Global Chamber® Beyond Borders: Opportunities in Toronto and Canada

Global Chamber® Beyond Borders:

Opportunities in Toronto and Canada

Date: Thursday, January 29th
In Person Time: 5pm - 8pm ET with Program and Networking
Location: Trowbridge, 1 King Street West, Suite 1201. Toronto, ON M5H 1A1

Virtual Time: 6pm - 7:30pm with Program Only (Zoom link provided in registration); Start 6pm ET / 3pm PT / 4pm MT / 5pm CT / 8am next day Japan

Oh, Canada! Grow Globally!

Discover growth opportunities to and from Toronto... and across Canada... and the world. 

Hosted in-person by Trowbridge in Downtown Toronto. Join us for 2-1/2 hours of essential information and global business connecting to grow in 2026, including 90 minutes of essential information from global leaders... to be global and UNSTOPPABLE!

Agenda January 29th

• 5pm - 6pm ET In-person Connecting / food and beverage by BMO
• 6pm - 7:30pm ET In-person and Zoom Beyond Borders
• 7:30pm - 8pm ET In-person Connecting (continued) / FNB by BMO

Beyond Borders

• Global Opportunities 2026 - Doug Bruhnke, founder/CEO at Global Chamber
• Economic Forecast 2026 - Carol Schleif, Chief Market Strategist at BMO
• Implementing Global Success - Ernie Nagratha, Managing Director at Trowbridge
• Building a Successful Global Team - Elliot Altland, Global Expansion Advisor at GoGlobal
• Success with Outsourcing Your Team - Chris Yap, founder/CEO at Gabtech
• Be an Effective Exporter and Global Leader - Lora Rigutto, Community Lead at FITT
• Scaling Language Access - Brogan Taylor, Chairman/CEO at Stillman Solutions
• Canada and Japan Success - Tomoko King, Japan-Canada Advisor at Tomoko King Advisory

2026 is a pivotal year for businesses in Canada, as the shifts in market dynamic continue and progress to discover and capture new opportunities continues in earnest. 

We'll be sharing the opportunities and outlook - with Doug Bruhnke of Global Chamber and Carol Schleif of BMO. We'll also explore how to best grow globally... with essential information from Ernie Nagratha at Trowbridge, Elliot Altland of GoGlobal and Chris Yap at Gabtech.

We'll also hear from Lora Rigutto of FITT on how to tap into the resources you need to grow globally. Additional speaker including Brogan Taylor of Stillman Solutions Team and Tomoko King of Tomoko King Consulting and Advisory.

Grow beyond borders! This is an in-person event with a zoom link for remote participants.

Who should attend?

--> Leaders looking to be ever MORE successful in their growth across Canada and beyond. 

Sponsors

• Trowbridge Professional Services
• GoGlobal
• BMO

Speakers

Arun (Ernie) Nagratha - Managing Directort at Trowbridge Professional Corporation

Ernie Nagratha is a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant, specializing in expatriate taxation as it relates to Canadians living and working around the world. Ernie joined Trowbridge Professional Corporation as a founding partner shortly after its inception in 2002 to build the firm’s expatriate tax services practice. As a former expat living and working abroad, Ernie’s real-life knowledge combined with his in-depth tax expertise has resulted in a growing international client base. Ernie shares his love of business and helping people when he travels the globe speaking to Canadian expats on how to navigate the often complex world of international tax.

Ernie has completed levels I and II of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants In-depth Taxation Program and is a current member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. Ernie graduated with his Bachelor of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto.

 

 

Carol Schleif, CFA, FSA - Chief Market Strategist, BMO Private Wealth

 

Carol Schleif is the Chief Market Strategist of BMO Private Wealth, an integrated wealth management provider that serves ultra-affluent individuals, families and family offices across their tax, estate, investment, philanthropic, risk and family capital needs. She is a voting member of the Asset Allocation Work Group and Investment Committee as well as leading the Senior Investment Advisory Council for BMO Wealth Management.

Carol is an experienced investment leader with 40 years in the industry and has worked extensively with ultra-affluent families in the management and oversight of their investments. She has a deep understanding of the markets and portfolio construction and management across asset classes. She is a sought-after speaker and thought leader, and a frequent contributor to Bloomberg, Reuters and other financial media.

Prior to joining BMO Family Office, Carol served as Deputy Chief Investment Officer with Abbot Downing. In this role, she oversaw several key initiatives at the firm and drove product and content development. She led the Private Wealth Management Investment Strategy work stream. She also launched and led mentoring and training programs to enhance career development for asset management employees.

Carol serves on the joint board of trustees for the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University where she co-chairs both endowments’ investment committees. She also serves on the University of Minnesota Discovery Capital Advisory Board and the Hamline University Finance Curriculum Advisory Committee.

Carol earned her MBA from Hamline University. She earned undergraduate degrees in both business administration and equestrian science from William Woods College, where she graduated salutatorian and summa cum laude. She has also earned the Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) and Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) designations.

 

 

Elliot Altand - Associate Director at GoGlobal 

 

Elliott Altland is an Associate Director at GoGlobal, where he supports teams across the U.S. and Canada in expanding internationally. He specializes in Employer of Record (EOR) services, international contractor management and foreign entity incorporation, helping organizations build and manage teams with confidence anywhere in the world.  

 

 

Chris Yap is the CEO and Founder of Gabtech Global

Chris Yap is the CEO and Founder of Gabtech Global, a rapidly growing remote staffing company that scaled from two team members to one of the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America. With a background marked by resilience and an unwavering commitment to impact, Chris has built a global organization that empowers businesses through talent, systems, and sustainable growth practices.

Recognized as a Titan 100 CEO and an Outstanding Alumnus of San Beda University, Chris is known for his clear strategic thinking, values-driven leadership, and ability to simplify complex growth challenges for entrepreneurs and executives worldwide. He has helped organizations streamline operations, strengthen culture, and scale without sacrificing the wellbeing of their people.

Beyond business, Chris is deeply committed to mentorship, global collaboration, and building opportunities for emerging leaders across borders. He believes that growth is most powerful when it uplifts both companies and the communities around them. 

 

Lora Rigutto - Partnerships and Community Lead at Forum for International Trade Training (FITT)

 

Lora Rigutto, CITP®, is an international business development "Coach".  She has a passion for international trade and 25+ years of experience guiding businesses through the complexities of global business expansion, including more than a decade as Trade Advisor with ProChile - the Trade Commission of Chile in Toronto. As a Certified International Trade Professional - CITP, and an ICC certified Incoterms® 2020 Trainer for Canada, she brings expertise in the application of the terms of trade for the sale of goods into international markets. Currently she is the Partnerships and Community Lead at the Forum for International Trade Training – FITT.  In addition, she is an adjunct professor teaching a variety of international business management courses and a proud member of the Organization of Women in International Trade – Toronto (OWIT). 

 

Brogan Taylor, MBA - CEO at Stillman Solutions Team

 

Brogan Taylor is the CEO of Stillman Solutions Team, an Integrated Language Ops Solution Provider with operations spanning the Americas, Europe and Egypt. Stillman’s solutions include global multi-lingual communications managed services which feature system integrations, workflow optimization and automation, process management, quality assurance, regulatory and privacy compliance. Stillman is ISO certified to deliver scalable, high-quality translation, localization, data annotation, digital marketing and graphic design services.

 

Prior to relocating to London, ON Mr. Taylor spent 15+ years as a corporate finance professional in several different capacities based in Toronto. His extensive experience spans the industry and includes private equity investing in financial restructurings and operational turnarounds, corporate finance consulting as a Director with FTI Consulting (NYSE:FCN) and distressed debt portfolio management with the Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD). He is an experienced advisor to executive management teams and boards of directors.

 

Prior to acquiring Stillman, Mr. Taylor worked at Gluskin Sheff + Associates (TSE:GS) advising the executive management team and board of directors through, an operational transformation and strategic shift leading to the firm’s acquisition by ONEX Corporation (TSE:ONEX) in 2019.

Mr. Taylor has extensive leadership experience driving financial performance, operational improvement and change management within private and publicly listed companies. His leadership expertise include managing successful strategic transformations while driving value for all stakeholders.

 

Tomoko King - Founder and Principal Consultant at Tomoko King Consulting & Advisory

Tomoko King is a Japan–Canada advisor and operational excellence strategist supporting globally minded leaders and teams navigating cross-border collaboration. Her work focuses on aligning ways of working and decision-making to reduce execution risk and support sustainable global partnerships.

Born in Ottawa and raised in Osaka, Japan, Tomoko spent 17 years at Toyota's Canadian subsidiary, bridging teams across Japan and North America. She has since applied Japanese management philosophies and operational excellence practices across manufacturing, municipal government, provincial healthcare, and higher education to strengthen execution and leadership capability.

She holds an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University, is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®), and serves on the board of the Project Management Institute (PMI) Canada's Technology Triangle (CTT) chapter. She is currently exploring Waterloo Region–Osaka collaboration opportunities at the intersection of emerging quantum-related ecosystems.