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Corey Diamond
President, Summerhill Group
Corey has a wealth of experience managing large-scale energy efficiency and market transformation programs. A graduate of the University of Waterloo’s Environment and Resource Studies department, Corey cemented his passion for the environment through paid and unpaid gigs with Pollution Probe, Green Tourism Association, Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy and Greenest City. Since 2004, Corey has initiated and managed several high profile campaigns such as Keep Cool, Bright Ideas and peakSAVER. Most recently, Corey was names President of Summerhill Group (www.summerhillgroup.ca), responsible for day-to-day business activities and development of the company. Last year, Summerhill Group was names the ECO Canada Environmental Employer of the Year. Corey is a featured speaker, motivator and environmental enthusiast. He is an avid sports fan, music collector, reader and traveler.
Carla Kearns
Founder & Director, TLI-The Mandarin School
Carla Kearns is the Managing Director of TLI-The Mandarin School in Toronto, Canada. TLI-The Mandarin School’s training programs facilitate understanding between North American and Chinese cultures; giving well-informed executives and companies a competitive advantage in China.
Language and cultural miscommunications are frequently stated as the biggest hurdles in doing business in China. And yet, too many companies fail to prepare for the real impact caused by communication challenges in China.
Carla’s diverse background in both education and business provides her clients with the insight to incorporate successful communication and cultural intelligence strategies in their China business plan. With years of experience working in and with China and Taiwan, and currently directing a business that employs a Chinese workforce; Carla’s training, coaching and seminars blend intercultural models with her practical experiences. In addition to overseeing the training of North American executives to communicate effectively in Mandarin Chinese, Carla teaches organizations and individuals how to successfully manage cross-cultural business relationships.
Carla has appeared in Canadian Business Magazine, The Toronto Sun, The Financial Post and Ming Pao Daily; is a frequent resource for The Globe and Mail China business section, has appeared on TVO’s The Agenda, OMNI TV, CCTV (China’s state TV network) and CBC’s The Dragon’s Den, and has spoken at industry events in across North America.
After graduating from the University of Western Ontario in 1993, Carla mastered conversational Mandarin Chinese while providing training courses for the local market in Taiwan. In San Francisco in the late 1990’s, Carla led the Sales & Marketing efforts (Asia Region) for ASPECT International Language Schools. Inspired by the dot-com boom, she led the development and execution of an innovative new global Internet strategy for ASPECT.
In 2000, Carla made her way to Honolulu, Hawaii to join the state’s largest advertising firm, Milici Valenti Ng Pack, as Management Supervisor of its online division. There she collaborated with creative, technical, and media teams to drive integrated advertising strategies of clients such as the Hawaii Visitor's & Convention Bureau, Starwood Hawaii Resorts, First Hawaiian Bank, and Hawaiian Telecom - increasing the division’s revenues 5-fold during her tenure.
Continuing across the Pacific after Hawaii, Carla lived in Shanghai, China until early 2006; expanding her Chinese intercultural consulting business. Seeing the critical need to improve communications between North American and Chinese companies and organizations, she returned to Canada to establish TLI-The Mandarin School in Toronto. In addition to conducting workshops and seminars on working and living successfully in China, the institute teaches Mandarin Chinese Language to business professionals – proving to them that with the right methodology (and TLI’s 50-year track record), speaking Chinese is “bu tai nan” (not too difficult). TLI-The Mandarin School’s clients have included executives and staff teams from The Home Depot, The Hudson’s Bay Company, Canadian Tire, Maple Leaf Foods, Pall Life Science, Hoffman-La Roche Pharmaceutical, PricewaterhouseCoopers; and senior government officials.
Carla continues to be a pioneer. In 2007, she founded and chaired the Canada China Environmental Forum - bringing together corporate and government leaders with entrepreneurs and investors to optimize economic, social and diplomatic opportunities in the environmental sector between Canada and China. In October 2008, Carla will co-lead the first Canadian Business Women’s Mission to China and Hong Kong.
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