MAIN STAGE SESSION
Igniting Performance and Possibility
Prepare for an energizing triple feature showcasing three bold voices who know what it takes to thrive in fast-changing times.
- Jay Kiew — NAVIGATE | Driving Disruption at the Speed of Change
Jay will open the session by breaking down what it truly means to lead in an era where digital disruption and AI move at supersonic speed. As we strive to design meaningful event experiences—while constantly upskilling and adapting—he brings clarity to how we can navigate uncertainty with confidence. An expert in Change Fluency™, Jay will demystify the behavioral science behind our relationship with disruption and reveal the single question that can change everything.
- Erin Stafford — Burn Bright, Not Out
Erin will share hard-won insights on sustaining energy, creativity, and purpose—without tipping into burnout. Erin’s core message resonates with professionals across roles and responsibilities: success becomes sustainable when it’s rooted in energy, purpose, and balance. Her practical tools and inspiring insights empower leaders and teams to burn bright—not out—and achieve extraordinary outcomes that not only look good, but feel good.
- Jahkini Bisselink — Leading with Trust and Empathy in an Over-Connected World
Jahkini will deliver a sharp, future-forward take on why empathy, trust, and cultural intelligence are now core business drivers. She offers a practical roadmap for designing connection with intention in a hybrid, fast-evolving world. Drawing on her global work amplifying youth perspectives, she challenges leaders to rethink how they build cultures of belonging across generations.
Following their talks, Jay, Erin, and Jahkini will join Holly Ransom, Convening Leaders host, for a lively conversation on performance, purpose, and leading with heart in a world that never stops changing.
Brought to you by Destination Canada
Jahkini Bisselink is an international keynote speaker, consultant, and former United Nations Youth Delegate known for bridging the gap between generations. As a youth and foresight expert at Whetston Strategic Foresight, she helps global organisations understand the values and expectations shaping the workforce of tomorrow.
At just 18, Jahkini delivered her first speech at the UN General Assembly, beginning a career dedicated to amplifying young voices. She has since engaged with more than 4,000 young people across Europe and the United States and advised leading organisations including Deutsche Telekom, the European Parliament, and Lloyds Banking Group.
Drawing on her background in global advocacy and future-focused research, Jahkini offers sharp insight into Gen Z behaviour, multigenerational leadership, and the future of work. Her speaking style blends data-driven foresight with authentic storytelling, equipping audiences with actionable strategies for engaging younger generations, fostering collaboration, and navigating rapid change.
Erin Stafford is a powerhouse author, speaker, and leader with a career as diverse as it is impactful. From Paris and London to Los Angeles and San Diego, Erin has excelled as an MTV advertising executive, celebrity stylist, journalist, and marketing guru. She has worked with iconic brands such as Apple, Nike, Coke, and American Express and styled celebrities for the Emmys, Grammys, and Academy Awards.
Erin’s most transformative role was as the head of marketing for the largest healthcare staffing company in the U.S., where she helped lead a 27x growth trajectory and supported the largest healthcare personnel deployment in history. This experience cemented her expertise in leading through complexity and driving high performance in high-stakes environments.
As a recovering Type A overachiever who has faced and overcome burnout, Erin blends her personal experiences with insights gleaned from working alongside top performers, including Fortune 100 executives, Olympians, and renowned creatives. She’s on a mission to help leaders and teams unlock extraordinary results without compromising their energy or well-being.
Through her signature entertaining and high-energy keynotes, Erin shares actionable strategies to redefine success, reignite purpose, and build resilience. Her talks are rooted in decades of research, personal stories, and a deep understanding of what it takes to thrive in today’s demanding world. Audiences leave inspired, equipped, and ready to sustain peak performance with balance and clarity.
Erin is the best-selling author of The Type A Trap: Five Mindset Shifts to Beat Burnout and Transform Your Life, endorsed by bestselling author, Mel Robbins, Olympian, Amy Purdy, and Chris Barton, the founder of Shazam.
As a Forbes Business Council member, Erin’s thought leadership on burnout and peak performance is featured regularly, and her expertise has been highlighted by outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Vanity Fair, and MSN.
Erin’s core message resonates with leaders and teams across industries: success is sustainable when rooted in energy, purpose, and balance. Her practical tools and inspiring insights empower organizations to burn bright, not out, and achieve extraordinary outcomes that not only look good, but feel good.
Jay Kiew is an innovation strategist and the world’s leading expert on Change Fluency, with more than 15 years of transformation experience. He has created more than $2B of impact for 400+ executives by designing, developing, and delivering organizational transformation, but his story extends far beyond the professional arena. Kiew is a half-blind cancer survivor, whose life is a testament to resilience in the face of adversity. His remarkable blend of professional expertise and personal resilience equips leaders to hack through the thick of change and disruption.
Kiew spent his corporate career working at Deloitte, TELUS, and ADP, where he led mission-critical strategic transformations. This included a $150-million primary care health policy reform, $13-million tech transformations, doubling app users from 1 to 2 million, and scaling 15 product lines to $35 million in 12 months. As the CEO at Citizencentric, he now invests his time in growing organizations for the greater good.
At the age of 19, Kiew became the world’s youngest Distinguished Toastmaster. He has since been featured in Forbes, USA Today, Digital Journal, the Financial Times, Globe and Mail, Financial Post, Ivey Business Journal, Change Leadership, and more. In 2024, the Project Management Institute inducted Jay as a Future50 honoree for his work on enabling organizations with AI Fluency and Agentic AI adoption. Jay is also a 2025 Canadian delegate for the G20 YEA Summit, advocating for the future of entrepreneurship globally.
Kiew holds an MBA from the Ivey Business School and lives in Vancouver with his wife, two daughters, and a stubborn Shiba Inu named Brooklyn.