Jay Dingwall, President

Jay Dingwall is the founder and principal of Famous Folks Inc., a strategic marketing solutions company with offices in Toronto and Halifax. Jay has developed integrated communications plans and executed successful events in both the United States and Canada. He has worked on Major league Baseball home run record chasing campaigns, NFL Hall of Fame preparations, major Super Bowl events, and the day-to-day managing of many corporations' marketing efforts.

Jay holds a Commerce Degree (Marketing) from Saint Mary's University in Halifax and a Masters of Business Administration from Florida Atlantic University.

A native of Sydney River, Nova Scotia, Jay supports the Easter Seals Society in Toronto and is active in supporting grassroots sporting initiatives promoting healthy living.

Gregory Lam

Gregory brings expertise on developing the community portal, IT infrastructure, and online strategy to the organization. An alumni of McMaster University's Computer Engineering and Management program, he currently is employed as an associate director in Bell Canada's creative agency, District, providing digital media system integration.

Notably, Gregory has coordinated the deployment of next-generation Internet technologies in a regional development project under the Office of the President. Taking place within an isolated northern Ontario community, the express intent of the project was to create new economic, marketing and career opportunities within the local region.

Gregory has also lent a technical perspective on intellectual property matters in the organization and provided strategic insights on emerging technological trends. Recently, Gregory has been granted a USPTO patent on enhanced voicemail systems.

Gregory was born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area where he currently resides with his wife Heather.

Claude Robillard

Claude Robillard is a Managing Partner with Artemis Investment Management Inc. Artemis is an emerging leader in the field of structured products with underlying exposure to alternative assets.

Most recently, Claude was a founding partner of an international asset management company launched in New York that subsequently expanded to Hong Kong and Toronto. He previously held positions within HSBC Bank, RBC Royal Bank, and CIBC, with mandates incorporating alternative asset classes, equity structured products, equity finance and commodity products. He recently co-founded a European-based real estate investment group focused on development and infrastructure projects in Eastern Europe. Claude completed his B. Comm at McGill University and his MBA at TRIUM, an alliance of the London School of Economics and Political Science, HEC Paris, and New York University's Stern School of Business.

Born in Ontario, raised in Nova Scotia, Claude has worked and travelled throughout the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. His favorite destinations are Paris and Chester, Nova Scotia, not in that order.

Erin Michael O'Toole, C.D.

Erin O'Toole is corporate legal counsel at Procter & Gamble Canada, where he is responsible for Canadian litigation matters and serves as legal counsel to the healthcare and beauty business groups at P&G. Erin holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from the Royal Military College of Canada and a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University.

Prior to a career in law, Erin served as a commissioned officer in the Canadian Forces for eight years. He was trained as an Air Navigator in the Canadian Air Force and flew on the Sea King Helicopter as Tactical Officer. During this time, he sailed with the Royal Canadian Navy, most notably aboard HMCS St. John's. Erin was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration (C.D.) in 2003.

Erin is a Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association and serves as a Director of the Albany Club and the Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy.

Born in Montreal, Erin grew up in Bowmanville, Ontario. He kept his Upper Canadian roots hidden for the seven years he lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. While living in Nova Scotia, Erin served on the executive of the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party and co-chaired the election tour of Premier John Hamm in 1999. He lives in the GTA with his wife Rebecca, who is from Fall River, Nova Scotia. They are the proud parents of their young daughter Mollie.

Christopher Crowell

Chris Crowell is the founder of East Coast Connected and a recently repatriated Maritimer; having returned to his native Halifax after seven plus years of living in Toronto. Chris splits his time working between Halifax and Saint John as the Director of Product Development and Brand Management for Brunswick News, the parent company for New Brunswick’s three daily newspapers, Career Beacon and a number of other weekly publications.

Prior to joining Brunswick News, Chris served as the Director of Investments with Social Capital Partners, a Toronto based venture philanthropy organization created to incubate and invest in revenue-generating social enterprises.  Chris also spent six plus years with Bell Canada working in senior leadership roles in Bell's Technology and Consumer Marketing Groups.

Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications from Carleton University; a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Business Administration, both rom Dalhousie University. For his work with East Coast Connected, Chris was named Dalhousie's Outstanding Young Alumnus of 2008.

He is a founding director of Business for the Arts - Arts Scene, and sits on the boards of the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame and Chebucto Wind Fields. Chris remains a member of the Toronto City Summit Alliance's Emerging Leaders Network and is also a proud supporter of Fusion Halifax.

Megan Hooper

Megan Hooper is a Senior Account Executive in the Consumer & Technology practice at Edelman Public Relations in Toronto. Megan provides strategic public relations counsel and support for a number of technology, corporate and consumer clients at Edelman. She specializes in media and analyst relations, event management, written communications and corporate positioning. Megan has worked with a diverse range of clients in the telecom, enterprise, new media, consumer and financial industries.

As a New Brunswick Ambassador, Megan works to bring news of the business and professional opportunities available in the province and Atlantic Region to the rest of Canada.

Megan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and History from the University of New Brunswick.

Born in Fredericton, N.B., the daughter of a military officer, Megan grew up in Fredericton, London, UK, and Ottawa before returning to Fredericton to complete her schooling and attend university. Living "away" has instilled a sense of pride and passion for her hometown, province and region.

Andy Chabassol

Andy Chabassol is part of the Renewable Energy & Sustainability team at Nova Scotia Power. In 2008, he moved home to Halifax after spending the previous 10 years working in San Jose, Chicago & Toronto for a mix of Information Technology & Management Consulting companies that included Capgemini & SAP.

Andy holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Saint Mary's University (1993) and a Master of Business Administration from Dalhousie University (2002), that included taking multiple courses at DePaul's Kellstadt Graduate School of Business in Chicago.

Andy is the Chair & Founder of the Holiday on the Harbour Charity Ball in Halifax (est. 1997). Andy has also sat on the board of Daytrippers Children's Charity since 2004.

James Dodds

James Dodds is an Associate Vice President with TD Bank Financial Group in Toronto. Working directly for the Bank’s Deputy Chair, he is responsible for supporting the Bank’s business development efforts primarily in the area of Wholesale Banking.

James holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance, both from Saint Mary’s University, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Bath, England.

Prior to joining the Bank, James held several senior positions in both the United Kingdom and Canada including Director of Operations to former Prime Minister Joe Clark.

Although born in England, James grew up in Halifax and still very much enjoys returning ‘home’ to the Maritimes.

George O'Neill

George O'Neill is founder and President of O'Neill Real Estate Limited, a real estate investment firm based in Toronto with holdings in Ontario, Quebec, New York and New Brunswick.  He is also a licensed Real Estate Sales Representative with Royal LePage, serving residential, commercial and investment clients.  Prior to founding his own business, George worked for a number of years as a global management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte Consulting.

George holds Bachelor and Master Degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick, along with a Master of Business Administration degree from Queen's University. George is active in the local community supporting various charities and organizations and also sits on the boards of two privately owned companies.  He is an adjunct professor at Humber College where he has taught an evening economics course for a number of years.

Although George has not lived in New Brunswick for over 20 years, he visits often and is proud of his heritage, where most of his family still resides.

Jeff Muzzerall

Jeff Muzzerall is the Director of the Corporate Connections Centre at the Rotman School of Management. He develops and maintains strategic recruiting relationships with senior executives globally in order to attract and connect employers seeking to hire MBA students and alumni from Rotman. Jeff also leads international recruiting treks and coaches students, and senior alumni to market them to the global business community.

Jeff has previously held positions with Brendan Wood International, The Ivey School of Business, and Moosehead Breweries, with responsibilities ranging from Sales and Marketing to Investment Research and Relationship Management. Jeff holds an Honours BA in English and Mass Communications and a Master of Environmental Studies from York University as well as an MBA from Wilfred Laurier.

Between fly-fishing retreats on the Miramichi, he volunteers as Chair of The International Resource Centre for the Performing Arts, a non-profit, charitable organization, whose mandate is to help freelance classical performing artists make the transition from graduation to steady employment and is an active member of the Academic Committee of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance.

Ted Graham

As a director at Interbrand, Ted believes that brand building is about the world of possibilities, uncovering and fulfilling unmet needs and generally seeing the world as it could be – not just as it is today.

Prior to joining Interbrand, Ted was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company's strategy practice where he consulted to top management on a variety of strategic and organizational issues. He also served as Chief Knowledge Officer at Hill & Knowlton. Among his many accomplishments during his tenure there, Ted developed “HK.NET,” an award-winning global knowledge management system. A firm believer in the value of networks, Ted created a premium research product called “Influencer Network Analysis,” or INA, to map the relationships between the individuals, media, and organizations that are shaping opinions across various industries and realms of public life. INA was nominated for an “innovation of the year” award by PR Week.

Ted, who has a BA from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Queen’s University, is also a former magazine publisher and journalist.