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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260414T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260414T210000
DTSTAMP:20261003T192100
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SUMMARY:Behind The Mic - Winning Corporate Business
DESCRIPTION:Winning corporate business requires understanding how leaders think\, what challenges they face\, and where external partners can add value. \nIn this one-hour virtual session\, hosts Rob Rudy and Ross Saunders sit down with Paul Bognar for a live Q&A on leading and growing a national service business. Paul will briefly share his leadership context\, followed by a focused discussion on the real pressures companies face today. \nThe conversation will explore issues such as managing a people-driven operation with high turnover\, maintaining service consistency across multiple locations\, responding to instant customer feedback\, competing in crowded markets\, and navigating rising costs and uncertainty. It will also look at how organizations continue to evolve as customer behaviour shifts. \nEach challenge will be examined through a practical lens. Where is the opportunity for a speaker\, trainer\, or advisor to help? What problems are worth solving? What topics matter? How do you approach a company like this and get in front of decision-makers \nThe session is primarily Q&A\, with Rob and Ross leading the discussion and participants contributing questions through the chat. The goal is to help members connect real business challenges to clear opportunities for their work. \nParticipants will leave with a sharper view on how to position themselves\, how to align their expertise to actual needs\, and how to engage corporate clients in a way that leads to meaningful work. \n \n  \n\n\n\n\nPaul Bognar \nPaul J. Bognar is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Service Inspired Restaurants. Paul joined SIR Corp in 2012\, driven by his passion for people and hospitality\, and is at the center of the company’s culture. Paul has been the driver of improved processes focused on operational excellence and leadership development. Paul’s commitment to the company’s values and promises extends to both employees and the supplier community. \nPaul has been very active bringing visibility to the hospitality industry at both a Provincial and Federal level with a number of proposals and recommendations to ensure the success of the industry. \nSIR Corp consists of several brands\, most notably Jack Astor’s\, Scaddabush\, RED’S\, Edna+Vita\, Loose Moose and Duke’s. The company employs just over 4\,400 team members across its 55 locations\, generating over $320M in revenue.\nPrior to joining the hospitality industry\, Paul was the President of Simmons Bedding Company Canada\, Senior Vice-President of Maytag Corp.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n  \n\n 
URL:https://www.canadianspeakers.org/event/caps-behind-the-mic-april-2026/
CATEGORIES:Behind the Mic,CAPS National
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260519T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260519T210000
DTSTAMP:20261003T192100
CREATED:20260330T135409Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260519T230523Z
UID:10000267-1779220800-1779224400@www.canadianspeakers.org
SUMMARY:Behind The Mic - Reinventing Your Life\, Your Message\, and Your Market
DESCRIPTION:In this powerful\, story-driven session\, Executive Speaker Coach Samantha Kris shares her journey of reinventing her life and business\, from leaving behind a version of success that no longer aligned to building a new chapter in the U.S. market. Along the way\, she reveals what reinvention actually looks like behind the scenes and how to navigate the uncertainty that comes with it. \nFollowing her story will be a candid conversation with Rob Rudy\, where they will explore: \n\nWhy expanding into new markets requires an evolution of identity\, not just strategy\nHow strategic relationships can accelerate your next level\nWhat it feels like to enter a new arena\nWhether you’re refining your message\, exploring new markets\, or feeling the pull toward something more\, this session will help you move forward with clarity\, alignment\, and confidence.\nBecause the next level of your speaking business… requires the next version of you.\n\n  \n \n  \nSamantha Kris is the Founder of Stride\, a boutique communications firm trusted by some of today’s leading impact-driven CEO’s and thought leaders. She is also an author\, speaker\, and Certified Reinvention Practitioner. Real Leaders recently awarded Samantha as a Top Executive Coach\, and Microsoft recognized her as a Top 10 Leading Speaker to follow in 2025. She has the #1 TEDx talk on goal setting and has an ambitious goal of impacting 1 million people through the power of storytelling this year.
URL:https://www.canadianspeakers.org/event/caps-behind-the-mic-may-19-2026/
CATEGORIES:Behind the Mic,CAPS National
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260616T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260616T210000
DTSTAMP:20261003T192100
CREATED:20260330T135505Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260616T200708Z
UID:10000268-1781640000-1781643600@www.canadianspeakers.org
SUMMARY:Behind The Mic - Your New Business Card - The Benefits of Self Publishing Your Book
DESCRIPTION:In this presentation\, we delve into the advantages of creating your own book as a strategic tool for business growth and provide insights into utilizing your book as a dynamic marketing tool.\nWe’ll briefly overview where to start\, elements of a great entrepreneurial book\, and explain how self publishing can be more beneficial to your business than going the traditional route as well as what services are available to you when choosing to work with a professional services company. \nFrom there\, we’ll dive into the benefits a book has to your brand\, and cover some effective marketing ideas to maximize its impact on your speaking career.\nYou’ll leave this presentation with the inspiration and next actionable steps to create and harness the potential of your next self published book to help you elevate your brand. \nGiveaway:\nWe will be giving away an Editor’s Manuscript Evaluation to one lucky attendee. Attendees can opt into the giveaway during the presentation via QR code or link. \n\n\n\n \nPresenter\nEmily Perkins \n\n \nEmily Perkins is the Senior Publishing Consultant at FriesenPress – the largest publishing services provider in Canada. Her publishing career spans over 20 years – and the globe. She spent years in Amsterdam working in graphic design and later worked as a typesetter and proofreader in the financial printing industry. \nEmily’s eclectic experience allows her to provide a holistic approach to her part in guiding the FriesenPress sales team\, which ensures authors self-publish the best possible books.
URL:https://www.canadianspeakers.org/event/caps-behind-the-mic-june-2026/
CATEGORIES:Behind the Mic,CAPS National
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20260915T184500
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20260915T201000
DTSTAMP:20261003T192100
CREATED:20260330T135752Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260908T191638Z
UID:10000269-1789497900-1789503000@www.canadianspeakers.org
SUMMARY:Behind The Mic - Open Innovation - Here\, there and everywhere
DESCRIPTION:Join hosts Rob Rudy and Ross Saunders with Mike Rubenstein for a conversation on how innovation actually gets applied — from leading the innovation team across Rio Tinto Alcan\, where Mike built his understanding\, to the smaller companies across different industries where he’s applied it since. The takeaways are industry agnostic.\nFor our members —  trainers\, keynote speakers\, coaches\, consultants\,  the conversation turns to how we bring that same innovation into our own businesses\, so clients keep choosing us\, no matter which industry we’re each in. \n \nSession Title:\nOpen Innovation – “Here\, there and everywhere” \nSession Description \nOpen innovation recognizes that world-class ideas rarely observe corporate boundary lines. Instead of relying exclusively on centralized R&D labs\, modern organizations activate an interconnected ecosystem—unlocking insights from internal workforces\, supply chains\, customer bases\, and global technology networks. \nCore Pillars of the Ecosystem \n\nEmployees as Internal Consumers: Workers engage with products\, packaging\, and workflows daily as end-users. Tapping into front-line workforce insights yields rapid\, low-friction feedback on operational bottlenecks\, usability\, and product improvements before reaching the market.\nSuppliers & Value-Chain Partners: Co-developing solutions with material\, equipment\, and logistics suppliers shifts relationships from transactional procurement to strategic co-creation\, accelerating speed-to-market and lowering technical risk.\nExternal Innovation Networks: Partnering with startups\, research universities\, and specialized technology hubs grants direct access to specialized IP\, emerging science\, and agile development capabilities.\nCustomer & User Communities: Involving corporate customers early through joint development initiatives ensures alignment with real-world demand and market adoption goals.\n\n \nMichael Rubenstein is currently President & CEO of Rubenstein& Advisory\, a boutique advisory firm helping companies reach their full potential through strategy\, culture\, change management\, leadership development\, operational excellence and value creation. \nHe serves as Independent Board Chairman of Freshr Technologies\, a Board Observer for Vision Group\, and an Advisory Board Member of Hyperion Global Cities. He was previously a Director of Art Souterrain\, a non-profit organization whose mission is to make art more accessible\, and an Independent Director of the Board of Directors of Scotia Investments Ltd. and Blomidon Investments\, overseeing seven companies in biomedical\, energy\, recycling and packaging. \nMost recently\, he was Operating Partner\, Private Equity Québec for CDPQ\, the third-largest pension fund manager in the world\, where he worked with CEOs and leadership teams of portfolio companies to maximize value across the investment lifecycle\, including M&A activity\, strategy\, operating models\, human capital and ESG. \nPrior\, he was President and CEO of Biomod\, a biotech company whose patented technology was used in the manufacturing of dry facial masks. Previously\, he was Chief Operating Officer of Magil Laurentienne\, a Montreal-based\, integrated real estate company\, where he led a culture change\, restructured the organization and drove significant development projects. \nMichael held senior leadership roles in the packaging industry with Rio Tinto’s Alcan Packaging\, a US$6.5 billion world leader in specialty packaging with 131 facilities and 29\,000 team members in 31 countries. As Chief Growth and Innovation Officer\, he created the company’s Growth and Innovation vision and spearheaded a Global Account Management model with partners including Johnson & Johnson\, Kraft\, Unilever\, Danone and Procter & Gamble\, signing $350 million in multi-year global contracts.
URL:https://www.canadianspeakers.org/event/open-innovation-here-there-and-everywhere/
CATEGORIES:Behind the Mic,CAPS National
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20261020T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20261020T210000
DTSTAMP:20261003T192100
CREATED:20260330T140305Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T140239Z
UID:10000271-1792526400-1792530000@www.canadianspeakers.org
SUMMARY:Behind The Mic - SAVE THE DATE
DESCRIPTION:CAPS Behind the Mic is our amazing monthly online speaker event. Members and non-members alike can gain access to pre-event networking and business-building programming from some of the speaking industry’s best teachers and leaders. \nSave the date! Check back for details. \nVisit the Behind the Mic page for details on the next event and for a sneak peek at some of the content we cover. \nhttps://www.canadianspeakers.org/events/#behind-the-mic \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://www.canadianspeakers.org/event/caps-behind-the-mic-november-2026/
CATEGORIES:Behind the Mic,CAPS National
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