Navigating Geopolitical Risks: Boards Adapting to Change

February 12, 2025

In this session, we’ll discuss how boards are navigating heightened responsibilities in a rapidly changing business and geopolitical landscape. The panel will explore the critical aspects of the board’s oversight role, focusing on the growing significance of political shifts, regulatory changes, cross-border relationships, and international agreements.
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Our Fireside Chat Features:


Darlene Gates

President and Chief Executive Officer, MEG Energy


Jim Bertram

Board Chair, Keyera Corp.


Todd Hirsch

Economist, Former Vice President & Chief Economist at ATB 

Moderated by:


Aalia Ratani

Partner, McKinsey & Company

We are thrilled to invite you to join our upcoming Board Ready Women event on February 12th from 4:00 to 7:00 pm (MT). We are hosting this event in person and virtually. In-person registration starts at 4:00 pm, with the panel starting at 4:30 pm, followed by cocktails and networking. Virtual networking rooms will also be available after the panel discussion.

 

Please note that in-person attendance is limited so we encourage you to register early to secure your spot.

Join us for an engaging panel conversation on ‘Navigating Geopolitical Risks: Boards Adapting to Change,’ featuring Darlene Gates, Jim Bertram, and Todd Hirsch, moderated by Aalia Ratani.

 

In this session, we’ll discuss how boards are navigating heightened responsibilities in a rapidly changing business and geopolitical landscape. The panel will explore the critical aspects of the board’s oversight role, focusing on the growing significance of political shifts, regulatory changes, cross-border relationships, and international agreements. We will also look at how these factors are reshaping governance and influencing strategic decision-making in the complex world of global politics, economics, and business. 

 

Board Ready Women is grateful to McKinsey for sponsoring this discussion:

McKinsey is a global management consulting firm committed to helping organizations accelerate sustainable and inclusive growth. McKinsey works with clients across the private, public, and social sectors to solve complex problems and create positive change for all their stakeholders, combining bold strategies and transformative technologies to help organizations innovate more sustainably, achieve lasting gains in performance, and build workforces that will thrive for this generation and the next.

 

BRW Network Members/Associates:

 Free

Non-members:

In-person $75/person

Virtual $45/person

(All ticket sales are final and cannot be refunded or exchanged)

 

To sign-up for Board Ready Women Network membership: 

https://boardreadywomen.com/sign-up-for-board-ready-women/

Should you have any questions, please direct them to boardreadywomen@gmail.com.

 

Board Ready Women is grateful to McCarthy Tétrault for their ongoing support and generosity.

 

Register Here


Speakers' Bios:

Jim Bertram


Board Chair, Keyera Corp.

Mr. Bertram has served as a non-executive director since March 2015. He is Chair of the Board of Keyera Corp., and serves as director of Methanex Corporation and Emera Inc.

He was also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Keyera from 2003 until 2015 when he became Executive Chair. During this time, Mr. Bertram led the company in significant growth and major acquisitions while enabling consistent delivery of value to customers and shareholders. He retired as an officer of Keyera in 2016.

Previously, Mr. Bertram was Vice President of Marketing for Gulf Canada Ltd. and Vice President of Marketing for Amerada Hess Canada Ltd.

Mr. Bertram holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary and an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. With over 35 years’ experience in the energy sector, he brings extensive midstream, marketing, upstream and corporate governance experience to the boards he serves.

Todd Hirsch


Economist, Professional Speaker and Author


Vice President and Chief Economist for ATB Financial

Todd Hirsch is a professional speaker, economist and author. For over 15 years, he served as the Vice President and Chief Economist for ATB Financial. He’s also worked as an economist for the Bank of Canada, and taught economics at the University of Calgary.

He is the author of four books. His latest, Spiders in COVID Space: Adapting During and After the Pandemic, was released in 2021.

A strong advocate of the arts and culture, Todd served on the board of Calgary’s Glenbow Museum, and was previously on the boards of Calgary Arts Academy, Alberta Ballet and the University of Calgary.

Todd is now a professional keynote speaker at conferences and events around North America. More information can be found at his website, toddhirsch.com

Darlene Gates


President and Chief Executive Officer, MEG Energy

Darlene is the President & Chief Executive Officer and a director of MEG Energy. She was the Chief Operating Officer of MEG from 2021. Prior to joining MEG in 2021, Darlene served as the President of ExxonMobil Alaska. She has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas sector, including global leadership roles. Darlene has progressed through many technical, managerial, financial and operating positions in Canada, US, Germany, and Qatar, leading to running Imperial Oil’s Cold Lake asset, one of the largest thermal in-situ operations in the world. She holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Victoria and is a registered professional engineer in Alberta. Darlene is a member of the RCAF Command Advisory Council and 4 Wing’s Honorary Colonel. She has also been on numerous charitable and industry boards.

Aalia Ratani


Partner, McKinsey & Company

Coming soon…