Aidan leads a team of political, policy, and planning professionals on some of the province’s most complex and transformative projects. His clients include municipalities, developers and landowners, Indigenous organizations, not-for-profits, community groups, and professional associations. He and his team at StrategyCorp work on a wide range of issues at the intersection of development, planning, municipal processes, provincial policy, and political decision-making.

Aidan has a long history in land use planning, stakeholder management, Indigenous community engagement, public education, and policy development. He has deep experience in the provincial policy, planning, and environmental sectors. Before joining StrategyCorp, Aidan was a manager at the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs, leading a team focused on developing innovative partnerships and stakeholder engagement strategies to support provincial urban growth management policies.

Prior to his time in the public service, Aidan was the planning advisor and water programs manager at Environmental Defence – one of Canada’s most effective and respected environmental organizations. While there he led the analysis and stakeholder outreach on several initiatives, including their advocacy on land use planning matters, Great Lakes shoreline restoration and watershed management, and water conservation programs.

Future of Buildings MC

Peter is a connector of people, business and ideas. As President of Ideovation, Peter specializes in bringing business leaders and innovators together to discuss complex subjects, and help participants design new business and brand strategies for success. He has hosted and facilitated future focused leadership forums related to food, climate tech and other topics. Chaired CEO peer groups. And moderated dozens of panels on sustainability, technology and innovation. Built hundreds of profitable brands, products and categories. He is currently on a mission to accelerate the transition to planet-friendly consumption, by helping impactful climate technologies connect more easily with the industries they serve, and vice versa. Prior to starting Ideovation in 2011, Peter held various brand and business building roles with McCain, Nestle, Borden Catelli, Lynch Foods and the Government of British Columbia.

Karen Jalon is the Vice President, Sustainability, Energy & Smart Technology at Cadillac Fairview. Karen has 15+ years of experience as an award-winning pioneer in sustainability and innovation with deep experience in international sustainability standards, global benchmarks, and developing and executing strategies and innovative projects within large corporate environments.  Amongst her other corporate involvements, she is one of the original members of the Ontario Pension Plan’s Sustainable Investment Committee. Prior to joining Cadillac Fairview, Karen held positions in electrical design, commercial real estate development & construction as well as sustainability policy development. Karen holds Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University and is a LEED Accredited Professional.

Bill leads the Smart/Sustainable/Hybrid Building Practice for Cisco Canada. Bill has extensive experience with Architects, Engineers and Constructors and is intimate in the design, construction and integration of IT and OT (Operational Technology) building platforms. He has been intimately involved with the progress of open data communication standards and converged Facility + IT (4th Utility) Networks. Bill has deep knowledge in the areas of Strategy Development, Sustainability, Space Optimization and the Delivery of The Employee Experience. Bill is an honors graduate of the Queens University Electrical Engineering Program and is a Certified Energy Manager (CEM) with the American Energy Engineers (AEE) Association.

Steven Pacifico is an energetic and motivated corporate sustainability practitioner with over 25 years’ experience delivering value driven sustainability and stakeholder engagement strategies for over 60 large North American and Canadian organizations, including extensive experience with government, civil society, and commercial real estate. Steven is currently the Executive Director, Zero Carbon Buildings Accelerator Program for the Toronto 2030 District with a mandate to support the electrification of building heat for mid-tier commercial real estate assets in the district. Before taking this role, Steven served as the VP, Sustainability, Innovation & National Programs, at Epic Investment Services, Director/Leader of Energy Exchange, and Director of Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement, at the Delphi Group. Steven also worked for the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA) and the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD). Steven holds a Master of Environmental Studies, with a specialization in business and sustainability, from York University’s Schulich School of Business and a Bachelor of Environmental Science, with honours, from the University of Guelph.

Chris Snider has been in the insurance risk control industry since 1999. Working with two large global commercial insurance carriers, Zurich and ING. 

Specific to buildings, Chris has coordinated large commercial accounts for insurance risk requirements and has conducted site specific insurance-based risk assessments for Property Damage, Business Interruption, Natural Hazards, General & Product Liability as well as Product Recall.  Since 2010, he mostly focuses on performing risk assessments in business resilience – Business Impact Analysis (BIA), Continuity Planning (BCP), Interdependency Analysis, Contingent Business Interruption (CBI) and Supply Chain Risk Analysis to name a few.

Over the years, Chris has helped several organizations navigate their property, liability and business resilience needs to improve their overall resilience and manage their insurance risk profile.  Chris is dedicated to risk identification, risk avoidance and risk reduction through sound, logical, effective and cost-conscious risk improvement actions.

Dermot is a professional Architect, Founder, and President of Sweeny&Co Architects Inc. He is passionate about green building and has put Sweeny&Co at the forefront of sustainable design. He advocates for buildings that reduce carbon footprint, integrate innovative systems, and maintain high performance, while promoting health and wellness for their occupants. Many of the Class AAA office buildings designed by Sweeny&Co are LEED Platinum, WELL Building, and WiredScore Certified. Dermot’s dedication to sustainability has earned his firm numerous awards for their sustainable building designs from institutions such as the Canadian Green Building Council & the Urban Land Institute. 

As the President of Sweeny&Co, Dermot has established a reputation for delivering innovative architectural and urban designs that optimize value, while adhering to client’s capital budgets. His extensive experience contributes inventive and imaginative perspectives to every aspect of the Architectural design process. He excels in recognizing possibilities and addressing intricate demands, for mixed-use, residential, commercial, retail and hospitality, institutional, and life sciences architecture. Dermot’s comprehensive client base is further supported by his expertise in real estate development, sustainability, and development consulting.