Ambassador CONG was born in May 1967. He graduated from China Foreign Affairs University. Mr. CONG is married and has one daughter. His professional career is as follows:

• 1992-1993 Staff member, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
• 1993-2000 Staff member, Attaché, Third Secretary, Deputy Division Director, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2000-2003 Second Secretary, First Secretary, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Canada
• 2003-2007 First Secretary, Deputy Division Director, Division Director, Counsellor and Division Director, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2007-2009 Counsellor, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2009-2014 Minister-Counsellor, Minister, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• 2014-2019: Director-General, Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs, MFA
• 2019-present: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to Canada

Graham Shantz served for over 25 years in Canada’s public service providing advice to Canadian governments, mainly on management of Canada’s relations with Asia. He has lived and worked for over 12 years in Asia, half of that in China. In Ottawa, Mr. Shantz has worked in senior management positions in Global Affairs Canada, the Department of Finance and the Privy Council Office. In 2000-2001 he served as Canada’s lead negotiator for Foreign Investment Protection Agreements (FIPAs) and in 1996-1997 served as deputy chief negotiator for the Canadian team during China’s WTO accession talks. Over the past decades, Mr. Shantz has been involved in numerous major bilateral visits between Canadian and Chinese leaders.

Mr. Shantz has served on the Board of Directors of the Asia Pacific Foundation (2013-2016) and on the Board of Directors of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (2006-2009). He served as Canada’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain (2009-2012) and ended his career in the public service in senior management positions in Global Affairs Canada’s Asia Branch.

A Mandarin speaker, Mr. Shantz’s pursued his interest in China while studying economics at Goshen College in Indiana. He holds an M.A. in International Affairs from Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. He also pursued language and economics studies in China, including at Beijing University and Xiamen University, under the Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program.

Prior to joining CCBC, Ms. Kutulakos worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Ms. Kutulakos managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Ms. Kutulakos has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Ms. Kutulakos’s interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.

Argiro joined YVR’s Executive Team in October 2015 following almost 20 years of private practice with a national business law firm. YVR is a “for purpose” organization – it exists to serve our community and the economy that supports it. Managing an airport is akin to running a small city, and she leads a diverse in-house legal department servicing the organization. Argiro is directly involved with all material legal issues facing YVR, including identifying and mitigating risk through her oversight of the Insurance Portfolio, acting as Privacy Officer and co-chairing YVR’s rigorous Enterprise Risk Management Program. As Chief Governance Officer, Argiro supports the Board of Directors, oversees business ethics and corporate governance policies. She also oversees the Supply Management team, and is focused on continuing to embed ESG in YVR’s procurement program. YVR’s legal department was named to The Legal 500’s GC Powerlist – Canada Teams 2019 and Argiro was named to the GC Powerlist in 2020. YVR has received many national excellence in governance awards from the Governance Professionals of Canada over the past few years, most recently for Strategy in November 2022 and previously for Best Practice in Sustainability & ESG and Diversity & Inclusion (2019).

Trevor Kennedy leads the Council’s work on Canada’s international trade and investment ties. He advises and executes the Council’s trade policy initiatives, liaising with Canadian policymakers, foreign officials and international business networks representing key partners, primarily in North America, the Indo-Pacific and Europe.

Prior to joining the Council in 2016, Trevor was a Trade Policy Officer at Global Affairs Canada. He also worked with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada as a Junior Research Fellow focused on trade policy. He has lived and worked in Japan with the Japan Exchange (JET) Programme and speaks Japanese.

Trevor is a fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. He holds a Master of Arts in Asia Pacific Policy Studies from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from St. Thomas University, New Brunswick.

Jeff Nankivell joined APF Canada as President and CEO on September 7, 2021.

Prior to this, he had a 33-year career in Canada’s Foreign Service. He held various positions at the Canadian International Development Agency between 1988 and 2008, working on programs related to China, Russia, strategic policy, and international financial institutions. A fluent Mandarin speaker, he was posted three times to Canada’s embassy in Beijing – in the development assistance section 1991-95 and 2000-04, and as Deputy Head of Mission 2008-11.

From 2011 to 2016, Jeff served in Ottawa/Gatineau as Director General responsible for Canada’s official development assistance programs across Asia, first with the Canadian International Development Agency and then with Global Affairs Canada. In 2016 he was appointed Consul General of Canada in Hong Kong and Macao, serving in Hong Kong until May 2021.

Jeff holds a Master’s degree in political sociology from the London School of Economics, BA in international relations from the University of Toronto and Université Laval, and certificate (one-year program) in Chinese language and culture from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Victor Thomas is President and CEO of the Canada-India Business Council. He is Executive Chair of Precision AI, Chair of CARE Canada’s Board of Directors, and sits on the CARE International Council. He is a director emeritus of the Rideau Hall Foundation Board, past chair of Saskatchewan’s Innovation Place, and a past vice chair of SaskEnergy. He serves on Canada’s Future Skills Centre Advisory Board, and on the National Executive for the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference. Mr. Thomas has received several awards for his leadership including the Public Policy Forum’s Emerging Leaders Award for Canada (2011), the Canadian Red Cross’s highest honour, the Order of the Red Cross (2014) and was recently recognized with the top 75 Indo-Canadian Award celebrating India’s 75th anniversary (2022).

Martin Cauchon has had a distinguished career. First elected as a Member of Parliament in October 1993, he has held many positions in the Government of Canada. He has served as Secretary of State (Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec), Minister of National Revenue, and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. In 2013, he was an official candidate in the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. From 2015 to 2019, he was also a shareholder and Executive Chairman of Groupe Capitales Médias, which gave him a better understanding of the challenges facing the print media in a digital world.

Martin Cauchon’s unparalleled experience in government and the private sector has given him a deep understanding of a wide range of issues. As counsel at DS Lawyers Canada, he advises companies on the various issues facing the knowledge economy and the globalization of markets, taking into account geopolitical factors. Mr. Cauchon also facilitates the creation of partnerships at the provincial, national, and international levels.

Having established relationships with several counterparts in China, Martin Cauchon has acquired a good knowledge of that market, which allows him to intervene in projects that are related to the Canada-China relationship.

After obtaining a law degree from the University of Ottawa, Mr. Cauchon became a member of the Quebec Bar in 1985 and completed a master degree in International Business Law in 1991, at the University of Exeter, in England. He was the 2004 recipient of the Equality Forum’s International Role Model Award. In 2015, he received the honorary distinction of “Advocatus emeritus” and “Le Mérite” from the Quebec Bar. He is also Vice Chair, Board of Directors of the Canada China Business Council and President of its Quebec Chapter. He also serves on the board of directors of several companies.

Prior to joining CCBC, Ms. Kutulakos worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Ms. Kutulakos managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Ms. Kutulakos has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Ms. Kutulakos’s interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.

Mr. Desmarais has been Senior Vice-President of Power Corporation since 2017. Mr. Desmarais is the driving force behind the Power Sustainable vision as a global, sustainability-led alternative asset manager.

He chairs the Canada China Business Council (CCBC) and also sits on the boards of directors of Canada Life, IG Wealth Management, Mackenzie and Lumenpulse.

He is actively engaged in the community as member of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research.

Mr. Desmarais holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Ottawa, a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Political Science from McGill University, and has been a Québec Bar member since 2009.

David Rheault is Vice President of Government and Community Relations at Air Canada. A lawyer by training, he joined Air Canada in 2007 as counsel, litigation.

Mr. Rheault represented Air Canada before courts and administrative tribunals and advised the company on various litigation files in Canada and foreign countries.

Today, in his current role, Mr. Rheault is responsible for the company’s relationships with all levels of governments in Canada as well as Air Canada’s community partnership program. He has been involved in many complex regulatory and policy matters.

Prior to joining Air Canada, he served as policy advisor at the Office of the Premier of Québec and for the Minister of Economic and Regional Development and Research.

After earning a degree from Université Laval Faculty of Law, he was called to the Barreau du Québec in 2000. He practiced commercial litigation and transport law at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg and at Fasken Martineau.

Mr. Rheault sits on the executive committee of the National Airlines Council of Canada and on several boards, including the Canada China Business Council, and the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce.

Recognized as a dynamic and collaborative leader, Carrie oversees the global commercial business, as well as Marketing, Experience, and Insights. Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, she is responsible for driving the company’s growth and customer engagement. In her previous role as President, North America, she established a high-performance team and led the region’s significant business acceleration. Carrie previously held the roles of Chief of Staff and Chief Communications Officer, helping lead the company through critical initiatives including its successful IPO and development of its industry-leading Sustainable Impact Strategy. Prior to joining Canada Goose in 2012, she was a Senior Vice President at a North American communications agency specializing in coaching executives and building the brands of some of North America’s largest retail, technology and consumer goods companies. Carrie was named WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women Canada in 2019 and serves on the Board of Directors of Trillium Health Partners Foundation.

Prior to joining CCBC, Ms. Kutulakos worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Ms. Kutulakos managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Ms. Kutulakos has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Ms. Kutulakos’s interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.

Graham Shantz served for over 25 years in Canada’s public service providing advice to Canadian governments, mainly on management of Canada’s relations with Asia. He has lived and worked for over 12 years in Asia, half of that in China. In Ottawa, Mr. Shantz has worked in senior management positions in Global Affairs Canada, the Department of Finance and the Privy Council Office. In 2000-2001 he served as Canada’s lead negotiator for Foreign Investment Protection Agreements (FIPAs) and in 1996-1997 served as deputy chief negotiator for the Canadian team during China’s WTO accession talks. Over the past decades, Mr. Shantz has been involved in numerous major bilateral visits between Canadian and Chinese leaders.

Mr. Shantz has served on the Board of Directors of the Asia Pacific Foundation (2013-2016) and on the Board of Directors of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (2006-2009). He served as Canada’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Spain (2009-2012) and ended his career in the public service in senior management positions in Global Affairs Canada’s Asia Branch.

A Mandarin speaker, Mr. Shantz’s pursued his interest in China while studying economics at Goshen College in Indiana. He holds an M.A. in International Affairs from Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. He also pursued language and economics studies in China, including at Beijing University and Xiamen University, under the Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program.

The Honourable Scott Brison joined BMO as Vice-Chair, Investment & Corporate Banking in 2019. As an elected Member of Parliament, Scott served the constituency of Kings-Hants (Nova Scotia) who elected him to Canada’s House of Commons seven consecutive times over 21 years. During that time, he served in government for seven years holding key roles, most recently as President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government from 2015 to 2019, Minister of Public Works and Government Services from 2004 to 2006, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with special emphasis on Canada-U.S. relations from 2003 to 2004.