Bilal Jaffery
Senior Partner, Blend360
Bilal Jaffery is a technologist, entrepreneur and management consulting and analytics pioneer, and leader in applying emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, to develop and nurture new business opportunities and capabilities. He is a Senior Partner at Blend, driving global client services, capability innovation, and strategic alliances, focused on data and AI. Prior to Blend, Bilal led the development and scale of award-winning practices of Deloitte Digital, Deloitte Omnia AI, and Accenture’s Customer.AI global portfolio. Prior to consulting, he was in industry leading digital transformation initiatives across Bell Canada, IBM, Siemens and Epson across marketing, e-commerce, sales, loyalty, product innovation and CRM domains.
Karla Congson (Moderator)
CEO & Founder, openGravity
Karla Congson is CEO and founder of openGravity a marketing agency based in Toronto, serving enterprise clients such as Sun Life Financial, Scotiabank, Deloitte, the Co-operators, the Canadian Medical Association, Staples and Nokia. She brings over two decades of marketing and strategy experience and her work has included business leadership and general management of top global and domestic brands, customer insights & analytics, brand strategy, client experience design and integrated marketing.
In her previous role as Chief Marketing Officer at Dundee Corporation, Karla was responsible for driving customer experience, innovation and brand strategy for a high net worth platform. In 2017, she was part of the founding team that brought Singularity University to Canada through the first SingularityU national conference. Karla has also held the roles of Executive Strategy Director & Managing Director at Mirum Agency, one of Canada’s largest digital marketing agencies and as Executive Vice President at WPP/Young & Rubicam Canada, Karla was responsible for country leadership of the Ford of Canada business spanning multiple marketing agencies. Prior to this Karla was the Vice-President Marketing at AIM Trimark, responsible for domestic brand and marketing leadership. In this capacity she also led a significant global brand strategy and architecture project for Invesco, the parent brand for AIM Trimark, leading to the global rollout of the Invesco masterbrand.
Karla has been building an AI-infused team within her own organization and has led Generative AI education sessions for organizations such as the TMX (Toronto Stock Exchange), the CMA and the UK Women Founders Group.
Isaac De Souza
AI & Emerging Technology Risk Officer, BMO
Isaac is BMO’s AI & Emerging Technology Risk Officer leading the 2nd line’s AI Risk Specialty Area. He represents BMO at key industry forums on AI risks and continues to be advocate for Responsible AI use with a focus on how to effectively manage the incremental risks introduced by AI to financial institutions. He has provided thought leadership and subject expertise in AI risk management since joining BMO in 2020. Isaac is also a scientist and entrepreneur with a multi-disciplinary background having worked in both research and industry from NASA to Silicon Valley and now the financial industry. He is passionate about communicating the adoption risks introduced by technologies and driving insights to boldly grow the good in business and in life.
Smita Challu Tulsani
Customer Strategy & Martech Practice Head at Akcelo Canada
Smita Challu Tulsani is an accomplished results-driven customer-centric leader with a proven track record as a designated Chartered Marketer. Her expertise spans digital product management, customer retention, strategic marketing, and customer lifecycle management. With a strong engineering background and a passion for marketing, Smita has excelled in various senior leadership roles in Martech.
As the Customer Strategy & Martech Practice Leader at Akcelo Canada, Smita focuses on Customer Lifecycle Marketing and Strategy. Leveraging strategy, customer insights, research and analytical data, she creates strategic solutions that drive CX strategy and digital transformation.
Her diverse background includes senior leadership positions in sectors like telecom, manufacturing, media and the social impact sector, providing her with unique perspectives in her endeavors. Smita actively advises not-for-profit organizations and serves on various boards and industry councils, lending her expertise to make a positive impact.
Smita's business contributions have earned her multiple industry awards for product innovation and business strategy. Notably, she was recently shortlisted for the Women of the Year award by Women in IT. Additionally, she founded an AI-based start-up in 2021, demonstrating her entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to technological innovation.
Smita holds a bachelor's degree in engineering and a Master's in Business Administration, adding to her well-rounded skillset and dedication to continuous growth.
