2026 CT Symposium Speaker Bios

Senator Yussuff

Senator Hassan Yussuff was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 2021 by the Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau and represents Ontario as a member of the Independent Senators’ Group. He has served on several Senate committees, including as Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans’ Affairs from 2024 to spring 2026. He is also a member of the Standing Senate Committees on Banking, Commerce and the Economy; National Security, Defence and Veterans’ Affairs; and Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament. 

Before joining the Senate, Senator Yussuff built a distinguished career in Canada’s labour movement, rising from a truck mechanic at General Motors to senior leadership roles with the Canadian Auto Workers and the Canadian Labour Congress. He became the first person of colour elected to the CLC executive in 1999 and the first person of colour to lead the Congress as President in 2014. 

Andrew Au

When companies like Microsoft, FedEx, and 3M want to accelerate innovation, they call
Andrew Au. Today, the dynamics of industries are changing. No enterprise is too big to fail, no
start up is too small to disrupt. Agility has become the new currency of business, and
organizations need to respond. That’s where Au comes in. He helps organizations respond to
the now and prepare for what’s next — helping them rethink how they engage their customers,
motivate their employees, operate their business units, and inject innovation into their
solutions.

Referred to by Forbes as a “digital transformation expert”, Au helps organizations respond to
the new culture and nature of work. Through his innovative work, he was the youngest person
to be inducted into the Entrepreneurs Organization at the age of 22. He is among the few to be
named to Forbes’ “30 Under 30” list and has received over 50 domestic and international
awards for business innovation and thought leadership. What makes Au’s perspectives unique
is that he doesn’t just study digital transformation and culture change — he makes it real for
the largest organizations in the world, every day.

Au has delivered live, virtual, and pre-recorded keynotes for leading organizations such as
Microsoft, Rogers, Canada Life, Mitel, Harley Davidson, and a wide variety of industry
associations. He shares his dynamic perspectives on leadership and emerging technologies with
media including Forbes, Business Insider, Tech Insider, Bloomberg, BNN and the National Post.
Au is the co-founder of Intercept, a strategic consultancy that has led large scale system
implementations and culture change programs.

Jean Charest

The Honourable Jean Charest has served at the highest levels of Canadian government for
nearly three decades, making him one of Canada’s best known political figures. As the former
Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Premier of Québec — and a current member on the
Prime Minister’s Council on Canada-US Relations — Charest brings a deep understanding of the
complex Canada-US relationship, global trade, strategic leadership, and business diplomacy to
audiences. He offers a compelling reflection on Canada’s position in a dynamic world, while
sharing key lessons on navigating both the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Charest was first elected to the House of Commons in 1984 and, at the age of 28, became
Canada’s youngest cabinet minister, assuming the role of Minister of State for Youth. In 1991,
he was named Minister of the Environment and Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs
and Registrar General, before becoming the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada in 1993.

Charest was chosen Leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party in 1994, holding that
post until 1998 when he became Leader of the Québec Liberal Party. He then broke a 50-year
provincial record by winning three consecutive election campaigns in 2003, 2007, and 2008.

During his tenure as Premier of Québec, his government initiated an unprecedented labour
mobility agreement between France and Québec and launched Plan Nord, a major initiative for
the sustainable development of Northern Québec. Charest is notably the initiator of the
negotiation for the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement
(CETA).

Today, Charest is a partner at the Canadian firm, Therrien Couture Joli-Coeur, where he
provides invaluable expertise to the firm’s clients with his in-depth knowledge and experience
with public policy, corporate Canada, and international matters.

Pierre Bruneau

A man of the media and of challenges, he divides his time among his various passions. Described as the “marathon runner of news,” Pierre Bruneau is the anchor who has been achieving the highest ratings for nearly 30 years now. It goes without saying that his reputation is well established. Reassuring and approachable, he prioritizes a human approach to news coverage. He always seeks to gauge the impact of a news story on the lives of his listeners.

On January 16, 2009, to raise funds for children with cancer—a cause particularly close to his heart—Pierre Bruneau reached the summit of Kilimanjaro for the second time. A total of ten participants from Quebec successfully completed the climb, along with four public figures. These determined men and women all overcame the challenges of high altitude by reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro, which stands at 5,895 meters. From January 3 to 18, Pierre Bruneau and his team battled intense cold, with temperatures hovering around -20 degrees. They braved physical discomforts such as nausea, intestinal issues, and headaches. They persevered despite the increasingly acute lack of oxygen.

As Pierre Bruneau says in his talks, success in business or in climbing a mountain like Kilimanjaro depends on preparation. With his passion for life, he inspires the people he meets to never give up in the face of adversity. Perseverance, passion, commitment, and pushing oneself beyond one’s limits are the values he will share with you during his inspirational talks.

Darci Lang

Darci Lang is a Canadian professional speaker, author, and entrepreneur recognized for her 30 years of presentations focused on a framework that helps individuals and organizations distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable factors in daily life. She has delivered programs across Canada supporting workplace communication, relationships, and productivity through practical application of her 90 percent philosophy.  Her work centers on the 90 percent philosophy developed through decades of speaking and organizational engagement. In her book Focus on the 90%: One Simple Tool to Change the Way You View Your Life, Darci Lang introduces a structured approach to focusing attention on controllable factors in work and life decisions.

The 90 percent philosophy is expanded through a four book series that outlines application in focus, leadership, communication, and personal development contexts. She continues to present this material to organizations seeking consistent methods for improving workplace culture and employee engagement, with Darci Lang delivering sessions across diverse industries. Her speaking career spans more than 30 years across corporate, education, and association settings in Canada. The work of Darci Lang is applied in sessions that focus on communication clarity, productivity improvement, and practical decision making frameworks.

She is also recognized for her entrepreneurial background, having built and operated three businesses. Darci Lang applies her business experience to discussions on leadership, operational balance, and organizational performance improvement. Her programs are used by organizations across multiple sectors seeking consistent employee engagement approaches. In speaking engagements, Darci Lang emphasizes structured thinking tools that support focus on controllable priorities in professional environments.

She has presented to audiences ranging from frontline teams to senior leadership groups. Darci Lang is known within the Canadian speaking industry and is a member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers Hall of Fame. Her content is applied in corporate training environments focused on communication and performance improvement. Darci Lang integrates her 90 percent framework into organizational development programs and leadership sessions.

She has worked with organizations seeking structured approaches to workplace culture and employee interaction. Darci Lang presents practical frameworks that support decision making and reduce focus on uncontrollable workplace factors. Her work has been used in industries including education, healthcare, agriculture, and corporate services. Darci Lang continues to focus on delivering content that supports communication effectiveness and organizational alignment.

She has spoken about personal experiences that shaped her approach to resilience and focus in professional environments. Darci Lang incorporates these experiences into structured presentations designed for workplace application. Her approach is centered on practical tools that can be implemented in daily professional and personal contexts. It is applied to support clearer communication, improved focus, and more consistent decision making in organizational settings.

Fahd Alhattab

Fahd Alhattab believes leadership isn’t a title you’re handed — it’s a set of everyday actions anyone can take on any team. Having spent 15 years building successful teams through entrepreneurship, education, and organizational leadership, Alhattab has identified the tried-and-true ingredient that sets high-performing teams apart from competitors: leaders who prioritize team performance over individual success. He calls them “Unicorn Leaders”. As a leadership expert specializing in transformative leadership and team dynamics, Alhattab helps organizations build high-performing teams that thrive in any environment.

Alhattab’s path to leadership began with philanthropy. Motivated by his background as an at-risk immigrant from a low-income family, he raised over $1 million for local charities, founded a camp for underprivileged children, and was recognized as one of Canada’s Top 20 Under 20. He later served two terms as President of the Carleton University Students’ Association, representing more than 25,000 students, managing a team of 150 staff, and overseeing a $9 million budget. He went on to launch a student entrepreneurship centre at Carleton University that has helped found more than 50 student startups and raise over $450,000 in seed capital before co-founding a mobile technology startup, where he experienced firsthand how small teams scale, adapt, and compete.

Today, Alhattab is the founder of Unicorn Labs, where he helps organizations build high-performing teams through the Six Levels of High-Performing Teams methodology. He is also an education reformist who has trained university educators to embed experiential learning and leadership development into their teaching, reimagining 35 University of Ottawa courses to integrate entrepreneurship, social innovation, and leadership.

An in-demand speaker, Alhattab has delivered keynotes to more than 100,000 people across over 400 stages. He has shared the stage with renowned thinkers such as Simon Sinek, Seth Godin, Dan Heath, Charles Duhigg, and Jocko Willink. He has also been named a “Rising Star Speaker” and “Most Entertaining Speaker” by the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers and is one of just 57 Canadians to earn the prestigious Certified Speaking Professional (CSP®) designation — the National Speakers Association’s highest earned recognition.