishing HP as the most sustainable tech company in Canada as well as one of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers.

She holds a Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA from the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, attended Ryerson University, and holds numerous professional accreditations, including Six Sigma Executive Champion.

Mary Ann currently serves on the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, of TechNation (formerly ITAC), Canada’s national information and communication technology business association championing the development of a robust and sustainable digital economy in Canada. She is also a member of the 30% Club, an organization committed to building a strong foundation of business leaders to champion meaningful change in the gender balance of board and executive committees. As well, Mary Ann is honorary chair of the Kellogg-Schulich Alumni Association Diversity & Inclusion Cabinet. Based in Toronto, Canada, Mary Ann is often quoted in the press and is a highly sought-after speaker on positive disruption driven by technology megatrends like 3D printing, sustainable impact, diversity, and inclusion.