2024 MEARIE Conference

Dennis Dinato currently provides leadership to the Global Corporate & Specialty claims area. His direct responsibilities include the Property and Automobile lines of business. He has been part of the Aviva team since 2001 and enjoys finding simple solutions to complex problems for customers. With over 23 years of experience at Aviva, Dennis has held senior technical roles in Automobile and Casualty claims as well as non-technical roles within Global Corporate and Specialty Claims (GCS), where he spent nine years leading a team of Claim Service Managers dedicated to providing bespoke claims service solutions to some of Aviva’s largest risk-managed clients.

Ravi Tangri is the Chief Cultural Transformation Officer for Simul Corp, and the CEO of Chrysalis Strategies Inc. Cultural change is complex, and Ravi mastered complexity in his first career as a nuclear physicist. He learned that it’s not about working harder, but rather finding the simple leverage points that transform the whole system. That’s the lens he’s used to catalyze corporate change for over three decades around the world, from utilities in Canada to the world’s largest liquid natural gas provider in Qatar.

Shannon has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and has obtained her Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional (FCIP), and the Risk and Insurance Management Society – Certified Risk Management Professional (RIMS-CRMP). Shannon spent 14 years working with municipalities in the Province of Ontario with a reciprocal and as a broker. Her work in those roles was primarily focused on risk management including contract reviews and municipal operation risk assessment. Prior to joining AMO's Business Services arm, LAS, as the Program Manager – Municipal Risk Management in 2022, she was the Manager of Risk for the City of Vaughan.

Curt's career has been a journey to understand what it means to be in service to others. Starting as a graphic designer, he evolved into non-profit fundraising where he helped raise millions of dollars. Discovering that raising money is for patient people, he left the comfort of a paycheque for the thrill of building a company or two. Curt and his teams were at their best when they focused on strategic communications and rethinking systems. Passionate about change grounded in equity, Curt loves to train, coach, and facilitate important conversations about making things better.

As the Director of Business Development, Asset Management at OEC, Brad is focused on fostering key relationships that drive growth for OEC’s asset management businesses. With a distinguished career spanning over 20 years, Brad possesses a profound understanding of the damage prevention industry. His extensive knowledge and hands-on experience make him a trusted thought leader in the field.

Warren Collier, CHRL, is Director, HR Strategy & Talent Attraction Solutions at the Self Management Group in Toronto. MEARIE Group members will be familiar with our Talent Nest recruitment engine which is the official MEARIE Group Energy Job Search platform in use since 2011. Warren has over 25 years of leadership experience in human resources and Talent Management with emphasis in strategy, recruitment, organization and AI solutions across multiple industries. He is responsible for building recruitment tools to clients across Canada and the United States in both the public and private sectors.

Lyndsay Wasser leads McMillan’s Privacy Group nationally. She provides strategic support to clients on a wide range of privacy matters, including advising on data security, employee privacy, handling sensitive information, surveillance, and cross-border data transfers. She helps organizations to conduct PIAs, develop privacy compliance programs, and draft and negotiate data protection terms in a variety of contracts. She advises clients on data breach prevention and response, including risk assessments and reporting strategies. Lyndsay has been recognized by Best Lawyers in Canada, as a Mondaq Thought Leader for Data Protection, Canada, & by Thomson Reuters Stand-Out Lawyers, and she is the Co-Director of Osgoode’s Certificate in Privacy and Cybersecurity Law.

Anne Gallop practises in all areas of employment and labour law, including wrongful dismissal, human rights and disability management. She routinely advises on all aspects of employment policies, ensuring compliance with the various legislative regimes. Ms. Gallop also has significant experience in corporate reorganizations and corporate mergers and acquisitions, where she advises on the labour, employment and employee privacy issues arising from such transactions. She routinely advises on employment and executive employment contracts, including executive compensation such as change of control agreements and stock option plans. Ms. Gallop also has extensive experience with privacy legislation as it relates to labour and employment matters.

Christopher Morrison is a partner at DAVIDSON CAHILL MORRISON LLP where he acts for a number of Canadian and International clients. He practices primarily in the field of complex civil litigation and appeals. His focus is on insurance coverage, subrogation, negligence claims, and mass tort/class proceedings. He regularly appears before the Superior Court of Ontario and the Court of Appeal and has argued many seminal cases including Walker Estate v. York Finch General Hospital in the Supreme Court of Canada. Most recently, he argued the landmark decision Moore v. Lysenko which upheld the largest ever award for general damages for wrongful death in Canadian history.

Hugh Secord is a Human Resource Management and Labour Relations’ professional with over forty years’ experience. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto (Honours B.A. in Sociology/Economics) and York University (M.B.A. - Finance). Hugh began the consulting business that later became Oakbridges in 2005. Since 2012, he has partnered with Sue Mackintosh in the creation of Oakbridges as a unique consultancy specializing in Industrial Relations Strategies. Oakbridges has been working with The MEARIE Group for many years.