Visiting Professor of Strategic Management, Anthony S. Fell Chair in New Technologies and Commercialization, Rotman

Will Mitchell holds the Anthony S. Fell Chair in New Technologies and Commercialization at the University of Toronto, where he is a Visiting Professor of Strategic Management in the Rotman School of Management. Will Mitchell is the J. Rex Fuqua Professor of International Management at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

President and CEO, Health Technology Exchange

John Soloninka has over 24 years of experience in medical technology consulting and company formation, growth and management. He graduated from Queen’s University in engineering physics in 1981 and worked several years in aerospace engineering before earning an MBA, with distinction, from the University of London in England in 1986. Over his career, he has led major projects in health system transformation, biopharma/device development and regulation, health IT, disease management, clinical trials, clinical genomics and venture capital for Price Waterhouse, Soloninka and Associates and IBM. Mr. Soloninka was a founder, senior executive and leader in startup companies in oncology, radiology and electronic medical records (EMR) and clinical trials that were variously sold to US firms Varian Medical Systems, Merge Technologies and Assistmed. He came to HTX from his role as Healthcare Practice Lead for IBM Global Business Services in Ontario. He was appointed President and CEO of HTX in July 2010 and is currently a director and advisory board member of CImTeC (the Centre for Imaging Technology and Commercialization), the Ontario Brain Institute, HTX and EXCITE.

Commercialization Manager, MaRS Innovation Medical Devices & Physical Sciences

Amit Jhas is a Commercialization Manager at MaRS Innovation where he oversees a portfolio of early stage investment opportunities in the medical device and healthcare IT space. He is responsible for developing investment cases, go-to-market strategies and the creation of new start-ups from MI’s member institutions.

Amit is also the Director of Business Development at Bedside Clinical Systems, a new venture between The Hospital for Sick Children and MaRS Innovation that delivers clinical decision support tools for hospitals everywhere. At BCS, Amit is responsible for strategy and investor relations. Prior to this role, Amit spent several years at Innovate Calgary, a for-profit commercialization and start-up incubator space in Calgary.

Amit holds a M.Sc. in Chemistry and a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Calgary.

Director of Commercialization, Techna Institute

Mark Taylor graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science in 1992 and received his M.Sc. in Engineering- Mechanics in 1995 from Virginia Tech. He completed his MBA from Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in 2001.

Throughout his career he has held several positions in industry, including engineering management of large technical programs at multi-national companies, to entrepreneur with technical start-ups, to developing business strategies and plans for raising capital for both startup and existing corporations.

In Feb. 2008, Mr. Taylor joined UHN’s Technology Development and Commercialization office to look after engineering and related commercialization activities for the hospital. Since Mr. Taylor joined UHN, there has been a significant increase in the UHN commercial activity in the medical device area with commercial transactional deal flow arguably in the top tier of North American institutions. This success has solidified the importance of med-tech and related research activity at the hospital. Mr. Taylor regularly attends major global medical device conferences and speaks to several audiences on successful commercialization approaches for hospitals and researchers. Mr. Taylor’s primary interest is in accelerating and increasing commercial outcomes of the local research community based on real results and by example. Mr. Taylor holds one issued patent, several refereed journal publications, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario.

President and CEO, eHealth Ontario

Greg Reed is President and Chief Executive Officer of eHealth Ontario. Greg was hired in April 2010 to rebuild the Ontario government agency responsible for implementing an electronic health care system for the province of Ontario. Prior to joining eHealth Ontario Greg spent 20 years with international strategy consulting firm McKinsey & Company in New York, London (U.K.) and Toronto. He has also served as the CEO of an investment management firm and a Canadian bank. Greg holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Toronto. He is a Director of the National Arts Centre Foundation where he chairs the Finance Committee, is Vice-Chair of Business for the Arts, and is a former Director of the National Ballet of Canada.

Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO), UHN & SIMS Partnership
Associate Professor of Medicine & Staff Gastroenterologist, University of Toronto

Despite significant global investment to date, health information technology (HIT) functionality, adoption and return lag far behind most other economic sectors. Consequently productivity, service delivery models and access to care fail to meet demographic demands. Scalable next generation point of care systems will require close collaboration among many contributors including clinicians, patients, designers, architects, informaticians and industry. Intrapreneurs within the academic health care environment have the unique perspective and ability to creatively identify, research and develop solutions and processes that cost-effectively transfer into the marketplace.

This presentation will highlight some intrapreneurial innovations from UHN while proposing new roles for academic health care organizations (HCOs) to more effectively influence the evolution of information and communication technologies in order to improve health system outcomes, access and value. Discussion will include front-line perspectives on incentives, rewards, commercialization and intellectual property.

Dr. Rossos’ CMIO priorities include alignment of clinical systems with workflow and productivity, as well as the impact of systems on patient safety, quality improvement, education, and research.

Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Telemedicine Network

Dr. Brown has won numerous awards for his work in telemedicine, including being chosen as one of twenty-five “Transformational Canadians” by the Globe and Mail, CTV and La Presse in December, 2010. He currently sits as a Director on the OntarioMD Board of Directors and is President-Elect of the American Telemedicine Association.

An emergency physician who studied mathematics and engineering before embarking on his medical career, Dr. Brown is a passionate advocate for the advancement of telemedicine as an important tool to improve access to care, quality of care and the sustainability of healthcare systems.

For nearly 20 years, Dr. Brown has been working to develop a telemedicine service for Ontario. This brief presentation will describe the service, the journey up to today and some “pearls” for eHealth success that he picked up along the way.

CEO of Mihealth Global Systems Inc.

Fredrika Scarth is the Director, HQO Liaison and Program Development Branch, Health System Quality and Funding Division, MOHLTC. In this role she works with Health Quality Ontario, the provincial advisor on health quality, to support their programs, and provides leadership and direction on a range of innovative funding programs and health service delivery models that aim to improve patient outcomes and experience while ensuring health system sustainability. Fredrika’s previous experience in the MOHLTC includes leadership roles in health services research, performance and accountability, and primary health care. Fredrika holds a BA in Political Science from McGill University and an MA and PhD in Political Theory from the University of Toronto.

Director of Commercialization, Techna Institute

Mark Taylor graduated from the University of Toronto with a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science in 1992 and received his M.Sc. in Engineering- Mechanics in 1995 from Virginia Tech. He completed his MBA from Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in 2001.

Throughout his career he has held several positions in industry, including engineering management of large technical programs at multi-national companies, to entrepreneur with technical start-ups, to developing business strategies and plans for raising capital for both startup and existing corporations.

In Feb. 2008, Mr. Taylor joined UHN’s Technology Development and Commercialization office to look after engineering and related commercialization activities for the hospital. Since Mr. Taylor joined UHN, there has been a significant increase in the UHN commercial activity in the medical device area with commercial transactional deal flow arguably in the top tier of North American institutions. This success has solidified the importance of med-tech and related research activity at the hospital. Mr. Taylor regularly attends major global medical device conferences and speaks to several audiences on successful commercialization approaches for hospitals and researchers. Mr. Taylor’s primary interest is in accelerating and increasing commercial outcomes of the local research community based on real results and by example. Mr. Taylor holds one issued patent, several refereed journal publications, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in Ontario.

Professor Emeritus, University of Victoria

A recurring theme in discussions of how to improve healthcare systems around the world is the hope that technological innovation will provoke leaps in the quality and efficiency of care. This presentation will reflect on some of the information technology related innovations which have occurred over the past 50 years and assess if they have made any impact on quality of care and patient safety. It will also speculate what the future holds in terms of innovative applications of emerging technologies and which ones are likely to be both disruptive and enduring.

Professor Protti was the founding Director of the University of Victoria’s School of Health Information Science. He chaired and served on numerous international, federal and provincial committees and councils over his 44 year career. He continues to do so.

Healthcare Executive, IBM Canada

The emergence of ‘big data’ and explosion of 100,000’s of clinically related journal articles annually is taxing our ability to cope with accessing best practice and supporting clinical decisions. Many will remember IBM Watson’s win on the Jeopardy game show in 2011. Since then, IBM has been working to apply Watson to Healthcare, leveraging Watson’s ability to scan through 200 million pages of data in 3 seconds. This session will outline a future that includes Watson for Healthcare, provide insights into trends related to advanced analytics, natural language processing and real time clinical decision support.

Paul Sulkers has held several technical and management positions in health information management, working for both health care providers as well as health private sector health vendors. During this career in healthcare over the past 40 years, he has led implementation of advanced e-health and clinical systems in Canada and Australia, including regional health centres, teaching hospitals and state health networks. Paul has been a leader in the area of e-health, defining solutions for chronic disease management and electronic health records, as well as setting strategies for a number of Ontario healthcare providers.

Paul is currently the Ontario Industry Executive for IBM Health Industry, responsible for IBM’s healthcare strategies and business in Ontario.

Senior Vice President & General Manager, Health Solutions Group, NexJ Systems Inc.

The rising cost of healthcare demands innovative solutions to deliver better care at a lower cost — without compromising quality or access. Eric Gombrich, SVP and GM of the Health Solutions Group at NexJ Systems, a leading provider of innovative people-centered software solutions, will discuss how government, industry and academia are working together to drive innovative software solutions in the context of people–centered health. The NexJ Connected Wellness Platform is designed to empower people to proactively manage their own healthcare and wellness. It provides people with access to their health records and connects them with their extended care team, allowing them to work together to increase the qual- ity of care, improve outcomes, and reduce the cost of care.

Mr. Gombrich is responsible for the strategic direction and execution of NexJ System’s activities and success in the healthcare industry. He has almost 30 years of experience in healthcare information technology and medical devices industries, having led organizations in their expansion efforts in the US, Canada, and around the world. Most recently serving as the CEO of EMIS Inc., the North American subsidiary of EMIS Limited, the UK’s largest EMR vendor, Mr. Gombrich has been successful in commercially building markets as well as successfully managing companies through clinical trials, ISO certification, and regulatory submissions. Mr. Gombrich’s experience extends across the entire spectrum of healthcare, having worked with acute, ambulatory, and primary care organizations, as well as payer organizations and governments.

Tula Foundation
Assistant Professor, McMaster University

Since 2003, the Tula Foundation has been helping the Ministry of Health to get new health workers into rural communities in Guatemala. It started with a small band of intrepid Newfoundland nurses teaching nurses to use new low–cost information and communication technologies. It started with distance education to train nurse educators to train rural youths to become certified community auxiliary nurses — and grew from there. Today, the Ministry of Health in the Department of Alta Verapaz is providing culturally appropriate care to patients throughout the province. Rural community health workers are providing services 24/7 to more than 250,000 rural Guatemalans of Mayan descent. The technology we have used has been low-cost, simple, and effective at the community and health centre level. After having achieved proof of concept, we are now tackling the challenges of scaleability.

Christy Gombay has 30 years experience in the analysis design/ planning, implementation and evaluation of development programs. He has lived and worked in developing countries since 1983 (one year in India, three years in Uganda, and two years in Bolivia). He has first-hand knowledge of Asia, Africa, Central and South America where he has worked since 1988. For the last 11 years, he has been working primarily as a governance and health policy analyst and project director in Central and South America which has provided him with additional insight into how health ministries evolve. He is currently Director of the Global Health program, Tula Foundation, where he is responsible for managing and implementing Tula Foundation’s international health program in Guatemala. Professor Gombay holds a PhD from the University of Toronto, Department of Political Science, with a major in Comparative Studies of developing countries and a minor in Public Policy and Administration focusing on decentralization policy and local government in Uganda and Ecuador. He also has a Masters in Development Studies from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University, and a Bachelors Degree in African Studies from the University of Toronto. Prof. Gombay is also Assistant Director of the Global Health Masters Program at McMaster University.

CEO and President, University Health Network

Dr. Robert Bell was appointed as President and CEO of University Health Network (UHN) in June 2005. An internationally recognized orthopaedic surgeon, health care executive, clinician-scientist, and educator, Dr. Bell brings more than 20 years of experience in academic health care to leadership of Canada’s largest research hospital. From 2000 to 2005, he served as Chief Operating Officer of UHN’s Princess Margaret Hospital where he was responsible for leading Canada’s largest comprehensive cancer centre. From 2003 to 2005, he served as Regional Vice President and Chair of the Clinical Council of Cancer Care Ontario.

Dr. Bell earned a Doctor of Medicine from McGill University in 1975 and a Masters of Science from the University of Toronto in 1981. He completed a Fellowship in Orthopaedic Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University in 1985. During his career as a clinician-scientist at the University of Toronto, he received more than five million dollars in peer reviewed funding and published more than 170 peer-reviewed papers. He participated in the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2005. Dr. Bell is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the American College of Surgeons and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Information and Privacy Commissioner, Ontario, Canada

Dr. Ann Cavoukian is recognized as one of the leading privacy experts in the world. Noted for her seminal work on Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) in 1995, her concept of Privacy by Design seeks to proactively embed privacy into the design specifications of information technology and accountable business practices, thereby achieving the strongest protection possible.

An avowed believer in the role that technology can play in the protection of privacy, Dr. Cavoukian’s leadership has seen her office develop a number of tools and procedures to ensure that privacy is strongly protected, not only in Canada, but around the world.

Dr. Cavoukian serves as the Chair of the Identity, Privacy and Security Institute at the University of Toronto, Canada. She is also a member of several Boards including, the European Biometrics Forum, Future of Privacy Forum, RIM Council, and has been conferred a Distinguished Fellow of the Ponemon Institute.

Dr. Cavoukian was honoured with the prestigious Kristian Beckman Award in 2011 for her pioneering work on Privacy by Design and privacy protection in modern international environments.

In the same year, Dr. Cavoukian was also named by Intelligent Utility Magazine as one of the Top 11 Movers and Shakers for the Global Smart Grid industry, received the SC Canada Privacy Professional of the Year Award and was honoured by the University of Alberta Information Access and Protection of Privacy Program for her positive contribution to the field of privacy.

Most recently, Dr. Cavoukian was ranked by Women of Influence Inc. as one of the top 25 Women of Influence recognizing her contribution to the Canadian and global economy. This award follows her recognition in 2007 by the Women’s Executive Network as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada.

President & CEO, William Osler Health System

Matthew Anderson is the President and Chief Executive Officer of William Osler Health System (Osler). Osler is among the largest community hospital systems in Canada serving a population of over 1.3 million people living in one of the fastest growing and most culturally diverse regions in the country. Amalgamated in 1998, Osler is comprised of three hospital sites: Etobicoke General Hospital, Brampton Civic Hospital, and Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health & Wellness (opening in 2015-2016), and a number of off-site health centre locations which together provide a comprehensive range of acute care, ambulatory and ancillary health services.

Matt previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (LHIN), a crown corporation that is responsible for the local planning, measuring and funding of 177 health provider organizations (long-term care homes, community care access centre, community health centres, community support services, hospitals, and mental health and addiction agencies) that serve more than 1.15 million Ontarians. Prior to his role at the Toronto Central LHIN, Matt held the position of Senior Vice-President of Performance and Technology, University Health Network (UHN) where he led the information, quality management and technology portfolios and has been the Chief Information Officer for a number of health care agencies across the continuum of care.

In 1998, Matt became one of the youngest Chief Information Officers of a Canadian academic health sciences centre. He quickly helped establish a five-year, $50 million capital plan to move UHN to a completely electronic patient record.

Matt has also been recognized nationally. He is a recipient of Canada’s prestigious ‘Top 40 Under 40’ award, received the ‘Who’s Who in Healthcare’ award through the Canadian College of Health Service Executives, and was named Canada’s CIO of the Year in 2005.

Associate Scientist, Kunin-Lunenfeld Applied Research Unit, Baycrest

Sholom Glouberman is President of the Patients’ Association of Canada — a patient led and patient governed movement that brings patients as partners in clinical care, service redesign and policy development. His most recent project is the establishment of key performance indicators of patient centred care derived from patient experiences.

Chief Innovator and Founder, Centre for Global eHealth Innovation

Dr. Jadad holds the Canada Research Chair in eHealth Innovation at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network, where he is the Chief Innovator and Founder of the Centre for Global eHealth Innovation and Principal Investigator, Techna . He is also a Professor in the Department of Anesthesia, in the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto. He is a physician, innovator, educator and public advocate whose mission is to optimize health and wellness for all, through the innovative use of information and communication technologies.

His research and innovation work focuses on virtual tools to support the encounter between the public and the health system (with emphasis on the management of polypathologies); interactive tools to promote knowledge translation and mentorship of health professionals and the public; and online resources to support social networks, to respond to major public health threats (e.g., chronic conditions, pandemics), to support international collaboration, and to enable the public (particularly young people) to shape the health system and society.

Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care

Saäd Rafi was appointed Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, effective Feb. 16, 2010. Most recently, Mr. Rafi was Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. Previously, he was National Infrastructure Advisory and Project Finance Practice Leader at Deloitte & Touche LLP. Mr. Rafi formerly served the Ontario Government as the Deputy Minister of Transportation and the Deputy Minister of Community Safety. He was seconded to the Ontario SuperBuild Corporation, Ministry of Finance, as Vice President, Public/Private Partnerships. He has held a number of senior management positions in the Ministry of Transportation, Cabinet Office, and the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Tourism.

Mr. Rafi holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts, in Public Administration, from Carleton University.