COMMITTEE

Luciano Volpe

Luciano is Owner and Managing Partner of SLV International, a Toronto-based company, which specializes in the production and export of high quality Canadian food products to European, Asian and Latin American country markets. In 2011, SLV will be officially launching its in-house brand of Canadian food products, under the label can-Nature™.

Luciano is also a regular part-time instructor at York University and Rotman Commerce in Toronto, specializing in International Marketing, Principles of Marketing and Strategic Management. He holds an International MBA (1999) from the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, which included a year of study and work in Milan, Italy.

Luciano remains involved in the community as an active Mentor to University of Toronto and York University business students and alumni and he is the Founder and organizer of a successful annual professional speaker series focused on providing career guidance to graduating high-school students at St. Michael's College in Toronto.

Lawrence La Pianta

Lawrence currently serves as owner and operator of Locate Location Services a company that finds and secures locations for both feature and commercial filming projects. As well as coordinating the logistics involved for the production he also serves as the face of the production to the community and is responsible for addressing issues or concerns from the public during production.

It was while attending the University of Toronto that Lawrence discovered his passion for film while taking a course in Italian cinema during his second year. From there the love of film flourished and a chance meeting with a television producer sparked a change in career orientation that would lead him through the next decade of his life. The Location Department is an often forgotten yet integral department in the creation of any motion picture or commercial, it is only when things go wrong that the Location Manager gets any recognition. Lawrence prides himself in never being recognized.

Rob Grossi

Robert is a Principal at Cooler Solutions, a Toronto-based design innovation consultancy that specializes in developing products, services and user experiences that address unarticulated needs of users in the consumer and healthcare sectors.

Robert's prior experience includes working as a private equity investor at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, as a strategy consultant at the Boston Consulting Group, and in the investment field with global asset management firm BlackRock. Robert holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Princeton University, and a MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Robert is actively involved in a wide range of community-oriented activities, ranging from mentoring programs to the RISE program, a Toronto-based microfinance organization encouraging, supporting and funding entrepreneurial ventures among people with mental illness and/or addiction.

Gianni Creta

Gianni currently serves as the Vice President of Globalive Communications, a telecommunications company with brands including YAK, WIND Mobile, and OneConnect. In his role, Gianni manages the OneConnect division and is responsible for interacting with existing and new customers to deliver products and services customized to suit their needs. Using the experience he's gained at Globalive, as well as over ten years in the telecom industry, Gianni brings together the variety of products and services offered by Globalive and its affiliate companies to satisfy customer demand.

Prior to his current position, Gianni acted as Chief Technology Officer for both Globalive and OneConnect. In that capacity, Gianni developed Globalive's proprietary softswitching and application technologies, built new applications, and established Globalive's technology roadmap and strategy.

Gianni is an Honours graduate from the University of Toronto's Computer Engineering Program and helped to launch Globalive in 1998.

Rino Spano

Rino Spano, founder & COO of Carino Digital Inc. is a trailblazer and leading expert when it comes to all things digital. Long before online marketing was mainstream, Rino recognized the overwhelming importance of strategically branding a business from an online perspective. As a result, Carino Digital's cutting edge strategies have resulted in substantial growth and success for clients. Rino's philosophy is based on a mix of online marketing and strategic public relations outreach.

Daniela Follegot

Daniela currently serves as legal counsel to TD Bank Financial Group. In her role, Daniela advises the wealth management businesses, including the TD Mutual Funds. She is responsible for reviewing new and existing investment fund products, advising on regulatory compliance and negotiating sub-advisory contracts. She also volunteers with TD's United Way fundraising campaign.

From 2005 to 2012, Daniela served as counsel to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) with a focus on investment fund products. Daniela implemented Stage 1 of the Point of Sale project which introduced the Fund Facts document - a 2-page, easy to read guide about your mutual fund. She has extensive experience in statutory drafting and public policy management. She has worked with securities regulators across Canada to find solutions to assist investors. Prior to joining the OSC, Daniela articled with and was an associate at Fasken Martineau from 2002 to 2004.

Daniela graduated from St. Michael's College at the University of Toronto with a BA (International Relations) in 1999. She completed her legal studies at Western University in 2002.