For more than 120 years, the Empire Club of Canada has been a place where national and world business, political and cultural leaders come to speak.
Over the years, the Empire Club has hosted speakers like British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher, U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Prime Ministers Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney, Stephen Harper, Paul Martin, Jean Chrétien and Diefenbaker, and public figures like the Dalai Lama and astronaut Dr. Roberta Bondar.
Last Thursday night, the second floor of the 170-year old classic brick and beam Storys Building in downtown Toronto, Ont., witnessed a first. Leaders from Accelerate Auto, a not-for-profit promoting career opportunities for Black talent in Canada’s auto industry, took part in the first all-Black panel in the organization’s 122-year history. The panelists talked about the state of the auto industry, and dug into some key topics around diversity, equity and inclusion and mentoring the next generation. It was an important moment for our industry, and an overdue conversation.
Journalist Stephanie Henry moderated the first-ever all-Black panel discussion at the Empire Club of Canada.
After the panel discussion, and in his closing remarks, Christopher Nabeta, Executive Chairman of Accelerate Auto, and Director of OEM Sales and Strategy with TD Auto Finance, took a moment to appreciate the moment. “For the first time in the 122-year history of the Empire Club of Canada, tonight is the first ever all-Black panel on the stage,” said Nabeta.
Christopher Nabeta, Executive Chair, Accelerate Auto and executive with TD Auto Finance, thanked attendees and sponsors and recognized the historic moment
Nabeta thanked the panelists, the attendees, and the Empire Club: “I want to say thank you. Thank you for maintaining this space where voices that shape our country can speak freely. Thank you for sharing that space with Accelerate Auto,” he said.
The title for the talk was “Leaders in the Auto Tech and Tech Mobility Sector — How a Diverse Workforce Can Increase Innovation.” Topics discussed were timely, as the panelists tackled current issues like the threat of U.S. tariffs and their potential impact on the Canadian auto industry, the vehicle affordability crisis, and related issues.
The heart of the discussion though, was about the need for Canada’s auto industry to do a better job at recruiting, training, and retaining the next generation of talent — and in particular, seeking out and developing more diverse talent. With the auto sector responsible for one in eight jobs in Canada, the panelists argued that the industry needs all the talent it can muster to remain competitive.
Attendees mingle before the main event at the Empire Club.
The panelists were: Shereena Robinson, Director Human Resources at Porsche Cars Canada; Jerome Chinner, VP Sales and Development, taq Automotive Intelligence; and Yolanda Biswah, President of Canadian Black Book. They were interviewed by moderator Stephanie Henry, an automotive journalist and broadcaster, and CEO of She Auto Know.
Before the panel session, David Adams, President and CEO of the Global Automakers of Canada (GAC), set the stage for the topic at hand and presented findings from a private survey sent to 3,500 of his members that consist of 16 OEMs with 25 brands.
“The survey highlighted that GAC members collectively have a much higher inclusivity scores and racial and ethnic diversity scores than corporate Canada generally,” said Adams, adding that he was a little surprised by the findings, because in his almost 40 years in the automotive industry: “there were a lot of people that looked like me and not diverse or inclusive.”
He said his members would continue to make strides to improve its diversity.
“Our diversity benchmarking survey underscores the theme of the discussion today, that the auto sector and the technical mobility sectors need more than ever the skills and innovative thinking of all Canadians within those ranks.”
He added that “those individuals need to be seen, they need to be valued, and this is going to be necessary for the automotive industry to propel itself forward.”
Then the main event took place as the all-Black panel assembled on stage.
After some questions about the threat of tariffs and the state of the industry, the panel talked about the importance of diversity in the industry.
Panelists tackled current events and then dove into the key topic of diversity and its positive impact on business and innovation.
Jerome Chinner said he had worked for many organizations over the years, including his current employer taq Automotive Intelligence that develop tech solutions, and that they need to hire a diverse group of data scientists. “Everything we do is based on data,” said Chinner. “People will lie — but data never lies.”
He said the company wouldn’t have had their breakthroughs without the diverse thinking that comes from teams with different backgrounds. “There’s just no way that you’d be able to do what they do. I think that’s important because you get different perspectives. People look at things way differently.”
Chinner said organizations must be intentional if they set out to build a more diverse workforce. “I think we need to be deliberate in what we do. I think we need to change where we look at how we look for talent,” said Chinner. “You can’t expect to hire or have a different talent pool if you’re fishing in the same pond. It’s never going to change.”
He encouraged the audience and employers to look at recruiting from different schools and universities because that will open up access to more diverse groups that might have been overlooked.
Yolanda Biswah, from Canadian Black Book, encouraged employers to reach out to Accelerate Auto to involve them in their search for talent. “You have to call Accelerate Auto, they have great programs,” said Biswah. “I think we have to go non-traditional and I think Accelerate Auto has been introducing organizations to talent pools that we’re typically not getting from a traditional agency,” she said.
Biswah said she’s very excited and encouraged by the talented young people she meets with. “We just need to create opportunities. We need to create a path for them to get there, because they are going to run the future.”
Shereena Robinson, Director Human Resources at Porsche Cars Canada, said the industry, particularly with the arrival of more high-tech electric vehicles, needs to attract even more talent, particularly technicians who can diagnose and service these vehicles. “Tech has always been around. Now we’ve come to that intersection of tech and auto,” said Robinson.
She said her organization has forged partnerships with leading universities like York University and the University of Toronto. “I think that’s where it starts,” said Robinson. “We have to create learning and encourage people to get into the industry. Basically we are driving computers and we need engineers and we need people who know data and analytics.”
After the panel discussion, they fielded questions from the audience. Biswah was asked about why the industry still lacked more Black leaders in the senior ranks, without a single Black OEM leader in Canada, and not one Black-owned car dealership.
Panelists were asked why there were still so few Black leaders in senior positions among OEMs and car dealers.
Ai Henry, Co-Founder RenMobi Inc. asked panelists about supports for Black-owned entrepreneurs and businesses.
“I think leaders in our industry are not being intentional with whom they promote to the next level. It’s not that they’re not in your organization, they’re in your organization, but you have to create the opportunity and the path for them to get there. And you’re not doing that,” she said.
Biswah then shared a personal story about the late Kathy Ward, a legendary figure in Canada’s auto industry who used to head Canadian Black Book. Biswah said the day before Ward passed away, she sent her a message recognizing the challenge that lay ahead for her. It said: “Make sure the Boys Club takes care of you.”
Bishwah said the message said that when you are 50 years old and in automotive as a woman, ‘there’s no place for you.’”
“I tell you, that stays with me all the time. I don’t want to have to say to someone else, another woman in automotive, that the Boys Club has to take care of you. I should be able to do that,” she said.
A packed house came to hear the first all-Black panel in the Empire Club’s 122-year history discuss issues relevant to Canada’s auto sector.
Biswah said she gets frustrated when she sees industry promotions and it’s not the diverse person within their organization that gets the job.
The Empire Club’s leaders also recognized the evening’s sponsors which included Scotiabank, TD Auto Finance, taq Automotive Intelligence, and BMO, along with their organization’s lead season sponsors Bruce Power and Hydro One, and their media sponsor the Toronto Star.
Ironically — given the current state of Canada-U.S. relations — the Empire Club was formed in 1903 as a response to Canadian political unrest and the perceived threats to Canadian sovereignty from the United States and its Manifest Destiny ambitions to expand their empire and power. The name of the Club reflected its founders’ desire for Canada to maintain strong ties to the Commonwealth.
Left, Yolanda Biswah, Canadian Black Book, and right, Andy Wadeson, TD Auto Finance.
Since its inception, the Empire Club has hosted 3,500 prominent Canadian and international leaders. For more information, visit: https://empireclubofcanada.com/
Accelerate Auto is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to increasing Black representation in the Canadian automotive industry that provides Black talent and youth with access to mentorship for skills building and peer networking to support professional growth and career development. www.accelerateauto.ca
