Challenge Factory is powered by a diverse, intergenerational team of core members, trusted advisors, and research professionals. We are also supported by an international advisory board.
Each of these team members contributes unique value to our Research-to-Practice model. All of us share a deep commitment to helping clients build more productive people, organizations, and economies.
Our Core Team Members
Lisa Taylor
Lisa Taylor
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Emree Siaroff
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Emree Siaroff
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Taryn Blanchard
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Taryn Blanchard
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Kathleen Kilgour
Interested in learning more about Challenge Factory’s productivity solutions? Let’s talk. Email me today. |
Kathleen Kilgour
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Justin Doran
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Justin Doran
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Emma James
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Emma James
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Mariel Ferreras
Mariel Ferreras
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Our Trusted Advisor Team
Emree Siaroff
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Emree Siaroff(Yep, same guy as above.) In my role as a Trusted Advisor, I believe leaders need more than simply a coach. Leaders need a partner in their corner. They need someone they can talk to, who not only asks the right questions but also gives them answers when they’re needed. Leaders need someone who’s also there to lend a helping hand when it’s needed. They need a confidant they can trust. I bring over 30 years of leadership experience, having held senior HR roles in the retail, manufacturing, mining, and professional services industries. This has afforded me a level of knowledge and wisdom that can help you work through the challenges you face as you navigate both the present and the Future of Work. What questions do you have about Challenge Factory’s Trusted Advisor Leadership Counsel? Send me a note at consulting@challengefactory.ca and let me know a good time for us to connect. |
Bob Cavnar
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Bob CavnarOver my 40-plus-year career, I’ve matured from an enthusiastic young oilfield worker into a seasoned veteran with decades of C-suite experience. My time in business and non-profit leadership has given me a unique perspective and helped me hone a keen understanding of complex problems, building teams, and coaching individuals. As a lifelong learner, I’ve continued my journey through a longstanding mindfulness practice and by expanding my understanding of social justice, the environment, global energy policy, and workplace safety. I’m keenly focused on rethinking the Future of Work through interdisciplinary and multigenerational teams. I’ve become a voice for energy industry reform and innovation, writing for the Huffington Post, Houston Chronicle, and several blogs. I authored Disaster on the Horizon, a book about the deepwater well blowout, and have appeared on national and international news networks. A native Texan, I worked pipelines during the days while earning my Bachelor’s degree at Eastern Michigan University at night. Navigating my way from the field into management, I completed my education at Harvard Business School and earned an MBA at Southern Methodist University. After a stint in energy banking, I ran public and private companies for over thirty years, holding the positions of Chairman, CEO, COO, and CFO while leading multinational operations, mergers, and turning around failing companies. In later years, I branched out from traditional energy into innovative renewables, cryptocurrency banking, and international trade. Today, my focus is helping others maximize their highest potential for themselves and their companies while working to leave behind a better world for my children and grandchildren. I’m a member of the Board of Directors of Space Center Houston, retired chairman of the Board of Directors of the Houston Grand Opera, and co-founder of Recipe for Success Foundation, dedicated to improving childhood nutrition. |
Randy De Piero
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Randy De PieroI have more than 30 years in progressive leadership and ownership roles in the recruitment industry. Starting in a research-based role, then moving into client management, business development, and management capacities, my career within various iterations of privately owned, small boutique and global firms culminated with achieving a Managing Partner role that had oversight over all aspects of the business. Compelled by a deep interest in starting a company, my co-founders and I launched a recruitment services firm from scratch and grew it to maturity, leading to acquisition and integration. This enhanced my knowledge and appreciation for the good and not-so-great aspects of these types of transactions. Ultimately, people and their impact play the biggest part of any business success, in any setting. Helping develop leaders and teams became my focus and where I find my greatest joy and impact. To me, a trusted Advisor is about navigating the more turbulent waters that tend to become suddenly more significant in the latter stages of a career journey. This can happen at any stage of course but the trend becomes more pronounced as individuals start to take stock of what they’ve done and what’s left to do. And with that there is a recognition or dawning that we are all being shaped and formed by something and that something may prompt the need to be explored. Questions will arise around topics like meaning, purpose, significance, and destiny. Questions that might challenge the notion that a journey is less about where you’re going but rather who or what you’re becoming. Does this personal career work sound awkward, cumbersome, or unwelcome? I used to think so. Now, I know that asking meaningful life-changing questions can lead to meaningful life-changing answers—and the discovery of peace and perspective. Today, I bring my clients a wealth of learnings, lessons, and knowledge about what it means to grow, both personally and professionally. In my free time, you’re likely to find me helping at my local food bank, biking down quiet country roads, or going for hikes with my wife of 35 years. Relationships are a vital part of the human condition, so our dinner table is a key gathering place for our kids, significant others, friends, and extended family where lively debates abound and the “question game” (yup, there’s that word again) awaits anyone who dares to play. |
Sheila Rider
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Sheila RiderI believe companies are more successful when people within them know what their best work looks like and are enabled to do it. Understanding our potential and actively working toward leading ourselves and others from our strengths can build powerful teams, organizations, and communities. My strengths include my ability to think strategically, analyze productively, manage projects against effective plans, lead change, get results, and, most importantly, understand and engage people. I have over 30 years of experience leading local, national, and global HR teams, including leadership roles at Hudson’s Bay Company and Stantec. I have successfully led complex projects impacting thousands of people and enabling hundreds more to build and action their own plans successfully. I thrive doing both because they involve getting things done through people. Enabling career development through impact and achievement is my passion. For me, being a Trusted Advisor means using my experience, insights, and skills to help individuals, leaders, and teams navigate the increasingly complex world and Future of Work. I have a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Toronto and a Certificate in Human Resources Management (CHRM) from Humber College. I’m an active volunteer in my community, including at a local hospice and food bank. |
Elaine Cruise Smith
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Elaine Cruise SmithWhat matters to me is fostering authenticity in the workplace and cultivating a culture of safety and trust where people, ideas, and business can flourish harmoniously. I am a solution-focused businessperson with a background and expertise in Human Resources leadership. I find joy in building strategy, pragmatic problem-solving, innovation, and growth. I have been told that I am a trusted, forward-thinking advisor and consummate relationship manager who takes a hands-on approach in developing emerging leaders and helping individuals and organizations succeed. I have 25+ years of senior Human Resources leadership and a reputation for developing talent and creating engaged and energized teams. I am proud to say that I have twice been named to HRD Magazine’s Hot List, the who’s who of Canada’s HR Executives working to impact business outcomes and achieve overall excellence in all aspects of HR. I have held senior HR positions with St. Joseph Communications, Worldlynx Wireless/Bell Mobility, and Hudson’s Bay Company. In addition to holding CHRP and CHRL designations, I have experience in numerous industries—including technology, financial, manufacturing, and consumer packaged goods. I am passionate about guiding individuals toward their fullest potential and their own unique versions of success. In my personal time, I find fulfillment in coaching mid-life women to live their best lives through fitness, nutrition, and mindset coaching. It is my life’s purpose to facilitate transformative journeys where individuals and organizations embrace their strengths and overcome obstacles to reach their goals. |
Barbara Wilson
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Barbara WilsonWith over 20 years of experience as a learning, talent management, and career development professional, I’ve held leadership and consulting positions with organizations ranging from large for-profit corporations to community-based non-profits. My approach combines my strengths as a coach, educator, and trusted advisor, enabling individuals and organizations to break through barriers and unlock their full potential. During my extensive work in the financial services sector, I focused on improving individual development and career literacy across entire organizations. I also worked with internal business teams on strategies and tactics to enrich their integrated talent development plans. In resource-limited non-profit organizations, I built and nurtured strategic partnerships, leveraged data-driven insights, and efficiently managed programs and relationships to drive organizational success and impact. In 2012, I discovered career development as a profession and knew I had found my calling. As a consultant, I’ve provided clients with labour market analysis, interest holder mapping, client surveys, model and framework development, and actionable recommendations. I am proud to be a Certified Career Development Practitioner (CCDP). Since 2023, I’ve had the privilege of working with Challenge Factory as an Associate Consultant, with a front row seat to their thought leadership and transformative approach to the Future of Work. I am thrilled to join their Trusted Advisor team, helping leaders articulate their values and devise strategies to navigate their professional journeys. Managing and leading in today’s work environments is hard. Everyone deserves someone in their corner. |
Our Research Advisor Team
Candy Ho
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Candy HoDr. Candy Ho is an international award-winning career development educator and scholar whose expertise is recognized globally through keynotes and engagements. She has been featured in BNN Bloomberg, The Globe and Mail, Financial Post, Canadian Business, National Post, and CTV News. Originally from Hong Kong, Candy currently serves as Chancellor’s Research Chair at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), while also teaching in KPU’s Educational Studies department. In this unique capacity, she teaches courses that help students consider their educational and life experiences, and how these experiences can enable them to achieve their short- and long-term goals, ultimately helping them design the life they want to live. Candy also relishes in developing current and future generations of career professionals as she teaches as a sessional instructor in Douglas College’s Career Development Practitioner Program. Prior to becoming a faculty member, Candy worked extensively in university student affairs in areas such as first-year experience and student transition, campus and residence life, career and volunteer services, co-operative education, academic advising, and university advancement. Her collective professional experiences to date culminated in her doctoral dissertation investigating the conceptions of post-secondary career influencers in student career success, and she readily shares her expertise locally and globally. Finally, she is the past Chair of CERIC, a Canadian charitable organization that advances education and research in career counselling and career development, in order to increase the economic and social well-being of Canadians. |
Our Advisory Committee
Cathy Barr
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Cathy Barr, PhDCathy Barr recently retired from a 35+ year career that spanned academia and the nonprofit sector. She has a PhD in political science from York University and spent several years as a faculty member at Wilfrid Laurier University. In 2002, she moved to the nonprofit sector, becoming Director of Research for the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (now Imagine Canada). She remained there for 22 years in various positions, including Vice President, Research. While at Imagine Canada, Cathy led dozens of data, research, and knowledge mobilization projects. She was also the founding Director of the Insurance & Liability Resource Centre for Nonprofits and led the creation of Imagine Canada’s Standards Program. In later years, she was involved in several national public policy and advocacy initiatives and chaired the Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition. Cathy currently holds positions as Senior Advisor, Research & Data at Imagine Canada and Adjunct Research Professor with the School of Public Policy & Administration at Carleton University. She continues her involvement with the Federal Nonprofit Data Coalition and co-chairs the External Advisory Committee for Statistics Canada’s Nonprofits and their Diversity Project. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Nonprofit & Social Economy Research. |
Trevor Buttrum
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Trevor ButtrumTrevor Buttrum is an award-winning leader with 20+ years of experience in recruitment strategy, career education, and fostering inclusive talent pipelines. In 2022, he became Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Career Educators and Employers (CACEE), which provides national leadership, resources, and a network of expertise and professional development to help members excel in supporting students in their journey from post-secondary studies to career success. Before joining CACEE, Trevor was Director of Operations at TalentEgg and led a national career education program at the Insurance Institute of Canada. A recognized advocate for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA), Trevor lends his lived and professional experience through speaking engagements and initiatives focused on advancing IDEA in career development, recruitment, and post-secondary education. Trevor’s leadership and work has earned multiple accolades, including Best Recruitment Branding Strategy for a Professional or Industry Association (TalentEgg Awards, 2021), Campus Recruiter of the Year (TalentEgg, 2018), and the Moe Ktytor Award of Merit (CACEE, 2017). Trevor has also served on the National Advisory Council for the David C. Onley Initiative 2.0 (Accessibility Institute – Carleton University), the National Career Development Advocacy Strategy Working Group (CERIC), the Hidden Sector, Hidden Talent Initiative Steering Committee (Challenge Factory, CERIC, and the Canadian Career Development Foundation), and the National Stakeholder Committee (CCDF), contributing to the evolution of the Canadian Career Development Standards & Guidelines to a pan-Canadian Competency Framework and template for national certification. His passion is supported by post-graduate studies in Adult Education and Career Development. |
Christine Hall
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Christine HallChristine Hall is a career development practitioner with a background that spans over 20 years in client development, sales, and marketing. Christine’s journey has taken her from corporate roles at Ticketmaster, where she built strong client relationships and led key accounts, to senior leadership positions like Vice President of Client Development at Box of Crayons, where she helped guide the company through growth and change. While her early career focused on sales and business development, her true passion has always been helping people find alignment with their goals and purpose in their work. In 2021, Christine made the decision to pivot into the career development field. She now works as an Employment Specialist with the Halton Multicultural Council, supporting newcomers exploring new career paths and adapting to the Canadian labour market. She also collaborates with the Syrian Canadian Foundation as a facilitator for newcomer women entrepreneurs building strong business foundations through the N.E.W. Venture program. With eight years of governance experience on the Board of Directors at Forestwood Coop, she brings a thoughtful, people-focused approach to all her work. Knowing the power of our actions to shape the future, Christine is inspired by how small shifts in focus, strategic collaboration, and meaningful partnerships can create positive, lasting change in both personal and professional contexts. Christine holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Public Relations from Humber College and a Bachelor of Arts from Western University. She continues to build on her skills with certificates in career development, social impact strategy, and DEI. |
Karine Lachapelle
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Karine LachapelleKarine Lachapelle enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1996 after studying the Middle East and Russia at the Université de Montréal. After completing the Basic Intelligence Officer Course in 1998, she was attached to 2nd Battalion, Royal 22e Regiment in Valcartier, Quebec, and deployed to the Former Yugoslavia, where she served as Battalion Intelligence Officer, supporting NATO stabilization efforts in the Balkans. After working in Ottawa, Karine returned to CFB Valcartier in 2004, where she was Opposing Force Officer at the Valcartier Simulation Training Center. An innovative leader, she saw the value of experiential learning, introducing a first-person computer training platform to increase situational awareness for units preparing to deploy to Kandahar, Afghanistan. In 2006, Karine was invited to serve with the Canadian Special Operations Regiment (CSOR) in Petawawa, Ontario, where she remained until 2011. She served as Fusion Officer, integrating Intelligence and Operational data in support of Special Operations missions in the Sahel, Caribbean, and Afghanistan, including a deployment to Kandahar with a Special Operations Task Force in 2009 as part of the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom. Following three years at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Belgium, Karine retired from the Department of National Defence in 2014. Since 2016, Karine has worked at Barrick Gold Corporation, where she is Senior Manager, Group Risk Management & Business Assurance. Karine is responsible for the quarterly Group Risk report to the Board, the annual enterprise-wide risk assessment, and conducting operational audits in support of the audit plan for the North America region. Karine has worked and traveled in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. She is married and has two adult children. She is fluently bilingual English/French. |
Stephanie Robinson
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Stephanie RobinsonStephanie Robinson is General Counsel at Thomvest, where she oversees legal and compliance matters. Previously, she was Associate General Counsel & Managing Director at BMO Financial Group, where she and her team supported Global Corporate Banking for Capital Markets. Prior to joining BMO, Stephanie was an equity partner in the Financial Services Group of McMillan LLP. She is a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), a Fellow of the American College of Commercial Finance Lawyers (ACCFL), and an instructor in the Osgoode Hall Law School Professional LLM program in Financial Law. Stephanie graduated from Queen’s University and the JD/MBA program at Osgoode Hall and Schulich School of Business. She served as the Director of Governance on the Board of Directors of Girl Guides of Canada from 2019-2022. |
Ulrich Scharf
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Ulrich ScharfUlrich Scharf is the co-founder and Managing Director of SkillLab. SkillLab empowers employment and career services with technology that creates equitable labour markets through the universal language of skills. The Amsterdam-based impact business captures people’s unique experience, using AI to create an accessible profile of their skills. This enables people to explore their fit in the labour market and reveal how education and training can unlock their future opportunities. Prior to SkillLab, Ulrich headed product development at GRESB to build a platform that assesses environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance data, which is now used annually to assess over $6.5 trillion USD in investment portfolios. He also co-founded rootAbility, a social business that drives the sustainability transition of the European higher education sector, as well as the Maastricht University Green Office, an award-winning sustainability hub and project engine. A serial social entrepreneur at heart, Ulrich studied Economics at Maastricht University and completed an apprenticeship as a banker in Germany. |