Rob Wildeboer

RETHINK INNOVATION

Rob believes that challenges bring opportunities and this is one of them. Shortly after the pandemic began, he laid off 13,000 of 17,000 employees. He has navigated the challenges and is now back at close to full capacity. This situation has shown a lot of people that they are not in control of what they think they are. This has been a real game-changer at least in that thinking. Rob will discuss his lessons on how to innovate in challenging times and seize the opportunity.

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Rob Wildeboer is the Executive Chairman and Co-Founder of Martinrea International Inc. (TSX: MRE) Vaughan, ON. Previously, Mr. Wildeboer was a partner of Wildeboer Dellelce LLP, a law firm that practices corporate, securities and tax law that he co-founded in 1993, and he remains Counsel to the firm. Before that, he was a lawyer with Stikeman, Elliott; an associate professor of law at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he taught corporate law and corporate finance; and a regulator with the Ontario Securities Commission. Mr. Wildeboer is Vice-Chairman of the Auto Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA); a director of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council (CAPC); a member of the Ontario Manufacturing Council; a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Minister of Finance of Canada; and Chair of the CEO Manufacturing Advisory Council. He has been a director or adviser of numerous charitable organizations. He is Chair of Cardus, a faith-based think tank. He was Chair of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute for eight years and is now on their Advisory Board. He has been on the Ontario Advisory Board for Entrepreneurial Leaders Organization (ELO) for several years now. In 2012, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of his contributions to Canada. In 2018 he was presented with the “Entrepreneurial Leaders Award” at the ELO Forum in Toronto. Mr. Wildeboer holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Guelph, a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School, an MBA from York University, and an LLM from Harvard University.