As President and CEO of the Institute of Corporate Directors, Rahul Bhardwaj leads an organization of more than 16,000 members committed to improving national outcomes by growing the board leadership and governance capacities within Canadian businesses, agencies and not-for-profits.

Mr. Bhardwaj currently serves on the boards of Waterfront Toronto, the Institute of Corporate Directors, the Canadian Foundation for Governance Research as well as the Leader Council at the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership at Ivey Business School. He is a Director Emeritus of the Rideau Hall Foundation as well as the current Chair of the Global Network of Director Institutes, a global network representing more than 150,000 directors. which is focused on enhancing the capability of directors to drive sustainable performance for the benefit of shareholders, the economy and society.

He was Chair of the 2012 Ontario Summer Games, the first multi-sport games to be held in Toronto, and was Co-chair of TO2015 IGNITE, a program of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am & Parapan Am Games. Other past board commitments include a founding board member of Metrolinx and Chair of the Governance Committee, Chair of the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival, Chair of Community Foundations of Canada, Upper Canada College, George Brown College, Stratford Festival of Canada and United Way of Toronto,
among others.

Prior to joining the ICD, Mr. Bhardwaj was a corporate lawyer at a leading Canadian law firm, and then later, President and CEO of the Toronto Foundation, where he focused on engaging philanthropy to improve the quality of life in Toronto. He was also Vice President of the Toronto 2008 Olympic Bid and, as part of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Fiscal review panel in 2008, Mr. Bhardwaj was involved in identifying efficiencies for the City of Toronto.

In 2012, Mr. Bhardwaj’s commitment to city building was recognized as he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has been named one of “The 50 Most Influential” people in the city by Toronto Life magazine and was named to the Quadrangle Society at Massey College. His corporate governance vision has made Mr. Bhardwaj a sought-after presenter, speaker and media commentator, in Canada and across the globe.

Colin is a Global Independent Board Director and Senior Advisor with board and executive management experiences across US, Europe and Asia. His professional and board experience straddles both consumer and commercial capital & finance sectors.  They include private equity, M&A, and managed investment portfolios with MNCs and government sovereign funds across multiple sectors: renewables, infrastructure, technology, energy, oil & gas, marine and industrials, real estate and healthcare. Leveraging on the extensive experiences at GE as President of GE International and Region Executive for South East Asia, and being one of four GE’s investment Board Director for the Asia Pacific region, Colin joined board training at Insead University in Fontainbleau France in 2012. He attained certification as an International Board Director in Feb 2013 and for Leading from the Chair in March 2014.  Colin was certified (July 2022) in New York as a Climate Change Leader by the Diligent Institute.  This is one of the world’s first structured board program to enable C-Suite Executives and Board Directors to oversee climate change risks and strategy, as well as to meet business challenges and opportunities for climate change.

Colin currently sits on various public and private companies as an Independent Board Director including AET Tankers Limited, a global lessor and owner/operator of a fleet of petroleum tankers (Chairman of the Audit & Risk Management Committee); Jason Marine Group, a telecommunications & SATCOM equipment and services provider for offshore vessels and oil platforms operating in the Asia region; and Advisory Board Member of the Diligent Institute.  He also mentors and coaches public and private companies C-Suite executives on an individual basis.  He is a Fellow of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors and a Lifetime Fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors.  Colin is a member of the INSEAD Director Network, a global network of international board directors and Corporate Governance experts.

Aniel Mahabier is the founder of INOP, the impact driven professional networking platform based on core beliefs, values and interests. A seasoned entrepreneur, innovator and global business executive with extensive experience in building teams, products and sales strategies that transform businesses and accelerate growth, Aniel was the Founder and CEO of CGLytics, a leading global ESG SaaS provider for Corporate Governance & Executive Compensation data analytics, which Diligent Corporation acquired in 2018.

Aniel currently sits on the advisory board of ZMH Advisors, a strategic shareholder advisory and engagement firm; Reward Value; the Diligent Institute and invests in early-stage tech companies. Before CGLytics, he spent 20+ years in the financial services sector in the field of ESG, Human Resources, Business transformation and Corporate Development. He has worked closely with leading investors, corporate boards, and their advisors. Aniel is a frequent speaker at industry events and has provided thought leadership content in multiple publications including Harvard, NBC, Financial Times and Yahoo Finance. Aniel is currently based in Amsterdam.

Lothar Schröder chairs the Innovation Committee of Deutsche Telekom’s Supervisory Board and is also the Chairman of the company’s Data Protection Advisory Board. He serves as a Member of the German Parliament’s Study Commission on Artificial Intelligence and has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of Technology, Work Innovation, Data Security, and IT and Data Processing.

Lothar serves as an advisor in numerous research projects on employee data protection, artificial intelligence and the future of work. His recent publications include:

• “Practice Manual for Artificial Intelligence,” Bund Verlag
• “A warm voice creeps into your ear – The Curses and Blessings of Artificial Intelligence,” Trade Union Answers; VSA publishing house, 2019
• “Human images, visions, norms, and orientations for good work with AI,” published in Latency – Journal of Philosophy and Society, Work and Technology, Art and Culture, Talheimer publishing house 2019
• “The Digital Staircase – Chances and Risks of Digitalization,” Bund Verlag, 2016

Brian Stafford is the chief executive officer at Diligent Corporation, the leader in modern governance providing SaaS solutions across governance, risk, compliance and ESG with more than $500 million in revenue and most recently a $7 billion company valuation. Diligent currently serves more than one million users, from over 25,000 organizations around the globe.

Diligent empowers nearly 80% of the Fortune 500, 90% of the FTSE 100 and 80% of the ASX 200 with SaaS solutions to keep pace with stakeholder expectations and create lasting, positive impact on the world. The company’s innovative GRC platform gives leaders a connected view of governance, risk, compliance and ESG across their organizations, sparking the insights they need to make better decisions and lead with purpose.

Brian assumed the role of CEO in March 2015 and is responsible for all day-to-day operations. Brian has drawn a number of leadership accolades. In 2021, he was recognized by the Stevie Awards as an Executive of the Year in the International Business Awards and he won People Focused CEO of the Year in the Great Employers of the Year Awards.

He previously served as a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he founded and led its Growth Stage Tech Practice. Brian is the co-author of Governance in the Digital Age and serves on the board of directors of Diligent Corporation and Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Brian holds a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in science from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Brian, his wife, and their two young children live in New York City.