Wavefront Summit kicks off in Toronto
Stephen Law
Electronics Wireless Engineering IoT Supply Chain IoTEvent aims to help Canadian companies meet the challenge of digital transformation and scale to meet global market needs
The Wavefront 2017 IoT Summit kicked off today at the Metro Convention Centre, asserting itself as a leading Canadian forum for enterprise IoT stakeholders to come together to discuss the latest trends, create connections and deliver groundbreaking business intelligence to drive performance, growth and profitability. 
The two-day Summit helps Canadian companies bridge the gap between their intentions and actions by learning how to adopt and implement IoT solutions, and establishing them as leaders within their respective industries.
2017 Summit speakers include:
* Nitin Kawale – President, Enterprise Business Unit, Rogers
* Jason Krause – Senior VP and General Manager, Enterprise Solutions, Sierra Wireless
* Elyse Allan – President & CEO, GE Canada
* Dr. Rick Huijbregts – VP, Digital Transformation and Innovation, Cisco
* Dr. Ann Cavoukian – Executive Director, Privacy & Big Data Institute
* Eric Simmons – AVP, Automotive Innovation, Canadian Tire
* Nikolas Badminton – Futurist
* Rob Miekle – Chief Information Officer, City of Toronto
* Misha Steiner Jovic – CEO, Awesense
* Jessie Adcock – Chief Technology Officer, City of Vancouver
* Gary Agnew – Vice President, Finning Digital
* Shawn Sanderson – Global IoT and Digital Transformation Leader
* Almis Ledas – Chief Operating Officer, EnStream
* Alex Bettencourt – Managing Director, SmartGrid Canada
* Amanda Lang – Anchor, Bloomberg TV Canada
With another day of speakers and activities on tap for tomorrow (May 2), the Summit has brought together businesses that want to adopt digital technologies and Canadian companies that provide digital solutions. In addition to the dynamic keynote speakers and meaty panel discussions, the program features facilitated B2B meetings that match enterprise business and government with IoT solutions providers. These facilitated one-on-one sessions introduce enterprise clients to potential suppliers, partners and investment opportunities.
“We’re constantly looking for ways that Wavefront can leverage our expertise and global connections to provide value to business leaders, helping them tap into what’s happening in the innovation community and increase their digital capacity,” says James Maynard, President and CEO of Wavefront. “2017 will see a fundamental shift in terms of IoT adoption. Our job at Wavefront is to connect supply – the startup innovation creation side – and demand – the need for enterprises to adopt digital technologies.”
Almost half of the world’s leading enterprise organizations expected to be digitally transformed over the next two years, according to Forbes Insights. But only 11% described their digital strategy as “excellent”. The Wavefront 2017 IoT Summit provides Canadian businesses with case studies, best practices and actionable insights that help them meet the challenge of digital transformation. The Summit is delivered by Wavefront, Canada’s only national organization focused exclusively on IoT in Canada.
