9th Annual Women in Manufacturing Success Forum

Marie Morden

Vice President, Ontario Operations, CME

Moderator: Kirsten Jakobsen, CPA, CA

Managing Director, Corporate Client Group, Royal Bank of Canada

Kirsten Jakobsen is a Managing Director within RBC’s Corporate Client Group, where she provides strategic corporate finance solutions for clients across key sectors, including Food & Beverage, and Energy & Infrastructure.

Kirsten has held roles in credit structuring and RBC Capital Partners, a team focused on junior capital and equity co-investing solutions. Kirsten has also held strategic roles in RBC’s Head Office. Kirsten has extensive experience supporting clients in sectors critical to manufacturing ecosystems in Canada.

Throughout her career, Kirsten has championed initiatives to advance women in finance and adjacent industries. She actively contributes to VersiFi (Women in Capital Markets), RWomen and RBC’s Canadian Banking Women’s Forum, organizations dedicated to mentorship, leadership development, and empowerment for women. Her work underscores the importance of inclusive leadership in driving innovation and growth—principles equally vital in manufacturing, where women remain underrepresented.

Prior to joining RBC, Kirsten was with PwC in Toronto and New York City. Kirsten has an Honours BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a CPA, CA.

David Nagy

Founder, eCommerce Canada

David has co-founded and operated multiple e-commerce and software ventures and advised over 2,000 companies. He founded one of Canada’s 50 fastest growing businesses and created the world’s first operating system methodology for e-commerce companies, now in use by over 400 businesses.

Robert Quinn

Partner and Head, Industrial Practice, Odgers Canada

Robert (Rob) Quinn is Partner and Head of the Industrial Practice in Canada, as well as Head of the Global Mining Practice. Based in Toronto, he specializes in recruiting senior executives and board directors in the Mining, Energy & Utilities, Manufacturing, and Infrastructure sectors.

Rob has worked with a variety of clients, from small, high-growth organizations to large global organizations. He is passionate about helping clients increase their competitiveness through strategic additions to their teams.

Prior to joining Odgers, Robert led the manufacturing division of a leading consulting engineering firm focused on delivering world-class Industrial construction projects. Before that, he led a technology company providing software solutions for global freight transportation companies and held key leadership positions at a global manufacturing organization, where he drove results through Six Sigma and LEAN manufacturing processes.

Rob has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University.

Rita Caissie

Plant Manager, Michelin

Rita Caissie is the Plant Manager of the Michelin Bridgewater facility, where she leads one of the region’s key manufacturing operations. Over her exceptional 36‑year career at Michelin, she has progressed from tire builder to senior leadership – an inspiring testament to what is possible for women in an industry where they remain underrepresented.

Rita’s journey reflects her deep dedication, strong work ethic, and unwavering belief in the potential of people. Known for her collaborative leadership style, she champions a culture where individuals are empowered to grow, contribute, and lead. Today, she is committed to paving the way for future generations of women in manufacturing, using her platform to mentor, advocate, and inspire.

Jeff Lawson

Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development & Chief Sustainability Officer, Cenovus Energy

As Executive Vice-President, Corporate Development, Jeff is responsible for contributing to the company’s long-term strategy through strategic acquisitions and divestitures. In his role as Chief Sustainability Officer, Jeff ensures environmental, social and governance considerations are embedded in the company’s business plans. This includes overseeing stakeholder engagement with Indigenous communities, governments and community partners. Jeff has extensive experience in domestic and international mergers and acquisitions, investments and corporate restructurings. Prior to joining Cenovus in 2023, Jeff spent 15 years at Peters & Co. Limited in senior finance roles including Managing Director of the Corporate Finance group and as a member of the Executive Committee.

Dr. Marie-Renée B-Lajoie

Partner, McKinsey & Company

Marie-Renée is a leader of McKinsey’s work in public health, healthcare, and health emergency preparedness within our Social, Healthcare and Public Sector Practice. With more than 15 years experience in the space, Marie-Renée works to reimagine global public health systems and improve innumerable lives. In addition to being a Partner at McKinsey, Marie-Renée is also a practicing emergency physician in Montreal.

Marie-Renée has extensive expertise in global public health and has researched pressing topics in the space. She recent conducted thorough research on the health of Canadians, such as Closing the women’s health care gap in Canada, and the potential benefits of AI for healthcare in Canada.

Katie Martin

Head of Manufacturing, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics North America

The fun thing about Lush journeys is that everyone’s is so different. For North American Head of Manufacturing Katie Martin, it’s been a series of steady strides leading her towards a role that has brought together her many years of skill building and culminated into a place of supporting others.

While still a student at the University of Toronto studying Linguistics and Cognitive Science in 2011, Katie began her time at Lush as a seasonal sales associate at Toronto Eaton Centre. She was a Keyholder at the shop and a Charity Pot Star in retail before taking a leap over to Manufacturing. A key focus of hers was understanding the customer journey and quality of our product at Lush.

Seasonally, Katie found herself in Toronto’s Soap and Massage room and then became core, as a production assistant and then compounder. As the Green Team rep and Charity Pot rep in Manufacturing, Katie was learning about various business initiatives and quickly acquainting herself with Lush’s various core values. Lush presented Katie the opportunity to move across the country to Vancouver, where she helped establish the Soap room there. Katie continued Compounding and training in Vancouver’s Soap room before becoming the MIT in Dairy Pots, became the Manager in Dairy Bottles. More recently, she worked on the Strategic People Partner team and then landed the role of Head of Manufacturing in North America. Katie now resides at our 35 Jutland location in Etobicoke Ontario. The teams that Katie currently manages at Lush is Manufacturing, Distribution, Sustainability and Capex, Environmental Health and Safety, Regulatory Affairs and Compliance, Ethical Donations, lastly Maintenance and Facilities.