Meet the Experts
Climate Change: What Can You Do? | January 29, 2020
David Rutherford
David Rutherford is VP, ESG Services at NEI Investments. He originally joined NEI as VP Marketing in August 2016 with a mandate to lead the re-positioning of the organization around Responsible Investing (RI). In his current role since May 2019, David is leading NEI’s ESG team and program helping reinforce the company’s leadership position in the rapidly changing investment landscape and increasingly competitive RI space.
A highly versatile leader with 30+ years’ experience in corporate, government, agency and non-profit organizations, David holds an undergraduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Ryerson University, and earned a master’s degree in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics, where he examined the impact of digital technology on human behaviour and interaction.
He has also earned his living as an abstract oil painter, cartoonist, writer and journalist.
Allie Rougeot
Aliénor (Allie) Rougeot is a third-year economics and public policy student at the University of Toronto (“UofT”). Her early interest in human rights and the environment began at the age of 10, inspiring her to become a climate justice activist in high school. She started as a fierce advocate for wildlife protection and biodiversity laws but began focusing her efforts on the climate crisis once it became apparent that crucial emission reduction targets were not being met. Since then, her dedication to the cause has led to her recognition in Toronto Post Magazine’s '20 Under 20', and Corporate Knights’ '30 Under 30'. In addition, she received the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace’s (“VOW”) Kim Phuc Youth Award, and the 2019 Climate Arts Awards’ Youth Climate Award. VOW is Canada’s longest-standing feminist peace group, and the 2,000-member, non-partisan group holds consultative status at the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council.
At UofT, Allie organized a campus-wide campaign to reduce single-use plastics. The subsequent creation of a nearby bottled water operation by a multinational corporation appeared to offset the positive results of her efforts. As a result, Allie felt her individual changes, choices, and initiatives were being undermined by large stakeholders, and began advocating for the use of strikes, voting, and other vehicles to directly appeal to, and promote action amongst, employers, governments, and corporations. Since January 2019, Allie has been the Lead Coordinator of the Toronto chapter of Fridays for Future, the worldwide youth climate strike movement started by Greta Thunberg. Speaking to Corporate Knights, Allie stated, “My dream would be that every student graduating in 2020 and 2021 feels as though they are a climate leader, no matter which field they go into.”
Stefan Hostetter
Stefan Hostetter is a Toronto-based climate expert, storyteller, and community builder. Stefan works with the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) in Toronto as the Community Manager of CSI Spadina and Project Coordinator for the Agents of Change: Climate Solutions program. CSI's vision is a world where people and the planet come first, building a movement of nonprofits, for-profits, entrepreneurs, artists, and activists working across sectors to build a better world. They are a co-working space, community, and launchpad with locations in Toronto and New York City, providing members with the tools to accelerate their success and amplify their impact.
Outside of CSI, Stefan is the Co-Chair of the Toronto Climate Action Network (TCAN), an action-oriented outreach organization working towards addressing the threat of climate change via public awareness, education and support alongside other organizations with similar objectives and goals. In addition, he co-hosts the ‘Green Majority’, a nationally-syndicated radio show focused on environmental topics. He also co-produces the 'Stories We Don't Tell', a monthly storytelling series and podcast that dives into the parts of people's lives that society often leaves untold.
Bolstering his long-held dedication to environmentalism, Stefan graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Environmental Studies and Philosophy in 2012. His subsequent positions and passion projects exemplify his on-going commitment to the environment, and to being at the frontlines of progress.
Michael Davidson
Michael Bruce Davidson was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1965 to parents, Thelma Davidson and the late Brian Davidson. Brian Davidson was an entrepreneur, businessman and later Executive Vice President of Loblaw Companies before his death in 1992. Thelma was a medical secretary. Michael has two sisters, Miriam and Toby.
Growing up Michael was always a creative and innovative thinker; often challenging his teachers. He found the structure of formal education monotonous and boring and after much resistance from his parents he decided to leave school at the early age of 20 to launch his own successful career as an entrepreneur.
Today Michael Davidson is an accomplished businessman with a global perspective. At an early age his father taught him the power of retail. He convinced him the value of selling commodities to retailers. Michael took his advice and started his first company called Trinity Plastic Products in 1985. He bought and sold supply items used every day in grocery retail and within a few short years was became very established. As a true entrepreneur and visionary he took his early success and invested that into introducing the world to the first compartment zing shopping carts and containers called the Greenbox System.
Michael convinced retailers that plastic bags weren’t environmentally conscious. His suggestion was that they should be replaced with hard rigid containers made of plastic that consumers could purchase and bring back to the store instead of plastic bags, saving millions of bags from ending up in landfills.
The Greenbox System became a success with retailers like Loblaw’s in Canada and Safeway in England stepping up and embracing the system. His efforts didn’t stop there he worked with manufacturers around the world developing and making his products better and more cost effective. His keen eye for detail and relentless pursuit of perfection made manufactures revisit their technologies and practices to share his dream of a new retail world. He has invented, patented, and reshaped many ways that retailers do business today.
Today, Michael is President and CEO of InStore Group of Companies based in Toronto comprising of 5 inter companies that support and service the North American retail market. In addition he is President Indeed Laboratories. A cosmetics company that is changing the way every day consumers purchase affordable anti aging products that really work.
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Michel loves sports, competition and the art of a deal. His passion for work is only surpassed by his love for his family. A father of 3 beautiful daughters and a beautiful and committed wife of almost 20 years they have a wonderful life in Toronto. He is known to be a tough business man but fair and one of his weaknesses is charity. His quiet and anonymous donations for those in need goes way beyond the call.
