Speakers Bios
Opening Remarks
Emily Mo, Director, Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto)
Emily joined the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China in 2001 as a member of the Administrative Officer Grade. In December 2018, she took up the Director post in the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Toronto, the mandate of which is to foster closer economic trade ties between Canada and Hong Kong, and also promote bilateral cultural relations and people-to-people ties.
Before that she had worked in different offices, including the Home Affairs Department, the then Environment, Transport and Works Bureau, the Security Bureau, the University Grants Committee Secretariat, and the Tourism Commission of the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau.
Before coming to Toronto, Emily served as the Deputy Head of the Human Resources Planning and Poverty Co-ordination Unit under the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Private Office to support the Chief Secretary for Administration for monitoring the implementation progress of policy initiatives on human resources planning and poverty alleviation in Hong Kong.
Emily received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Hong Kong.
Mayor Frank Scarpitti, City of Markham
Mayor Frank Scarpitti was elected as Mayor of Markham in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.
He is Markham’s second longest-serving Mayor.
Mr. Scarpitti was first elected to Markham Council in 1985, as a Regional Councillor. In total, the people of Markham have elected him nine times. He has served on both the Councils of the City of Markham and York Region for 30 years.
Mayor Scarpitti serves on York Regional Council and is the current Chair of York Region Rapid Transit Corporation (VIVA Transit). He is also Co-Chair of the Community Partnership Council, Vice-Chair of Transportation Services for York Region, and sits on the Board of Directors for York Telecom Network.
He serves as a member on the Alectra board, one of the largest municipally-owned electrical utilities in North America.
Mayor Scarpitti gives his time to a number of non-profit organizations related to health, social programs, arts, and culture. As Co-Chair of Markham Stouffville Hospital’s Capital Campaign, his efforts contributed to surpassing the hospital's $50 million fundraising goal.
He led Markham’s initiative to secure the Markham Pan Am Centre and attract a Markham campus for York University.
He is a strong advocate of Internet voting, used in Markham since 2003.
Mayor Scarpitti and his wife Nancy have three children.
AI Fireside Chat Segment
Moderator
Christopher Chen, Head of Investment Promotion, Invest Hong Kong (Canada)
Christopher Chen is the head of the InvestHK presence for Canada, responsible for driving foreign direct investment from Canadian companies, organisations, and educational institutions to Hong Kong and Asia Pacific.
Prior to InvestHK, he was a senior fintech professional, leading growth marketing and customer engagement initiatives for multinational insurance and asset management companies throughout Canada, Europe, and Asia.
He has lived and worked in Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, The Netherlands, and Scotland. He has a Master's degree from the University of British Columbia with post-graduate fellowships at the National Taiwan Normal University and Yusof Ishak Institute/ISEAS.
Guest Speakers
Antoine Sasseville, Director, Intact Financial (HK) Limited (Intact Lab)
Antoine Sasseville is Director of Data Science at Intact Financial Hong Kong. He holds an Actuarial Science degree from Laval University, he is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.
He started his career at Intact Financial Corporation 10 years ago as an actuary and held different roles in the pricing teams, corporate actuarial team, as well as, the R&D team. He has contributed over the years to implement a wide variety of AI products for insurance pricing, underwriting automation as well as claims management.
He relocated to Hong Kong in January
2020 to open the first international expansion of the Intact Lab and he leads
the Data Science teams here in the Hong Kong Science Park.
Courtney Cole, CEO, ForAHealthyMe
Courtney is the CEO at ForaHealthyMe Inc. The ForaHealthyMe Inc. The AI Tele-Rehab & Remote Patient Management Solution delivers low-cost, all-in-one comprehensive care tools to address the complex needs of patients with Hip, Knee, Heart, Stroke, and Mental health issues.
Founded in 2012, the company works with partners and customers in the United States, Europe, and Asia to solve complex health challenges like COVID-19 and related issues.
In his role, Courtney is recognized as a leader and innovator in the Canadian health technology ecosphere. He has been part of both Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario delegations to international conferences and trade shows where at times, he has served as a panelist and presenter. Most recently, he was a presenter at the Digital Therapy Industry in China Forum an event hosted by the China Association of Rehabilitation Technology Transformation and Promotion, Digital Therapy System Engineering Professional Committee..
Fatima Khamitova, CEO & Co-Founder, Veer AI
Fatima is a Co-founder and CEO at Veer AI, a marketing SaaS startup that helps retailers target their marketing with actionable, tailored insights. She is a strategist who has spent her career transforming customer experiences using AI-based tools.
She spent 6 years in the consulting field, focusing on strategic marketing projects that specifically leveraged her expertise in data science and machine learning. She led teams to build customer segmentation-based journeys, helping guide customers along an optimal journey to maximize value for her clients. Fatima’s consulting clients included a diverse mix of Fortune 500 corporations and high-growth start-ups.
Before her graduate studies in analytics, Fatima spent time at an incubator in Milan, helping start-ups in fashion, retail, fine arts, and luxury goods. Fatima also worked in London and Zurich in the investment banking industry.
Hardware Tech Fireside Chat Segment
Moderator
As Acting Director, Christina leads a team of dedicated economic development and culture professionals and city-builders to advance Markham’s economic development and culture priorities including strengthening Markham’s reputation as a business, investment, innovation, culture, and tourism destination.
Markham, an award-winning municipality with more than 351,000 residents and the largest of nine communities in York Region, is home to over 650 corporate head offices and more than 1,500 high tech and life science companies. Markham is a leader in attracting foreign direct investment with more than 240 foreign companies located in the City. Founded in the 1790s, today Markham is Canada’s most diverse community and enjoys a rich heritage, outstanding community planning and services, and a vibrant local economy. Markham has received the Excellence Canada Gold Award for Organizational Quality & Healthy Workplace, and multiple heritage and environmental awards.
Guest Speakers
Christian Yan, Co-Founder & COO, Nanoleaf
As Nanoleaf’s Chief Operations Officer, Christian leads a team of people around the world responsible for end-to-end supply chain management and is dedicated to ensuring that Nanoleaf products meet the highest quality standards and in the most environmentally friendly way.
Born in Tianjin, Christian is a Canadian-raised Chinese and holds a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto.
With over 8 years of experience as managing director in his family’s manufacturing facility in Guangzhou, China, and his in-depth experience with supply chain management, Christian is the lead employee optimizing Nanoleaf’s operations in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
Tim Szeto, CEO & Founder, TITAN Haptics
As Tim Szeto is CEO and founder of TITAN Haptics, a technology leader for advanced haptic motors in smartphones, consoles, and touchscreen devices. Since the age of 15, Tim founded numerous businesses including software and media agency Synergies; award-winning consumer product NanodotsⓇ, and Nanoport, a venture-backed advanced R&D Lab in Silicon Valley. Today, Tim provides leadership in the field of haptics as the CEO of TITAN Haptics.