Conference Speaker Biographies

A steadfast statesman and a riveting orator, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien gives a rousing presentation from the perspective of one of the most influential and most beloved world leaders in modern history. Born in Quebec, Canada, the son of a paper mill machinist, he knew he was destined to lead. Trained as a lawyer and serving as Canada’s 20th prime minister, he made his mark as a legislator and raised his country’s presence on the world stage.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Chrétien discusses today’s most pressing global and geopolitical concerns. He brings the insights of his extraordinary career to discuss myriad universal themes such as globalization, the world economy, security, and social issues. A speaker of great majesty and enthusiasm, Chrétien’s dedication to politics, to his country, and to making a better world, comes across when he addresses an audience. He speaks his mind—from the heart—about the current state of civilization and what can be done to improve it.

Political Prominence and Longevity. Chrétien’s career spans more than 40 years in public service, through six prime ministers. He held virtually every major cabinet post until he eventually led Canada as prime minister for more than a decade, becoming one of the most respected world leaders of the last 25 years.

First elected to the House of Commons in 1963 to represent the constituency of Saint-Maurice—Laflèche, he was re-elected numerous times and went on to hold many positions in the government including ministers of finance, state, national revenue, and justice, as well as industry, trade, and commerce. Chrétien resigned from the House of Commons in 1986 and worked as counsel with the law firm of Lang, Michener, Lawrence, and Shaw. He was also a senior advisor with Gordon Capital Corporation in Montreal. In June 1990, Chrétien was elected leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was elected a member of parliament in the December 10, 1990 and was sworn in as leader of the opposition in the House of Commons a week later.

A Reprise in Leadership. Chrétien was re-elected member of parliament again in October of 1993, when his party won a majority of seats in the House of Commons. He was sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada in November 1993. As prime minister, he was re-elected in both 1997 and 2000, with his party winning a third consecutive majority of seats in the House of Commons. He was active on the world stage and formed close relationships with world leaders such as Jacques Chirac, John Major, and Bill Clinton. He worked to preserve Canadian unity, balance the federal budget, and fight for justice. Chrétien retired as one of the Canada’s most respected leaders in December 2003.

After leaving the prime minister’s office, Chrétien joined the Ottawa office of the law firm Heenan Blaikie. In November 2008, he and Ed Broadbent came out of retirement to negotiate a formal coalition agreement between the Liberals, the New Democratic Party and the Bloc Québécois, the first power-sharing coalition since World War I. In July 2009, Queen Elizabeth appointed Chrétien to the Order of Merit, an award given to “individuals of exceptional distinction in the arts, learning, sciences and other areas such as public service.”

Dustin leads government relations for Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE) Canada, with additional responsibilities for U.S. businesses. Previously, he was Managing Director of Government and Regulatory Policy at Heartland Generation, responsible for the company’s carbon, environmental and regulatory strategies. He is currently serving as Chair of the Independent Power Producers Society of Alberta (IPPSA) Board of Directors. Earlier in this career, Dustin held several senior leadership roles within Alberta Energy leading market reform initiatives.

Vittoria Bellissimo is President & CEO of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA).  Vittoria leads a member association focused on ensuring that wind energy, solar energy and energy storage play a central role in transforming Canada’s energy mix. Vittoria was previously the Executive Director of the Industrial Power Consumers Association of Alberta and worked in renewable energy procurement at both the Ontario Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Power Authority (now the IESO). Vittoria served on the Board of Emissions Reduction Alberta, as Vice Chair of Energy Efficiency Alberta, and was a founding Board member of Women+Power. She holds a M.Sc. in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh and is a licensed professional engineer (B.Sc. Queen’s University). Vittoria is based in Calgary.

Jason Chee-Aloy is the Managing Director of Power Advisory, with over 25 years of experience in competitive and regulated electricity markets. Power Advisory is a leading electricity management consulting firm with offices in Toronto, Calgary, and Boston.

Jason acts for multiple clients across Canada and the United States of America. His main areas of advisory are wholesale electricity market design, power generation and energy storage, transmission and distribution, mergers and acquisitions, market assessment and business strategy, policy development, and regulatory and litigation support. His vision for the electricity sector is to empower organizations and individuals to commercially capitalize on a clean energy future.

Prior to joining Power Advisory, Jason was the Director of Generation Procurement at the Ontario Power Authority, (OPA) Prior to OPA, he led resource adequacy, market development, and market surveillance initiatives for the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (I ESO).

Jason is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, the Ontario Energy Association, and the National Electricity Roundtable, a member of the Advisory Board of the Business Renewables Centre Canada, and is the renew able generator representative on the IESO’s Technical Panel.

In 2022, Jason was awarded with the Clean50 award for 2023, as one of Canada’s exceptional contributors to the clean economy In 2079. Jason was selected as the Hedley Palmer award recipient from the Association of Power Producers of Ontario, as a leading contributor to the independent power industry. In 2009, Jason was awarded with the Canadian Solar Industries Association Leader of the Year award. He frequently speaks at multiple industry conferences and events, with approximately 200 speaking engagements throughout his career.

Jason holds an MA in Economics and graduated from York University and the University of Toronto.

Taylor Hammond is Vice President, Head of Corporate Development and Capital Markets at eStruxture Data Centers. He is responsible for raising capital, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), real estate and power procurement. 

Taylor is an experienced capital markets leader, previously serving as Director, Investment Banking at Scotiabank where he led the development of its Digital Infrastructure team. During his tenure, Taylor advised on multiple landmark M&A, equity and debt issuances with a focus on data centers and related infrastructure. 

He holds a BESc, Mechanical Engineering with Distinction from Western University and an HBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business and currently resides in Toronto. 

For nearly a decade The Right Honourable Stephen J. Harper led Canada through the world’s most complex geopolitical, economic and security challenges as the country’s 22nd Prime Minister. He created the modern Conservative Party of Canada, won three successive national elections, and was the longest serving Conservative Prime Minister since Canada’s founding Prime Minister in 1891.

Since leaving office in 2016, Mr. Harper founded and is Chairman and CEO of Harper & Associates, a global consulting and investment advisory business, and is Chairman of Vision One. He serves as a Director of Colliers International Group Inc. and Recover Inc. He is also the recent author of “Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption”, and a frequent speaker on geopolitical trends, populism, and business.

Mr. Harper serves as Chairman of the International Democrat Union, the Friends of Israel Initiative, and India’s Observer Research Foundation. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Calgary, an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University and an honorary degree from the Jerusalem College of Technology. He is a Companion of the Order of Canada and the recipient of numerous international recognitions, including the Order of Liberty, Ukraine’s highest civilian honour.

Mr. Harper resides in Alberta, Canada with his wife Laureen; they have two adult children, Benjamin and Rachel.

Scott W. Thon, 61, is president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, where he leads a group of diverse energy businesses located in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain.

 Mr. Thon served as president of operations for Berkshire Hathaway Energy from 2022-2023, president and CEO of BHE Canada from 2014-2022, and the CEO of its largest Canadian subsidiary, AltaLink, from 2002-2022. For over 30 years, Mr. Thon has held a variety of senior positions in the energy industry, from operations and engineering to market design and financial management. He has led the investment and construction of significant energy infrastructure developments in Alberta, Canada and globally.

 Mr. Thon serves as a director of AEGIS Insurance Services, Inc., Aecon Group Inc. and the Edison Electric Institute. Mr. Thon was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (Alberta) in 2022 by the government of Alberta. In 2017, Mr. Thon was recognized by Business in Calgary magazine with their Leaders award. In 2013, Bow Valley College awarded Mr. Thon their Distinguished Citizen Award honoring his commitment to the college. In 2011, Mr. Thon was recognized by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce for his business and community leadership with the Sherrold Moore Award.  

 Mr. Thon is a registered professional engineer with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Saskatchewan. He is also a graduate of the Executive Program from the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business. In 2015, Mr. Thon completed the Institute of Corporate Director’s Directors Education Program receiving his ICD.D designation.

As the Vice President of New Nuclear Development for Ontario Power Generation (OPG), Sandra oversees the company’s long-term new nuclear growth strategy, building external relationships and creating a pipeline of opportunities.

OPG is paving the way for the deployment of new nuclear development in Canada and abroad, building the first-ever, commercial scale Small Modular Reactor (SMR) at its Darlington New Nuclear Site. The New Nuclear team is helping capitalize on OPG’s first-mover advantage contribute value back to Ontario.  

Prior to moving to the New Nuclear team, Sandra was OPG’s Director of Provincial Relations, where she provided counsel and support to OPG’s Management Team on all provincial government relations matters, including new business growth opportunities.

Prior to joining OPG, Sandra spent a decade in the federal government on both the political and civil service sides. She graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Carleton and is a proud alumnus of the Laurentian Leadership Program in Ottawa and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (IEP) in Grenoble France.

Pauline leads the legal, regulatory, corporate compliance and external relations functions of Capital Power. She also provides support, risk management, and strategic insights to senior management and the Board of Directors.

Prior to joining Capital Power, Pauline spent 14 years working for the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) in senior legal and commercial roles. She led teams through the successful execution of greenfield initiatives, including programs to incent renewable electricity and new business models to procure and finance transmission infrastructure. Before joining the energy industry, Pauline practiced corporate and commercial law after graduating from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Laws.

Highlights

• Previous, Vice President, Law, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO)
• Previous, Corporate & Commercial Associate, Macleod Dixon LLP
• Current, Member, Board of Directors, Nature Conservancy Canada
• Current, Member, Board of Directors, Alberta Science Network
• Institute of Corporate Directors Designation (ICD.D)
• Governance Professionals of Canada Designation (GPC.D) 
• Bachelor of Laws, University of Calgary
• Bachelor of Science, Cellular, Molecular & Microbial Biology

Nathan Neudorf was sworn in as Minister of Affordability and Utilities and Vice Chair of Treasury Board on June 9, 2023. He previously served as Deputy Premier and Minister of Infrastructure.

Prior to his service as an elected official, Mr. Neudorf worked in commercial construction. He has his civil and structural engineering diploma and is a red seal journeyman carpenter as well as a gold seal project manager.

An active community volunteer and leader, Mr. Neudorf served as the past president of the Lethbridge Construction Association and on the board of directors for the Alberta Construction Association, Alberta Construction Safety Association, and Worker’s Compensation Board.

Mr. Neudorf, his wife, Deanne, and their 5 children live in Lethbridge. In his spare time, he enjoys running, landscaping, and spending time outdoors.

Nathan Neudorf was first elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lethbridge-East on April 16, 2019 and was re-elected on May 29, 2023.