Clean Power Finance Canada & CanREA Connects (Networking Reception)

As the President and CEO of CanREA, Vittoria Bellissimo leads a member association focused on ensuring that wind energy, solar energy and energy storage play a central role in transforming Canada’s energy mix.

Vittoria was previously the Executive Director of the Industrial Power Consumers Association of Alberta and worked in renewable energy procurement at both the Ontario Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Power Authority (now the IESO). Vittoria served on the Board of Emissions Reduction Alberta, as Vice Chair of Energy Efficiency Alberta, and was a founding Board member of Women+Power. She holds a M.Sc. in Environmental Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh and is a licensed professional engineer (B.Sc. Queen’s University). Vittoria is based in Calgary.

James Brooks is Managing Director and Global Co-Head of the Energy, Infrastructure and Transition (EIT) investment banking team with over 100 professionals located across the Americas and Europe. The award-winning group offers full coverage of all infrastructure and energy asset classes across the capital stack for a wide range of market participants. James’ primary coverage universe is North American and global power, renewables and utility firms as well as energy and infrastructure private equity firms. He leads efforts in the renewable energy sector which have culminated in #1 market share in the Canadian market, a top 5 position in North America and an active presence in Europe, LatAm, Australia and Asia.

James has advised on over $50 billion in announced M&A and advisory transactions across the renewables, power, utilities, nuclear and energy infrastructure sectors on three continents. Advisory work includes over 15 GW of completed M&A transactions in the power and renewable energy sector as well as several large-scale $1b+ development and operating platforms in North America and innovative capital raising activities in both the public and private markets. He has also acted as an active bookrunner on over 40 capital markets financings raising nearly $20 billion in capital including several IPOs, acquisition-related and $1 billion+ financings.

James was the lead contributor in establishing CIBC’s flagship $150 billion environmental and sustainable finance program (initially announced in September 2019) including program conception, design and development of the inaugural reporting taxonomy. Program was subsequently increased to $300 billion in August 2021. 

James holds an HBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Stephane Desdunes is Vice President of Development for Grid-Scale Power at EDF power solutions, where he leads renewable energy development activities across Canada, New York, and New England. He oversees a portfolio of utility-scale wind, solar, and energy storage projects and manages all aspects of development from origination through permitting and the start of construction. With more than 20 years of experience in the renewable energy sector, he has contributed to the development of more than 2 gigawatts of contracted and commercialized projects. Stephane also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY) and President of the Board of Directors of the Québec Association for the Production of Renewable Energy (AQPER). He also serves on the Québec Steering Committee of the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA).

Philippe brings over three decades of experience focused on accelerating and scaling the transition to clean, resilient and affordable energy. He is the Founder and President of Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors, where he has the honour of leading a first-rate team of 65+ professionals who support clients among North America’s clean energy leaders.

In 2023-24, Philippe served as Chair of the Canada Electricity Advisory Council and previously served as the Chair of the Québec Government’s Electrification Working Group. Philippe is currently the Co-Chair of Efficiency Canada and serves as an Advisor to the Clean Economy Fund and to Electrifying Canada, among other positions. Philippe was recognized in 2021 as one of Canada’s Clean50 leaders, and in 2022 as one of North America’s Top 100 Impact CEOs.

Barbara Ellard is the Director of Resource and System Adequacy at the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). In this role, she is responsible for procuring and acquiring reliability services and incenting investment in new and existing supply resources. Barbara is leading the development and execution of a number of competitive procurements, such as the medium-term and long-term Request for Proposals. In addition, Barbara has responsibility over the IESO’s Capacity Auction and Ancillary Services contract portfolio. In her previous role as Director of Markets & Procurement, she was responsible for assessing and evolving Ontario’s electricity markets, developing new market mechanisms and procurement options to help manage system needs. Barbara played an important leadership role in initiating and developing the high-level designs for the IESO’s Market Renewal Program. Prior to her roles at the IESO, Barbara was Director of Policy & Analysis at the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), where she was responsible for dealing with a variety of strategic and policy issues that affect supply procurements and contracted resources. In addition, she was responsible for a number of support programs that enabled community and indigenous involvement in renewable energy and transmission projects. Additionally, Barbara managed a number of energy supply procurements while at the OPA and also in a prior role at the Ministry of Energy. Barbara graduated from the University of Toronto, where she earned both a Master of Arts and an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree. Barbara is fluent in English, German and Spanish.

As CanREA’s Senior Director of Policy for Québec and Atlantic Canada, Jean Habel serves as CanREA’s bilingual key representative and spokesperson in these regions.

He leads the Quebec and Atlantic networks, working closely with CanREA members. Prior to joining CanREA, he was Senior Advisor, Public & Government Affairs at the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires for two years, and the MNA for Sainte-Rose (Laval) for four years before that. Jean holds a BBA from HEC Montréal and is a CPA.

Matt Jamieson is a proud member of the Tuscarora Nation and resident of Six Nations of the Grand River, Canada’s most populated First Nation. As Chief Executive Officer, Matt leads SNGRDC investment strategy, operations, and asset management. SNGRDC has developed numerous partnerships with some of Canada’s largest and most respected private and publicly traded companies. Under his leadership, SNGRDC has built a $100+ million portfolio and participated in the construction of $3 billion of infrastructure assets. Since inception, SNGRDC has generated $250 million of direct economic impact for Six Nations of the Grand River.Matt holds a Post-Bachelor’s in Management, an MBA from Athabasca University and is a graduate of the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program. Matt also serves as an Executive-in-residence at the Rotman Business School and an Executive fellow at the Ivey Energy Policy & Management Centre.

James is the Executive Director of Indigenous Clean Energy, a not-for-profit that has provided training and capacity development to hundreds of Indigenous leaders and youth in the clean energy field. James is a member of Walpole Island First Nation, where he has previously served as Chief Executive Officer. James led the development of First Nation equity participation in two 100MW wind farms. These and similar experiences led James to become a champion of Indigenous community and business partnerships in clean energy. James holds an M.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, and he is a former municipal clerk. He has also spent time running a consulting business, Ajijaak Solutions, which provided governance and management support for First Nations and businesses. James is a sessional instructor at Western University’s Public Administration Program. He is a proud father, a multi-instrumentalist, and an avid outdoorsman.

Etienne is a recognized cleantech entrepreneur who’s been in the renewable energy, software development, and regulatory compliance space for over 15 years. During those years he has created and grown a number of companies. He believes strongly that renewable energy projects are part of the solution and need to manage regulatory programs pragmatically and proactively. Etienne is a graduate from McGill University and holds an MBA from INSEAD. He lives in Montreal, Quebec and is a proud father of three.

As CanREA’s Director of Policy for British Columbia, Patricia Lightburn works with members to advance strategic priorities in the BC market.

Prior to joining CanREA, Patricia was a managing consultant at Dunsky Energy and Climate Advisors. She has also held roles at Innergex Renewable Energy, the David Suzuki Foundation and the Ontario Power Authority (now IESO). Patricia holds a master’s degree from Sciences Politiques in Paris, France. Outside of work she explores the mountains with her young family and three dogs. She is based near Vancouver, in Squamish.

Emma Loewen is a Managing Director in the Energy, Infrastructure and Transition Group at CIBC responsible for the firm’s Western Canadian Power and Utilities coverage. She has over 18 years of investment banking experience across a variety of bulge bracket firms with the last seven at CIBC based out of Calgary.Emma has advised on a broad spectrum of Alberta based power transactions from both a financing and M&A perspective.

Emma holds an Honours BA in History from Middlebury College and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business.

Rachelle Lynne-Davies, P.Eng., is Director of Consulting & Operations at Compass Energy Consulting and a clean energy professional with over 13 years of experience supporting renewable energy development across North America. She specializes in labour compliance under the Clean Economy Investment Tax Credits (ITC), regulatory compliance, and renewable procurement support.

Rachelle currently leads labour compliance advisory for 500 MW of projects across Canada under the Clean Technology ITC. She has supported renewable energy developers in submitting over 9.1 GW of project bids across Canada and the U.S. Northeast, including Ontario, B.C., New York, and New England. Her previous experience includes serving as a lead Domestic Content compliance auditing consultant on several renewable portfolios in Ontario.

Rachelle holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Sustainable Energy from the University of Toronto and is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) with Professional Engineers Ontario.

As CanREA’s Director of Policy for Ontario, Eric Muller represents CanREA members and leads the Ontario Network to advance stakeholder advocacy and policy outcomes.

Prior to joining CanREA, Eric worked in a variety of functions at Ontario Power Generation, QUEST Canada and the Independent Electricity System Operator. Eric holds a bilingual Master’s degree in Public and International Affairs from York University.

Robert Nicholson is a Managing Director and Canadian Head of the Power, Utilities and Infrastructure Group at RBC Capital Markets. He is responsible for providing solutions for Corporate clients’ capital raising needs. This can include both public and private equity, investment and non-investment grade debt and either in the public or private markets. He also provides strategic advice to his utility, power generation and clean technology clients having advised on over $30 billion of company sales and acquisitions. Rob has been based in both the US and Canada in his 30 year banking career with the last 20 years at RBC in Canada. Robert holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley and B.A.Sc. (Civil Engineering) from the University of Waterloo.

As CanREA’s Vice President of Policy, Imran Noorani leads the development and implementation of advocacy strategies that drive the growth of renewable energy and energy storage across Canada, while providing strategic leadership to the Policy Team.

Imran was previously the co-founder of Peak Power, scaling the company across North America and mobilizing $1.4B in funding and project financing to advance renewables with storage. He held senior roles at the Ozz Group of Companies and in the public sector, giving him perspective across utilities, government and developers. Imran holds an MBA and an LLM in energy and infrastructure law.

Seamus O’Regan Jr. joined Stewart McKelvey in March 2025 as a Senior Business Advisor. He served as Member of Parliament for St. John’s South-Mount Pearl and held several federal cabinet positions, including Minister of Natural Resources, Minister of Indigenous Services, Minister of Veterans Affairs, and Associate Minister of National Defence. Seamus played key roles on government committees such as the Prime Minister’s Agenda, Results and Communications Committee, and Cabinet Committees on Canada-US relations, COVID, Reconciliation, and Defence Procurement. He was a long-standing member of the Treasury Board and chaired the Ministerial Working Group on Regulatory Efficiency and Clean Growth.

Prior to politics, Seamus was a journalist and host of CTV’s Canada AM. He is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and has served on boards including World Wildlife Fund Canada and Canada World Youth.

Alena Thouin is a seasoned public and private sector executive with more than 20 years of progressive leadership experience in financial services, strategy, operations, and public finance. She brings a strong track record of building high-performing teams, leading complex initiatives, and driving organizational transformation.Prior to joining the Building Ontario Fund, Alena served as Chief Operating Officer at the Ontario Financing Authority (OFA), where she provided executive oversight for corporate affairs, strategic project financing, information technology, and risk management of the provincial borrowing program. As Executive Lead of the Building Ontario Fund Secretariat at the OFA, she also played a foundational role in shaping the vision and operational framework of BOF.Alena is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and holds an LL.B. from the University of Windsor. She has also completed executive education at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Wharton Business School Executive Education, and the Rotman School of Management’s Director Education Program (ICD.D).A passionate advocate for inclusive leadership and mentorship, Alena actively supports initiatives focused on housing, social services, and gender equality. Her leadership style is grounded in empathy, collaboration, and a deep belief in the power of diverse perspectives to drive better outcomes.

George Vegh advises governments, regulators, boards, and investors on high-stakes energy and infrastructure decisions, particularly where regulatory independence, political pressure, and institutional design intersect. He is the former Chair of the Canada Energy Regulator, where he led Canada’s national energy regulator during a period of heightened scrutiny driven by the energy transition, Indigenous reconciliation, and expanding regulatory mandates. His responsibilities included institutional governance, adjudicative decision-making, and stewardship of regulatory credibility in contested environments.

George previously served as General Counsel of the Ontario Energy Board and practiced energy regulatory law for more than two decades, including as co-leader of a national energy regulatory practice. His experience spans electricity and natural gas markets, infrastructure development, and regulatory reform.

He is a Senior Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and Program Director of the Masters’ Program in Energy and Infrastructure Law at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he teaches energy policy, regulation, and institutional governance. He is widely published and frequently called upon to provide expert testimony and international advisory support on regulatory reform.

Focus areas

• Regulatory governance and independence

• Energy market design and oversight

• Institutional and mandate reform

• Energy transition and net-zero regulation

• Board-level decision-making under political pressure

Iain Watson is Country Manager, Canada at Marathon Capital and is based in Calgary, Alberta. He works closely with the firm’s senior leadership to expand the brand in one of the most important clean energy markets and further establish the firm’s physical presence in Canada.

Over the course of Iain’s 25+ year career in investment banking, he has advised clients on a variety of notable strategic transactions across the broader clean energy sector and led financing initiatives for many established Canadian issuers in the energy and infrastructure sectors. Prior to joining Marathon Capital, Iain held various roles at Canadian and European banks in Calgary and New York City.