Canada Maritime Conference

Avery Shenfeld
Chief Economist, CIBC World Markets

Avery Shenfeld is Chief Economist of CIBC World Markets Inc. He has been with CIBC since 1993 and is widely recognized as one of Canada's leading economists for his perceptive analysis and insight on North American economic developments and their implications for financial markets. Mr. Shenfeld is a two-time winner of the Dow Jones Market Watch forecasting award and Bloomberg Markets has named Mr. Shenfeld among the top forecasters of the U.S. economy. He has also been consistently ranked as one of the top Canadian economists by fixed income investors.

Prior to joining CIBC in 1993, Mr. Shenfeld spent seven years in management consulting and was on the economics faculty at the University of Toronto and in the summer program at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Mr. Shenfeld holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

Sylvie Vachon
President and Chief Executive Officer Montreal Port Authority

A graduate in Administration from the University of Sherbrooke, Sylvie Vachon has extensive experience in corporate management in the private, public and parapublic sectors alike.

Sylvie Vachon joined the Montreal Port Authority in 1990 as Chief, Human Resources, and successively held the positions of Director, Human Resources, of Vice-President, Human Resources, and then of Vice-President, Administration and Human Resources. At the request of the Board of Directors, she performed the duties of Acting President and Chief Executive Officer from March to July 2009, until her permanent appointment as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal Port Authority.

Sylvie Vachon represents Canadian port authorities at Transport Québec's Marine Industry Forum, is a Board Member of the American Association of Port Authorities, the International Association of Cities and Ports, Montreal International and the Sedna Foundation, and is a Governing Member of both Green Marine and the Conseil Patronal de l'Environnement du Québec.

In 2009, Sylvie Vachon was named Emeritus Professional of the Year by the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agrées, and in 2011, she was named Ambassador of the Faculty of Business Administration by the University of Sherbrooke.

Moderator: Daniel Olivier, PhD
Senior Analyst, Transportation Gateways & Corridors, Transport Canada

Daniel Olivier obtained a Ph.d. in maritime transport and logistics from the University of Hong Kong in 2006. He has published on the topics of container ports, logistics, and Asian transnational firms in a number of academic journals. He recently authored the book Dynamics of Globalisation in the Container Port Industry: Asia Rising with VDM publishing in 2010.

Mr. Olivier joined Transport Canada, Strategic Policy, in October 2006 where he worked on the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative. In March 2008, Mr. Olivier joined the Economic Analysis branch and continues to work on gateways and corridors from a research angle. He is currently working on the development of a supply chain performance monitoring program, including the development and implementation of utilisation indicators across Canada's major seaports.

Mary Brooks
William A. Black Chair of Commerce, Dalhousie University

Dr. Mary R. Brooks is the William A. Black Chair of Commerce at Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada. She has been actively engaged in the work of the Transportation Research Board (Washington DC) since 1993; from February 2002 to April 2008, she chaired the Committee on International Trade and Transportation, until recently served on the Committee for Funding Options for Freight Transportation Projects of National Significance, and currently serves on the Publication Board of the Transportation Research Record. She was appointed to the Marine Board of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences for three years beginning November 2008. She is the founder and chair of the Port Performance Research Network, a network of more than 50 scholars interested in port governance and port performance issues. She was a Canada–US Fulbright scholar at George Mason University in 2005, resulting in her latest book, North American Freight Transportation: The Road to Security and Prosperity, published by Edward Elgar in June 2008. Most recently, she has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Sydney's Institute for Transportation and Logistics Studies. In November 2006, she was named by the Women's Executive Network as Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 in the professional category.

Kuba Szymanski
Secretary General, InterManager

Captain Kuba Szymanski started his sea career in 1985. He graduated from the Maritime University of Szczecin with Master Degree and started his deck officer career with then Dorchester Maritime Limited Isle of Man. Capt. Szymanski sailed Gas / Chemical and Product tankers, reaching his first command as a Master in 1999. In 2001 he commenced shore assignment as a Marine Superintendent in the parent Dorchester Maritime Ltd IOM, and was promoted to Marine Manager, DPA in 2004. In 2007 he joined MOLTANK Ship Management in London as a General Manager. In 2010 Capt. Szymanski joined InterManager as Secretary General and moved back to the Isle of Man. Captain Szymanski was among very first Lloyds Academy students on the Ship Superintendency course in 2003-2004. In order to broaden his managerial horizons he studied for an Executive MBA with International Business School Isle of Man / John Moore Liverpool. Captain Szymanski lectures Risk Management, Information Management, Management of Change in International Business School Isle of Man on the Superintendency Courses.

Marie Houde was appointed Director Business Development, Supply Chain Solutions, in February 2010. She is responsible for leading Supply Chain Business Development initiatives within the Sales and Marketing function.

Mrs Houde joined CN in 1984 and has held a variety of positions in Operations, Intermodal and Strategic Planning in both Toronto and Montreal. These include the positions of Director Network Strategies; Director, Intermodal Marketing; Teminal Manager, Brampton Intermodal Terminal; Director Systems and Processes, Intermodal; Industrial Engineer, Montreal Intermodal Terminal and Mechanical Engineer.

Mrs Houde holds a Bachelor of Engineer degree from Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and a Master of Business Administration degree from Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. She is a member of the Order of Engineers of Quebec, IANA and Supply Chain Association.

Fred Green
CEO Canadian Pacific Railroad

Fred Green, President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), began his career with the railway in 1978 and held senior management positions in railway operations, marketing & yield.

Mr. Green was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in October 2004, President of CPR in November 2005 and CEO effective May 5, 2006.

Mr. Green is also Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of both Soo Line railroad and DM&E, CPR's subsidiaries in the U.S. Midwest, and Delaware and Hudson railroad, CPR's subsidiary in the U.S. Northeast.

He is Vice-Chairman of the Railway Association of Canada, Vice-Chairman of the Conference Board of Canada, a Board member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and The Nature Conservancy of Canada.

He holds a B.Comm from Concordia University, Montreal. He has been married to Karen for 33 years and has 2 sons ages 28 and 30.

Bob Ballantyne
Chairman, Coalition of Rail Shippers

Bob has a B.A.Sc. (Bachelor of Applied Science) degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto. During his 40-year career with Canadian Pacific Limited, Bob worked in the engineering, signal, operating and marketing departments of Canadian Pacific Railway.

In 1976, he moved to Canadian Pacific Consulting Services as Vice-President, where he had responsibility for marketing and supervision of railway and other transportation projects in various parts of the world.

In 1988, Bob was assigned by Canadian Pacific to The Railway Association of Canada as President, where he served until his retirement from the CPR in 2000.

Bob is Vice-President of, and a partner in, HPB Association Management Services Inc. In 2003, the Canadian Industrial Transportation Association (CITA) contracted with HPB to manage CITA and appointed Bob as President of the Association.

Bob is also chairman of the Coalition of Rail Shippers, a group of eighteen industry associations whose member companies are large users of rail transportation. In late May, 2011, Bob was elected as the first chairman of the newly incorporated Global Shippers' Forum.

Bob is located in Ottawa.

Mark Hemmes
Consultant, Quorum Corporation

Mark Hemmes is President of Quorum Corporation, an independent subsidiary of the Quorum Group of Companies, of which he is a founding partner. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, Quorum Corporation has been responsible for monitoring Canada's Prairie Grain Handling and Transportation System since June 2001. Quorum reports to the Government and industry on changes in the efficiency, reliability, structure and operation of the grain handling and transportation system as well as the impacts these changes have on producers. Quorum and its sister companies have been called upon by the Federal Government to provide consultative services in related areas such as studies in the area of container movements and the role of Inland Container Terminals in Western Canada and most recently to provide analytical and research services for the review of rail freight service.

Mark has extensive experience in the transportation industry. During his 23 years with the rail industry he held a variety of senior positions in the fields of marketing, intermodal, and operations. He has also sat on the boards of industry associations such as Canadian Transportation Research Forum, National Transportation Week, Northern Alberta Transportation Council, amongst others. Mark attended school in Edmonton at the University of Alberta and has also completed course work at the University of Western Ontario in the area of Marketing.

Annette Gibbons
Director General of Surface Policy, Transport Canada

Annette Gibbons is the Director General, Surface Transportation Policy at Transport Canada.

In this role, Ms. Gibbons develops and implements a wide range of public policies in support of surface transportation. She oversees economic, legislative and regulatory activities related to freight rail; passenger rail; highways, bridges and border crossings; and urban transportation.

Ms. Gibbons is responsible for the review of rail freight service that is currently underway. An external panel is assessing the performance of the rail freight transportation supply chain and its impact on rail service to shippers in Canada, and will provide recommendations to the Government on this matter. She is also involved in funding major surface transportation infrastructure projects, including highway developments and urban transit projects.

A veteran public servant, Ms. Gibbons has rich experience in policy development and the delivery of grants and contributions programs. She started her career in the federal government's Accelerated Economist Training Program. She has held various positions with the Department of Finance, including roles where she was responsible for developing policies and legislation for the Canadian banking and insurance sectors. Most recently, Ms. Gibbons held the position of Deputy Director General, Cultural Industries Branch, with the Department of Canadian Heritage. She was responsible for delivering funding for Canadian music, films, books and periodicals, and directing research and policy analysis on cultural industry issues.

Ms. Gibbons holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Memorial University, a Master of Arts in Public Administration from Carleton University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa.

Forrest C. Hume
Forrest C. Hume Law Corporation

Forrest is a senior counsel and practising member of the Bars of British Columbia, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. From 1978 to 1994 he was in-house counsel first for CNR and then for CPR in their respective headquarters in Montréal. In 1994 he returned to private practice, representing the transportation interests of shippers, ports, terminals, short-line railways, urban transit authorities and all levels of government. He has extensive experience in transportation-related litigation before the Canadian Transportation Agency and its predecessors, and in arbitrations, mediations, federal inquiries, civil court trial, judicial review and appeal proceedings. He has participated in many of the leading cases impacting railways, shippers and other transportation stakeholders, involving issues of national importance throughout Canada over the past 33 years. Forrest was designated in 2008 by L'Expert and American Lawyer Media Guide as one of the leading 500 lawyers in Canada.

Moderator: Kevin Doherty
CEO, Montreal Terminal Gateways Partnership

Mr. Kevin M. Doherty holds the position of President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership located in the Port of Montreal. He is highly regarded in the Transportation and Terminal Management industry today where his vast knowledge spans across various executive management positions held over a period in excess of 40 years in both Canada and several years as a President in the European sector. He also holds positions as the Chairman of the Maritime Employers Association, past Chairman of the Maritime Data Center and sits on several boards. His dedication to the industry and known zero tolerance for procrastination and delay, keeps him a driving force with a voice clearly defined. His dedication to his career is balanced by his passion for fishing with his grandson.

Jean Bedard
President, Maritime Employers Association

Mr. Jean Bédard is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Maritime Employers Association since January 2008. As such, he is responsible for the negotiation and administration of all collective agreements.

Mr. Bédard studied Law at the University of Ottawa and obtained his Law degree in 1976. He became a member of the Quebec Bar Association in 1977.

Mr. Bédard joined the M.E.A. in 1989 as Vice-President and has worked in management, labour relations and collective bargaining in the ports administered by the Association.

Prior to the M.E.A, he was Director of the Legal Department of the Quebec Builders Association (AECQ) which had the mandate to negotiate collective agreements for the construction industry in Quebec.

Tom Dufresne
President, ILWU Canada (Vancouver, BC)

Tom Dufresne is currently the President of ILWU - Canada serving his 8th consecutive two year term. Tom began work on the Vancouver Waterfront in April 1971. Working in many facets of the industry, first as a casual and then as a Union member. He has also served as a Business Agent, Vice-President and President of ILWU Local 500.

Tom also sits as a Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress and of the B.C. Federation of Labour. He currently serves as an executive member of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) on the Seafarers and Dockers' Fair Practices Committee. Tom is also on the Board of the Columbia Foundation and the Working Enterprises Board, and involved in community volunteer work.

Richard Lidinisky
Chairman Federal Maritime Commission, FMC Chairman

Chairman Richard A. Lidinsky, Jr., of Baltimore, MD, was sworn in as Commissioner for a term to expire on June 30, 2012. He was nominated by President Barack Obama on June 18, 2009, and confirmed by the Senate on July 24, 2009. On September 11, 2009 he was designated Chairman.

Chairman Lidinsky comes to the Commission as a 37-year veteran in the maritime trade industry from positions held in both business and government. After serving as a Congressional aide on the U.S. House of Representatives Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, he began his professional legal career in the FMC's Office of General Counsel as Legislative Counsel from 1973-75. In 1975 the Maryland Port Administration appointed him to be Director of Tariffs and National Port Affairs, as well as counsel.

While representing the Port of Baltimore on both regional and national port organizations, he was a key architect of the port protection sections in the Panama Canal Treaty Implementing Legislation and the Shipping Act of 1984. Mr. Lidinsky also helped negotiate on behalf of the port one of the first US-China trade agreements. In 1985 Sea Containers Ltd., the global maritime manufacturer and container leasing company, recruited Mr. Lidinsky to establish their Washington, DC office. As Vice President for Governmental Affairs until 2006, he secured contracts with the Pentagon to supply military equipment from Sea Containers' factory in Charleston, SC. He also served as a member of the Sealift Transportation Committee of the National Defense Transportation Association; as Board Director and on the Defense, Transportation and Port Security Committee of the British-American Business Association; and as a High-Level Expert to the U.S. NATO Delegation on the Ports and Intermodal Transportation Committee from 1995-2005. Most recently, Mr. Lidinsky worked as an attorney and international trade consultant in private practice.

In 1968 Mr. Lidinsky received his BA from the School of Government and Public Administration of American University, and in 1972 his JD from the University of Maryland. From 1968 to 1975 he also served in the U.S. Coast Guard on active and reserve duty.

Mr. John Higginbotham is establishing a Transportation Studies Centre at Carleton University, drawing on the strengths of the Faculties of Business, Public Administration and Engineering.

The focus will be on training, research and outreach in relation to Canada's rail, air and maritime transportation systems and emerging challenges to Canada's international competitiveness.

Mr. Higginbotham served for more than four years as Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) Champion for the Asia Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative at Transport Canada.

Before that, he was Vice President at the Canada School of Public Service, focusing on Canada-USA relations, and ADM Policy Planning, Communications, Culture and Federal-Provincial relations at Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

On his last international assignment, he was Minister Political / Trans-boundary at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC for six years.

Prior to that Mr. Higginbotham served as Commissioner for Canada in Hong Kong, Canada's largest immigration post abroad, for five years, prior to Hong Kong's retrocession to China. He served twice in Beijing, first as Trade Commissioner and then as Political Counselor.

Mr. Higginbotham speaks English, French and Chinese. He was educated at the University of Saskatchewan, Ibadan University, McGill University, and Harvard University as a Visiting International Fellow.