Stephen Bailey
Chief Marketing Officer, John Fluevog Shoes

Stephen Bailey is a marketing mastermind (according to his mother) with the soul of an entrepreneur and the energy of a double espresso. He turns brands into cult favourites, makes friends along the way, and has spent his career driving growth, sparking conversations, and making waves in the industry, all while apologizing like a good Canadian.

For Stephen, marketing is anything but boring. Whether he’s crafting campaigns that actually get noticed, building partnerships that matter, or mentoring the next generation of marketing pros, Stephen brings energy, strategy, and just the right amount of mischief to the table. When he’s not doing that, he’s busy coaching soccer, and surviving life with what he refers jokingly to as his two horrible teenagers—who, if nothing else, keep his negotiation skills razor-sharp. If you want to talk marketing, brand loyalty, partnerships, or just swap witty banter, he’s your guy.

Ken Clark
Editor-in-Chief, Hardware & Building Supply Dealer

Ken Clark is the editorial lead at Hardware & Building Supply Dealer magazine, where he has helped cover the business of hardware retailing and building products distribution since 2006. A keen observer of the U.S. retail home improvement industry, Ken has a thoughtful—and entertaining—perspective on what’s going on in this industry south of the border.

A product of Indiana’s public schools and Indiana University, Ken now lives in New Jersey, where he is the occasional and entertaining host of “Ken’s New Jersey Garage,” a YouTube series for his magazine that features new products being used with wit and aplomb by Ken himself.

Nicole Gallucci
Founder, In Good Company

Nicole Gallucci is a “been there, done that” strategist, global business coach, bestselling author, investor, professor, and serial entrepreneur with a singular mission: to help ambitious founders and leaders build the life and business they were meant for.

With over 30 years of experience leading brands, building ventures, and scaling teams, Nicole brings unmatched clarity, strategy, and action to the table. Her proprietary Life & Work Blueprint™ frameworks—featured in her bestselling books Life Blueprint and How To Do Life—have helped thousands of entrepreneurs and professionals design extraordinary lives and achieve breakthrough business results.

Whether she’s coaching high-impact leaders, speaking on global stages, or advising founders on scaling sustainably, Nicole blends sharp business acumen with powerful mindset mastery to unlock next-level growth.

David Ian Gray
Retail Strategic Advisor, Founder DIG360 and INBOW Holdings

David Ian Gray is a recognized expert on retail trends, landing in Rethink Retail’s Global Top 100. He has consistently produced high-impact intel for over 26 years that separates substance from hype, causes from symptoms. He provides fresh counsel in Canada to senior leaders on defining customer relevance, rethinking customer experience, and tailoring roadmaps for evolving their retail and DTC concepts.

Widely sought for comment by business media, David presents regularly on critical shifts in the retail ecosystem and the reasons for them. He co-founded the pandemic podcast The Business of Retail and has taught senior executives with the prestigious London Business School and the next generation of talent at Canadian business schools.

Bob MacMillan
Store Manager, RONA+ Kingston

Bob is the Store Manager of the RONA+ location in Kingston, Ontario.  Having joined in 2017, Bob has 8 years with Rona in various Management roles and several store formats including Home and Garden and Conversion stores.  Bob’s entire career has been in Management in the Big Box retail setting and has spanned 20+ years thus far.

Sophie Marai
Vice President, Client Strategy, Environics Analytics

Sophie Marai is a seasoned executive with over 15 years of leadership experience driving transformative growth across the retail and consumer packaged goods sectors. She has held pivotal roles at industry leaders including Walmart, Loblaws, and Home Depot, where she spearheaded enterprise-wide initiatives in customer strategy, assortment optimization, store format innovation, and integrated marketing.

With her passion for solving complex business challenges, Sophie has led cross-functional teams to deliver measurable outcomes in market expansion, customer development, and end-to-end growth management. Her expertise in market gap analysis and customer-centric innovation continues to shape high-impact strategies that elevate performance and unlock long-term value.

Joel Seibert
Owner, Client & Business Development Manager, Mountain View Group of Companies

Joel Seibert joined Mountain View Building Materials at the end of 2009 and began working with the team that has grown Mountain View to its current success selling to both contractors and DIYers in the Calgary market. He started out taking orders, processing, and delivering orders. Today, Joel’s role is dedicated to client and business development. At home, he is devoted to his amazing wife of 23 years and three awesome kids. Given what this Industry has provided to him and his family, Joel continues to look for ways to give back in return.

Dan Tratensek
Chief Operating Officer, North American Hardware & Paint Association

Dan Tratensek is the Chief Operating Officer for the North American Hardware and Paint Association.

NHPA is a 125-year-old, not-for-profit trade organization representing independent retailers in the $500+ billion home improvement, paint and decorating industry throughout the United States and Canada.

In addition to creating training resources, holding conferences, and conducting market research and live events, NHPA also manages the industry’s two leading media brands—Hardware Retailing and Paint and Decorating Retailer.

In the nearly 30 years he has been with NHPA, Dan has had the opportunity to visit with independent retailers of all types and sizes and shape the association’s content, training, and research to meet the needs of its members.

Prior to his current position, Dan worked in a variety of roles for the association and has been involved in business journalism and news reporting for more than three decades.