Ethics Symposium Speaker Bios

Cathy is EY’s Global Responsible AI Co-Lead and Canadian Technology Assurance Leader. In these roles, she helps corporate executives and Directors understand and manage business risks related to technology in the Transformative Age, including the ethical and control implications of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems. She currently serves on a number of technical advisory committees to develop industry and regulatory standards for safe and reliable AI. 

Melissa Robertson

Melissa Robertson is a Principal in the Research & Thought Leadership team at Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada). In this role, she leads CPA Canada’s Audit & Assurance Technology Committee and spearheads research and thought leadership initiatives related to emerging trends, innovation, and technology. Melissa is also an active member of the Standards Council of Canada’s Data Governance and Artificial Intelligence Standardization Collaborative and leads CPA Canada’s research and thought leadership projects on artificial intelligence.

Before joining CPA Canada, Melissa held various positions at PwC, where her responsibilities spanned data analytics & automation, IT and internal control audit and advisory, corporate and data governance, financial audit, and other risk assurance services. Her experience includes working with a diverse range of private, non-profit, and public sector clients including across the Canadian federal government.

Theo’s teaching and research focus is on data analytics and emerging technologies. His research has been published in The Accounting Review, JMIS, Communications of the ACM, Journal of Information Systems, Information & Management, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, IJAIS, and Accounting Horizons. Prof. Stratopoulos has authored numerous articles and open-source texts on data analytics and blockchain (see SSRN). He is a member of the CPA Canada - Audit Data Analytics committee and senior editor for the Journal of information Systems.

Taryn Abate is the Director of Research and Thought Leadership at CPA Canada. In this role, she builds strategies for exploring emerging issues impacting the CPA profession and works with a team of professionals to execute research and develop thought leadership that guide future directions for the profession. Key areas of focus include sustainability reporting and data and technology. Previously, Taryn held the role of Director of Audit and Assurance within Research, Guidance and Support overseeing the development of guidance and thought leadership for new and complex audit and assurance standards as well as resources regarding the impact of technology on the audit and assurance profession. She worked with MNP LLPs public company auditing practice prior to joining CPA Canada.

Brian Harward is a Principal Research Scientist at Ethical Systems, where he combines psychology and advanced analytics to evaluate ethical dimensions of company culture. Housed in NYU Stern’s Business and Society Program, Ethical Systems’s mission is to harness research, from leaders in academia, to transform the ethical practice of business in the corporate world.

Brian is the lead author of CPA Canada’s recent publication, in partnership with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS),  Navigating Ethical Systems: How professional accountants can drive ethical behaviour.

As an Associate Investment Counsellor at RBC PH&N Investment Counsel, Mohsin brings over 20 years' industry experience to his role.

Prior to joining RBC PH&N Investment Counsel as Regional Manager, Governance in 2019, Mohsin was VP of Investments and Portfolio Manager at a boutique investment management firm in Toronto, where he managed over $800 million in discretionary assets including the firm's multi-award-winning Dividend Growth and Global Balanced funds.

He also held roles of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer working for an independent Toronto-based hedge fund.

Mohsin is also an Assistant Professor in the University of Waterloo's School of Accounting and Finance and an active member of the Toronto CFA Society University Relations Committee.

Taylor’s practice includes all areas of corporate income tax planning, with a particular emphasis on cross-border and domestic mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, corporate finance, and international tax issues. Taylor also assists in the resolution of tax disputes related to such issues. Taylor is called to the bar in both Ontario and New York State, and has completed the Canadian Bar Association’s Tax Law for Lawyers and CPA Canada’s In-Depth Tax Course.

Taylor graduated with distinction from the J.D. program at the University of Toronto. Prior to law school, Taylor attended the University of Waterloo, where he completed a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology/Chartered Accountancy and a Master of Accounting. Taylor is also an accomplished classical pianist, and he enjoys performing both as a soloist and as part of chamber music groups.

Yaser Faizi brings over 10 years of experience in the commercial and personal financial services sector and to his role as a Private Banker, where he provides customized wealth management advice and solutions to families in the Greater Toronto Area.

Yaser offers an extensive background in client relationship to his role as Private Banker. In his most recent role as Sr. Relationship Manager, Yaser managed a portfolio of complex commercial clients with sophisticated credit structures and revenues between $10 Million to $100 Million. By partnering with a group of RBC wealth management experts, Yaser has access to specialists to work collaboratively to provide a complete range of services, including financial planning, business and commercial banking, estate planning, domestic and international trust and Investment Management. When necessary, he will work with his client's other professional advisors to deliver comprehensive financial solutions.

Based in Richmond Hill, Yaser works with a select number of clients in York and Peel Region to address their often-complex banking, credit and wealth management needs by providing tailored seamless banking and financial solutions.

Yaser is holds Bachelor of Business Administration, and he has continued to deepen his knowledge and expertise with key industry designations such as Personal Financial Planning and Investment Funds in Canada, and Financial Analysis.

Yaser is married, with 2 daughters, and enjoys spending time with family, traveling, golfing and playing soccer as well as watching movies and sports.

Lucy is currently Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance at OMERS, one of Canada's “Maple 8” pension funds with more than $130 billion in assets. Lucy previously held senior financial leadership roles most recently as Vice President, Financial Reporting, at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), and has previously worked at BMO, TMX and PwC, and as well as a tenure as an international accounting standard setter.

In addition, Lucy serves as the Chair of the Finance, Audit and Property Committee on the Board of Governors for Sheridan College, and as a member of the Investment Committee of the Ontario Hospital Association representing 154 public hospitals in Ontario. Lucy is a CPA, CA, and has a Master of Accounting and Bachelor of Accounting and Financial Management both from the University of Waterloo.