Mr. Nicolas Chapuis began his career in the 1980s as the Press Attaché at the Embassy of France in Beijing. In 1983, he was appointed Second Secretary (Political Affairs) at the Embassy of France in Beijing and then Desk Officer for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mongolia at the Asia-Oceania Department of France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA). Between 1987 and 1988, he was a CFIA Fellow at Harvard University.In 1988 and 1989, he held the position of Desk Officer for NATO & European Security at the Political Affairs Department of France’s MFA. From 1989 to 1992, he was the Cultural Counsellor at the Embassy of France in Beijing.His diplomatic career continued in the role of Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of France in Singapore. Following this, he held the position of Personal Assistant to the Deputy General Secretary for European and Economic Affairs at the MFA before becoming the Deputy Director (East Asia) of the Asia-Oceania Department of the MFA from 1995 to 1998. In 1998, he returned to China as the Consul General in Shanghai. Between 2002 and 2003, he was First Counsellor (Cultural Affairs) at the Embassy of France in the United Kingdom and the Director of Institut français du Royaume-Uni. From 2003 until 2005 he served as Ambassador of France in Mongolia and in 2005–2009 he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of France in Beijing. In 2009–2010, he was Prefect of the département of Hautes-Alpes. Following this, he held the position of Chief Coordinator of the MFA WikiLeaks Taskforce until 2011.Between 2011 and 2015 he was the MFA Chief Information Officer. Mr. Chapuis has been the Ambassador of France to Canada since February 4th, 2015.
Angella MacEwen is the Senior Economist at the Canadian Labour Congress. Her primary research focus is understanding the Canadian labour market, broader economic trends, and the impacts of government policy on workers. She regularly represents the CLC at parliamentary committees and in the national media.
Angella is a Research Associate with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and a Policy Fellow with the Broadbent Institute. She is on the steering committee of the Progressive Economics Forum, and a regular contributor to the PEF blog. Angella holds a MA in Economics (Dalhousie) and a BA in International Development Studies (Saint Mary’s).
Dr. István Mikola has been serving as Minister of State for Security Policy and International Cooperation since 2014. In his capacity as Minister of State he oversees a considerable portfolio, spanning from international humanitarian and development policy, through international organizations to security issues (CFSP, NATO). He is also responsible for EU trade policy, which has been a particularly active focus area during his tenure.
Mr. Mikola is a senior professional in numerous fields of expertise and has been actively involved in practice, research, management and policy-making as well. As a physician, he has specialized in internal medicine, infectology and epidemiology. He served as Minister of Health Affairs between 2001 and 2002. He was a Member of the Hungarian Parliament between 2006 and 2011 chairing the Committee on Health Affairs in 2010-2011. Between 2011 and 2014 he was the Permanent Representative of Hungary to the OECD.
Candace Sider was appointed vice president, regulatory affairs, Canada in 2014 and is responsible for developing and implementing Livingston’s government affairs strategy. Since joining Livingston in 2006 through the acquisition of PBB, she has had a profound influence in our industry through her advocacy and promotion of trade. Candace will manage political engagement with federal and provincial officials, regulatory agencies and key policymakers. In her role she will continue to help shape the policies and procedures governing trade, and help Livingston develop business solutions that will meet the future needs of our clients.
Candace is a certified customs specialist and has been a licensed customs broker since 1986. She is also a registered lobbyist with the Government of Canada. She currently sits on the Border Customs Consultative Committee (BCCC) and several of its high-level committees. Candace is also the past chair and a current board member of the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers and managing director and treasurer on the board of the International Federation of Customs Brokers Association.
A well-respected expert on risk management and compliance, Candace is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars, and has authored various articles about trade strategies. She is a regular author of Livingston’s Trade News and white papers and currently hosts a weekly blog about regulatory from a global perspective.
Jakob von Weizsäcker is a Member of the European Parliament for Thuringia, Germany. Born in 1970, he was educated in Germany, the UK and France, graduating with degrees in physics and economics. After graduation, he held a number of research positions and briefly worked for a venture capital fund. In 2001, he joined the Federal Economics Ministry in Berlin. 2002-2005 he worked for the World Bank in Washington DC. 2005-2010, he was a resident fellow at Bruegel in Brussels. 2010-2014 he headed the department for economic policy and tourism at the Thuringian Ministry for Economic Affairs. In 2014, he was elected to the European Parliament for the social democrats. He is a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and of the Delegation for the Relations with India.
Moderator
Derek DeCloet is the executive editor of The Globe and Mail and the editor of Report on Business. Previously, he was head of content for the publishing division of Rogers Media. Derek has been a business journalist since the late 1990s, working as a reporter, columnist and editor. He won the 2009 National Magazine Award for business writing.
