NOTRE DAME
BUSINESS LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
21ST ANNUAL
2023 Business
Keynote Panel
Eric Smith
Eric Smith just finished his 25th season working Toronto Raptors broadcasts on Sportsnet 590 The FAN and his 9th covering games on Sportsnet TV. He completed his 9th season as the radio play-by-play voice following nine campaigns as the radio color analyst. He has served as host of the pre, half and post game shows since 1997.
Erin Richardson
Erin Richardson is a PhD student in Bioastronautics at the University of Colorado Boulder researching human-autonomy teaming for space habitat design. She graduated from ND and attended U of T for aerospace engineering, where she worked on various projects including a space rover, and aspires to travel to space one day.
Sean Leathong
Sean Leathong, An ND graduate, is a video journalist for CTV News Toronto that started his career with the company in April of 2016.
Kelly Samuel
Kelly Samuel, founder of Let’s Snack Toronto, is a seasoned social media marketer having worked in this space since before the monetization of Facebook in 2007. She has founded two different social media agencies, first Qode Social, and now Let’s Snack Toronto Inc.
Carlos Bustamante
Carlos Bustamante is a reporter for ET Canada, former host of the YTV show “The Zone” and has won 2 Canadian screen awards for his work on “The Next Star".
Session Speakers
Erika Casupanan
Erika Casupanan is a media personality, public speaker, podcast host and writer. As the winner of SURVIVOR 41, she became the franchise’s first Canadian and first Filipino winner. Away from the show, is the host, creator and executive producer of the Happy to See Me podcast which celebrates the people behind the public personas.
Brittany Maclean
Brittany Maclean is a former two-time Olympic swimmer from Etobicoke, winning the Olympic Bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Games as a member of the 4x200 Freestyle relay team, and currently works for CBC sports.
Joe Fornasier
Joe Fornasier is 19-year-old Team Canada blind hockey player, social media influencer, and motivational speaker. His mission is to provide hope to people struggling with disabilities and mental health and break down these barriers.
Shaka Fonderson
Shaka Fonderson was born in Liberia and moved to Canada when he was 10, and eventually attended Holy Trinity in Oakville. He played football throughout high school and into university, having attended the University of Toronto on an athletic scholarship then transferred to George Brown College after his second year. He would complete his degree there and later launched his business, Beyond the Game.
Ron Foxcroft
Ron Foxcroft was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2019. He was named Entrepreneur of the Decade by Profit Magazine and named to the Burlington Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. He has been named Citizen of the Year in both Hamilton & Burlington. He received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from McMaster University. He is world renown as a basketball referee with a distinguished career officiating NCAA Basketball and serving 21 seasons with the NBA.
Brendan Griffin
Brendan Griffin is an aerospace engineering student at Carleton University, specializing in rocket propulsion and space launch vehicles. He is the President of the university’s rocket engineering design team, CU InSpace, composed of 160 graduate students that have the goal of designing, building, and flying high-power rockets at international competitions against other universities.
Sarah Jenkins
Sarah Jenkins is a 26 year old Producer, content creator, and podcast host, where she has been nominated for a Screen Award as a Producer at CBC Sports and Olympics focusing on special projects and digital content.
Camila Izquirerdo
Camila is a soon-to-be graduated computer engineer at Queen’s University, who has been involved in many on-campus activities including AI consulting and Formula SAE car construction
