AWS Summit Toronto Keynote Speakers
Wednesday, September 11, 2024 | Metro Toronto Convention Centre - South Building
AWS Summit Toronto is now wrapped! Thank you to all who attended and we can't wait to see you at another Summit in 2025!
Meet the Speakers
Imagine what’s possible when you put powerful tools in the hands of millions of builders. Francessca Vasquez, Vice President, Professional Services and Generative AI Innovation Center, AWS, Laura Money, EVP, Chief Information and Technology Innovation Officer, Sun Life, and Humza Teherany, Chief Technology and Digital Officer, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, will explain how AWS is democratizing the next phase of AI and empowers builders to transform nearly every type of customer experience. Whether you’re an established enterprise or a fast-growing startup, This keynote will provide valuable insights into how generative AI, developer tooling, and cloud infrastructure are coming together to change what’s possible. Discover where technological trends are going, how AWS is leading the way with secure and scalable solutions, and why it’s never been a better time to be a builder.
Francessca Vasquez
Vice President, Professional Services and Generative AI Innovation Center, AWS
Francessca Vasquez is the Vice President of Professional Services and Generative Artificial Intelligence "GenAI" Innovation Center for Amazon Web Services (AWS). She oversees the sales and delivery P&L of AWS consulting services, consulting offerings, and management of customer engagements across the worldwide public sector, commercial, and partner business. Francessca and her team direct specific programs and projects that ensure services are meeting the needs of customers and deliver outcomes. She is responsible for the co-innovation of service delivery of emerging technologies such as GenAI, Quantum Computing, and Application Modernization, helping customers successfully build and deploy generative artificial intelligence solutions, connecting AWS AI and ML experts with customers around the globe to envision, design, and launch new generative AI products, services, and processes. Francessca also serves as the Executive Sponsor for the AWS Global CIO Council.
Prior to AWS, Francessca held a number of leadership roles with Oracle, Salesforce, CSC (now DxC), Sun Microsystems, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
She holds a Master’s degree in Science and Technology Public Policy from George Mason University, a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Lynchburg. She is a STEM advocate and active participant in non-profits that inspire cultural inclusion, equitable access, and diversity such as the First Tee, Year Up, the Information Senior Management Forum, Hispanic IT Executive Council, Code.org, and Rainier Scholars – a 12-year program offering a pathway to college for low-income students of color. Francessca is a Board of Trustee member at the University of Lynchburg.
Laura Money
EVP, Chief Information and Technology Innovation Officer, Sun Life
Laura Money is Executive Vice-President, Chief Information and Technology Innovation Officer of Sun Life. Laura oversees all aspects of Information Technology including strategy, architecture, infrastructure, development and applications. She is passionately committed to advancing digital transformation and innovation to support Sun Life’s Clients and business partners. Prior to Sun Life, Laura held senior IT roles at a major Canadian bank, and she has over 30 years of experience in Canadian, American and British financial institutions.
Humza Teherany
Chief Technology and Digital Officer, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
Humza’s organization at MLSE leads the development and execution of organization-wide business strategy, digital, technology, IT, data science, and program delivery across MLSE's diverse portfolio, including teams, venues, and esports initiatives. Humza focuses on emphasizing data analysis to drive innovation, enhance fan engagement, improve cost efficiency, and enable revenue growth.
In addition to being responsible for cross-functional business strategy, Humza is a key executive sponsor of the MLSE & AWS jointly founded SportsX program. SportsX is a first of its kind research & development program championing a culture of innovation for sports, entertainment, and technology, in Canada. The program leverages AWS technologies, MLSE’s platform and thought leadership from both sides to create innovative new solutions for the sports industry.
Prior to MLSE, Humza was at Compass Group North America where he built a technology and digital strategy company called Compass Digital Labs and served as the CEO. Compass Digital Labs helped to drive billions of dollars of incremental revenue and market differentiation in the retail and hospitality sectors across the United States and Canada.
Humza has also worked at Allstream, where he led Business Transformation and IT Enterprise Architecture. He has also held various technical and management roles at Bell Canada. A frequent keynote speaker at various North American conferences focused on technology, innovation and driving business results, Humza has built strong technology and business partnerships with top organizations around the globe. This network allows him to innovate creatively and quickly, accelerating business objectives.
Humza also represents the Toronto Raptors on the NBA’s Team Innovation Advisory Council. The TIAC is responsible for driving innovation and best practices at the NBA team level in collaboration with the league. Humza has an undergraduate degree from York University and holds various professional training accreditations from both the Schulich School of Business and the Niagara Institute, he also served as President of the CIO Association of Canada and was recently awarded a lifetime achievement award by the organization for his contributions to the Canadian tech ecosystem.
Humza is an active member on the Canada Basketball Board of Directors, the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation Board, Founding Member of the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism, and also serves on the Global Institute of Sport Advisory Board.
Start building on AWS today
Whether you re looking for compute power, database storage, content delivery, or other functionality, AWS has the services to help you build sophisticated applications with increased flexibility, scalability, and reliability.