October 21st, 2025 ● MaRS Waterfront, Toronto, Canada
The People People Summit 2025
Hands-on workshops, practical playbooks, and unfiltered conversations with 120+ People leaders shaping the future of work — plus unforgettable networking and a taste of Toronto at its best.
*Tickets are limited and available by application only.
Speakers & Panelists
Learn from the operators, builders, and trailblazers shaping the future of work. Our sessions are led by real practitioners, not just talking heads.
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Jenny is the Chief People Officer at TouchBistro with nearly 25 years of experience leading people teams across startups, scale-ups, and venture. She’s helped build teams from 0 to 1,500+, supported 90+ portfolio companies as Partner, Talent at OMERS Ventures, and played a key role in fundraising, M&A, and exits. Jenny also serves as Program Director for Venture Talent at Schulich’s Venture Academy, where she teaches a masterclass on scaling teams in venture-backed companies. She’s passionate about building high-impact cultures where people thrive and solve meaningful problems.
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Marie-Eve is the VP of People & Culture at Nesto, Canada’s leading digital mortgage lender. She brings over 15 years of experience shaping high-growth, people-first organizations, with a track record that spans both startups and venture studios. Before joining Nesto, she led People & Culture at Diagram, where she played a key role in building and scaling teams across multiple portfolio companies. At Nesto, she’s helping scale a team that’s transforming an industry—while keeping purpose, performance, and empathy at the core. Marie-Eve brings sharp insights on navigating growth, change, and the evolving expectations of today’s workforce.
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Jared Tessis is Head of Talent at Klass Capital, where he leads a team focused on helping portfolio companies scale through strategic recruitment and talent advisory. Since joining Klass in 2013, Jared has been a trusted partner to founders and executives, guiding them through hiring, compensation, and talent pipeline development.
With over 15 years of experience spanning agency, in-house, and professional services, Jared brings a unique blend of operational insight and deep industry network. He and his team actively source and engage top software talent, connecting high-performing individuals to high-growth opportunities across the Klass portfolio.
Jared holds an HBA from the Ivey Business School and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA).
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Marianne is a people-first builder with over a decade of experience across the tech ecosystem—as a founder, operator, board member, VC, angel investor, and now executive search partner at True. She's spent her career in the corners where talent, community, and innovation intersect, with a mission to connect smart people and create meaningful change.
She’s co-founded Canada’s largest tech meetup, launched a startup job board acquired by Communitech, built the world’s largest COVID-era layoff list, and helped expand a Tier 1 venture firm’s talent presence in Canada. Whether scaling communities or advising founders, Marianne brings curiosity, creativity, and a deeply human approach to everything she does.
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Rachel Jacobson is the Chief People Officer at AI, where she thrives at the intersection of human potential and startup innovation. With a background in senior leadership roles at fast-paced tech startups, Rachel specializes in building high-performance teams and shaping cultures that drive global impact. Known for her relentless curiosity and commitment to continuous learning, she helps teams not only adapt but thrive in today’s ever-evolving tech landscape.
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Ali Nawab is the CEO and Co-Founder of Agentnoon, an org design and workforce planning platform helping leaders build leaner, outcome-aligned organizations. Backed by Y Combinator and over 35 Silicon Valley investors, Agentnoon serves high-growth and unicorn companies globally.
A repeat founder, Ali previously built Kiwi.ai, an on-device machine learning startup acquired by Sentiance in 2018. He began his career in consulting at Booz & Company, Deloitte, and EY, leading large global teams across tech and strategy projects.
Ali holds a Computer Science degree from the University at Buffalo and an MBA from Ivey. He also hosts Ali’s Boardroom, a podcast featuring conversations with CEOs and finance leaders on scaling smart, efficient companies.
More amazing speakers and panelists to come!
Why It’s Worth Your Time
👥 Real Connections, Not Just Contacts
Rub shoulders with senior People leaders, rising CPOs, and operators who are solving the same challenges you are. Whether it’s during our interactive sessions or over a shared bottle of (insert what you like!) at dinner, you’ll build relationships that last well beyond the Summit.
📚 Steal-Worthy Tools You’ll Actually Use
Get exclusive access to practical playbooks, proven templates, and live benchmarking data from 100+ companies. No fluff. Just ready-to-use tools to level up your people strategy the moment you're back at work.
🍷 Curated Private Dining Experience
Cap off your day with a seat at one of our private dining room dinners — small, thoughtful groups designed to spark real conversation, shared insight, and a little Toronto magic. Because sometimes the best ideas don’t come in a breakout room — they come over dessert.
Programming Preview
This is more than a summit — it’s your strategy session for what’s next in People. While we’re still shaping the final agenda, this preview gives you a sense of the flow: sharp insights, actionable tools, real conversations, and curated moments designed to push your thinking and grow your network.
🛠 Workshops & Real-World Tactics
From remote culture and modern leadership to AI in HR, you’ll walk away with practical tools you can actually use.
🔮 Future-Focused Panels
We’re putting CEOs, CFOs, and People leaders in conversation — to talk about what’s changing, what’s staying, and what matters most.
⚡️ Ideas Worth Stealing
No fluff, just lightning-fast talks from People leaders sharing the boldest things they’ve tried — and what actually worked.
🤝 Deep Connection
We’re designing curated spaces for the kind of networking that doesn’t feel like networking — roundtables, community circles, and maybe even a few surprise dinners.
🍽 Curated Private Dinner
End the day with intimate, invite-only dinners connecting peers by function, industry, or shared challenges. No name tags. Just real talk.
Our Guiding Principles
The People People Summit isn’t your average People summit. It’s built by People leaders, for People leaders—so every session, speaker, and experience is designed to be immediately useful, not just interesting.
🔧 Curated
This isn’t a crowd — it’s a carefully selected group of senior People operators, rising CPOs, and thinkers who are actively shaping the future of work. Every voice in the room adds value. Expect fewer buzzwords, more “why didn’t I think of that?” moments, and actionable tools and playbooks you won’t find anywhere else.
📊 Community Vibes
You’ll feel it right away. This is a room full of People leaders who actually want to be here—open, thoughtful, generous with their ideas and energy. It’s the kind of environment where hallway chats turn into long-term collaborations, and where showing up as yourself isn’t just welcome, it’s expected.
🤝 Real Talk + Action
Unfiltered conversations with senior People leaders who get it. Leave with new perspectives, fresh ideas, and a network that sticks with you long after the summit ends.
Who Should Attend?
“Hands down the most useful People event I’ve attended. Every conversation felt relevant and real.”
“It’s rare to be in a room where everyone actually gets the challenges you’re facing. I left with ideas I could implement the next day.”
This is a curated experience for People leaders who are building what’s next. If you're navigating real complexity—from scaling teams to fixing comp to rolling out global tech—this room is for you.
We review every application to ensure attendees bring both insight and intention to the conversations.
💼 C-Suite Executives
CHROs, CPOs, COOs, and Founders shaping culture and leading org-wide change.
🧠 Heads of People / HR / DEI
Running the show for employee experience, HR operations, and inclusive workplace design—typically for teams of 100+.
📈 Talent & Recruiting Leaders
Driving growth through modern employer branding, recruiting infrastructure, and future-ready talent pipelines.
⚙️ VP & Director-Level Innovators
Owning HR tech stacks, global compliance, performance programs, and comp strategy.
📊 Senior People Ops Leaders
Chiefs of Staff, Directors of Workplace Experience, Strategy, or Enablement—translating business needs into scalable systems.
Summit Sponsors
FAQs
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The Summit is curated for senior People leaders, including CPOs, Heads of People, Talent, and Ops who are driving real change inside modern organizations.
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Get in touch with us by clicking here.
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All tickets are final sale and non-refundable.
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Yes, pending approval. We aim to maintain the integrity of the attendee mix.
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Not this time. The value of the Summit is in the in-person connections and off-the-record conversations.
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Yes, coffee, lunch, snacks, and refreshments are provided. All attendees will also be invited to private dinners.
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We’ve got you. If you’re excited to attend but need company approval or support to cover your ticket, we’ve created a ready-to-use email template and a short business case guide to help you make the ask.