Canada and Israel’s Free Trade Agreement was built on historic ties, deep people-to-people links and common values. As the world finds itself challenging trade orthodoxy, Canada and Israel have worked quietly behind the scenes to modernize and improve their trade agreement to make it more accessible, more 21st Century relevant and more productive. Join Canadian Club Toronto on May 29 to find out how modern trade is possible and how Canada and Israel are redefining how it can be done and how more people can benefit.
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne
François-Philippe Champagne was elected the Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice-Champlain on October 19, 2015. A few weeks later, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance of Canada, a position he held until January 10, 2017, when he was appointed Minister of International Trade of Canada by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Businessman, lawyer and international trade specialist, François-Philippe Champagne has more than 20 years of experience in large international companies, particularly in the field of energy, engineering, and innovation. He was Vice-President and Senior Counsel of ABB Group, a leader in cutting-edge technology that operates in more than 100 countries. Later he served as Strategic Development Director, acting General Counsel, and Chief Ethics Officer and Member of the Group Management Committee of AMEC, a world leader in the energy sector. In 2009, he was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He has also served on several boards over the years, including Incheon Bridge Corporation (South Korea), C3E (Center of Excellence in Energy Efficiency), and was President of the Canadian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce.
Eli Cohen
Eli (Eliyahu) Cohen is the Minister of Economy and Industry of the State of Israel as of January 2017, and a member of the Twentieth Knesset (Israeli Parliament) representing the ‘Kulanu’ party.
Prior to his appointment as Minister of Economy and Industry, Mr.
Cohen chaired the Reform Committee of the parliament. As chairman of this committee, Cohen led the parliamentary work related to several major reforms inter alia the banking system in Israel, technical standards, capital market, pension, housing and real-estate. In addition to his capacity as chairman of the Reform Committee, Mr. Cohen has promoted various private bills mainly in the pension and housing fields.
Before joining politics, Mr. Cohen held various positions in major Israeli Financial Companies. Cohen headed the Economic sector of the accounting and consulting firm- BDO Ziv Haft, then he moved to the credit rating company “Maalot S&P” where he headed its Corporate division. Cohen’s last position in the private sector was Senior Vice President of the Israeli Insurance Company ILDC (The Israel Land Development Company). In the latter, Cohen was responsible for the ongoing management of the group’s companies and served as a member of the board in all the companies within the group.
Mr. Cohen, CPA, holds an MBA degree majoring in accounting and finance from the Tel Aviv University, and has a BA degree in Accounting from the Tel Aviv University and also a BA degree in Management and Economics from the Open University of Israel.
Mr. Cohen completed his military service in the Air Force and was discharged with the rank of Major.
Born in 1972, in the city of Holon, Mr. Cohen is married and has four children.
Martine Irman
Martine Irman is responsible for enterprise-wide banking initiatives at TD Securities and is the lead executive for ensuring senior client relationship management is seamless across the firm’s key global businesses. As a member of the TD Securities Supervisory Committee and Co-Chair of the Inclusion and Diversity Leadership Council, Martine plays a key role on the firm’s senior leadership team. Martine currently Chairs the board of directors for Export Development Canada and sits on the Board of Directors of the TMX Group Inc.
Over the past 25 years, Martine has held several executive positions with TD Securities, including most recently, Vice Chair, Global Capital Markets Products. In this role, Martine set strategy and provided leadership for a team of over 500 front-line professionals based on three platforms on different continents and had accountability for Interest Rate, Currency Trading, Origination, Sales (across all client channels), Institutional, Corporate, Commercial, Retail and Wealth and International Banking inclusive of Global Transaction Banking (International Trade Finance, Cash Management and Correspondent Banking). Before joining TD, Martine held increasingly senior treasury related roles at CCL Industries.
A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Martine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Financial Studies. She has also completed The Wharton Business School Advanced Management Executive Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Martine is a graduate of the Rotman School of Management Institute of Corporate Directors and holds the ICD.D certification. Martine is bilingual in both French and English, values community involvement and is also known as a strong leader and mentor for women in the investment industry. She currently is Chair of the Board of Directors for the YMCA of Greater Toronto and a Co-Founder and inaugural Co-Chair (2008-2010) of Women Gaining Ground for United Way Toronto. Also active in the investment community, Martine is a member of Women in Capital Markets Advisory Council.
Martine has the distinction of being honoured as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 (2003) and was recognized for both her professional excellence and leadership by Women in Capital Markets (2013 Award for Leadership) and the Brock University’s Goodman School of Business, Distinguished Leader award in 2016.
