Sandra Lai is an accomplished technology leader spearheading the generative AI innovation globally and management of the delivery and support of AI services at Sunlife. She brings deep technical expertise, multiple certifications, and a Master of Management Analytics from Queen’s University to her role overseeing a global team of engineers.

With more than 20 years of experience in data analytics and AI, Sandra has successfully navigated the intersection of responsible AI governance, technical innovation, and inclusive leadership while managing complex global AI implementations. Her commitment to advancing women in technology extends beyond her corporate achievements through active mentorship within Sunlife and external non-profit organizations.

Sandra hopes that her experience and successes in these rapidly evolving fields will serve as inspiration for the next generation of individuals pursuing careers in technology.

Kathryn Vandenberg’s career has taken her across small business, founding a startup and finally landing in Enterprise with a focus on digital transformation, AI, business strategy, and technology governance. She has helped scale enterprise GenAI capabilities and is passionate about using technology to create meaningful business and client impact. Kathryn is equally passionate about developing people and sharing the lessons, pivots, and sometimes unexpected experiences that shape a career in technology.

Grace has been working at AWS for nearly five years. In her role, she serves as a technical advisor for her customers to build secure and scalable cloud architecture. Her technical field of competency at AWS is security. Prior to joining AWS, she worked as a Senior Broadcast Technologist at CBC.

Sahar is a Data & AI Leader at CN Railway, where she leads a team of architects and drives data-driven solutions across the organization. Her journey is anything but conventional; she began her career as a mechanical engineer, spending a decade across some of the most demanding industries, from power plants and mining to Oil & Gas. Driven by curiosity and a passion for technology and data, she made a bold pivot into data science and machine learning, studying at McGill University. Since then, she has held roles spanning the full spectrum, from hands-on data engineering to leading high-performing teams at organizations like the National Bank of Canada and Bombardier. Sahar brings deep expertise in AI and machine learning strategy, data architecture and engineering, and team leadership and talent development, translating complex technical challenges into meaningful organizational impact. Outside of work, she channels that same energy into volunteering as a youth coach, inspiring the next generation to explore STEM careers, and finds balance through rock climbing and origami.

Kriti is an experienced human-centered design consultant, with a combined expertise in implementing business strategies, processes, and technology using design thinking, innovation, and data analytics to drive business growth. She has led projects that helped brands deliver positive customer experiences, streamline business processes, and improve business roadmaps using a human-centric approach. She has also managed transformative projects while navigating governance, mitigating risks, and fostering a culture of innovation.

Kriti’s competencies lie in experience design (customer, employees, services), business process management, change management, innovation strategy, and digital and AI strategy. She can conduct as-is assessments and design research; and create journey/process flows, gap analysis, empathy maps, storyboards, data visualization, service flows, blueprints, and more.

Kriti has an MBA from Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, where she majored in Business Design, Innovation, & Change Management).

In her current role as a senior business consultant, Kriti’s primary focus revolves around helping clients overcome complex business problems, while improving the user experiences for employees, customers, and citizens.

Cini Kodivalappil is a Director Consulting Expert at CGI with more than 25 years of experience in telecommunications and technology consulting. Her career has spanned software development, systems integration, application architecture, and technical leadership, with a focus on network inventory and service provisioning for Bell Canada.

She helps guide complex technology portfolios through modernization and change. Her perspective brings together architecture, automation, AI-enabled engineering, and the operational needs of the people who build and use these systems. She works across CGI, Bell, and vendor teams to shape solutions, address integration challenges, and support reliable services.

An experienced mentor and knowledge sharer, Cini supports technical colleagues as they grow their skills and take on new challenges. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering.

Jenifer Milton specializes in campus recruitment and early-career talent across the Greater Toronto Area. She supports recruitment initiatives for co-op and new graduate talent, partnering with universities, students, and business leaders to build strong early-career pipelines and connect emerging talent with opportunities in technology and business.

Jenifer brings a strong passion for relationship-building, talent development, and creating meaningful candidate experiences. Her work spans campus partnerships, employer branding, inclusive recruitment, and emerging talent programs, with a particular interest in helping students navigate the transition from university to their careers.

MaryJoe Sannon is a Director and Azure Site Reliability Engineer (SRE) Lead at Morgan Stanley, where she leads a global team responsible for the reliability, performance, and observability of mission-critical systems, as well as strategic cloud initiatives. In plain terms, her team makes sure software keeps working once real people depend on it.

She joined Morgan Stanley as an intern in 2020 and has since moved from software development into cloud engineering and team leadership. She holds a degree in Computer Engineering from the University of Ottawa and is completing an MBA with a Finance concentration at the Telfer School of Management. Her work sits where technology, business strategy, and leadership meet, and she see a strong technical foundation as a starting point with many possible destinations.

MaryJoe has been advocating for women in technology since her university years, first as Engineering Co-President of the University of Ottawa’s Women in Science and Engineering chapter, and now through Women in Technology networks and as one of Morgan Stanley’s Canadian leads for Girls Who Code, where she also mentors.

Nevine Ebeid is a Senior Applied Scientist in AWS Cryptography, where she helps develop the technology that protects data across Amazon Web Services. Her work combines software engineering, high-performance computing, and mathematical proofs to ensure that encryption software is fast, secure, and meets rigorous industry and government standards.

Nevine has more than 20 years of experience in cryptography. Her career began with doctoral research at the University of Waterloo on protecting devices from attacks that exploit physical information, such as power consumption. She has since worked on security for embedded systems, mobile devices, automotive, and cloud computing.She regularly shares her work at international security conferences and through articles for the AWS Security Blog and Amazon Science.

Pooja Yadav is a Product Manager at CN with over 15 years of experience delivering technology solutions across the logistics, supply chain, healthcare, and telecommunications industries. Throughout her career, she has successfully evolved from technical support and operational analytics roles into business analysis, data analytics, and product management leadership.

With a unique blend of technical expertise and business strategy, Pooja leads product roadmaps, manages complex stakeholder relationships, and drives the delivery of technology solutions that create measurable business value. She is particularly passionate about leveraging artificial intelligence to simplify processes, improve productivity, and enhance user experiences.

Pooja holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, a Postgraduate Diploma in Retail Management, and a Graduate Certificate in Supply Chain Management from Humber College. She is passionate about mentoring others, sharing lessons learned from her non-linear career journey, and encouraging more women to pursue and thrive in technology careers.

Khin Walker is Vice President, Digital Platform Modernization at Sunlife, where she leads the evolution of the company’s core technology platforms and modernization capabilities. She brings more than 25 years of technology experience spanning digital platforms, infrastructure, cloud, enterprise technology enablement, and consulting.

Since joining Sunlife, Khin has held senior leadership roles across digital and infrastructure technology, leading large, global teams, and complex transformation initiatives. She is focused on building scalable, resilient, and modern technology platforms that enable greater agility, productivity, and business innovation.

Khin holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Systems Design Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

Stacy Gaikovaia is a Graphics Engineer at Google, where she works on the compositor and rendering stack for Google Chrome. Her work helps chrome render websites quickly and accurately for billions of users. She graduated from the University of Waterloo with a degree in Computer Engineering. Outside of work she enjoys working on her ray tracer and practicing classical art, which gives her a second way to think about light, form, and how we see.

Dr. Sahar Kokaly is a software engineering leader at General Motors, where she manages Software Safety within the AV (Autonomous Vehicles) organization. With more than 15 years of experience in software engineering, research, and technical leadership, she works at the intersection of safety assurance and automated-driving technology. Sahar holds a PhD in Software Engineering from McMaster University. She is also an Adjunct Professor at McMaster’s Centre for Software Certification. Her research and professional interests include model-driven engineering, formal methods, and assurance of complex safety critical software systems. She has co-authored research publications, contributed to international conferences and workshops, and actively supports mentorship and opportunities for women and students in STEM.