Speakers
Colleen Leithman
Director Legal and Corporate Secretary
The Avon Company of Canada Limited, and
DSA Canada Board of Directors Chair
Vida Achundsada
Speaker Bios
Geoffrey E. Molson, C.Q.
Geoffrey Molson has been a general partner of CH Group Limited Partnership since December 2009 and the President and Chief Executive Officer of CH Group Limited Partnership since 2011, which owns the Montreal Canadiens, evenko, Equipe Spectra, Just for Laughs and the Bell Center.
He currently is a member of the Board of Directors of the Molson Coors Brewing Company and serves as an ambassador for Molson Coors, representing the Molson family in key strategic areas of the business. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of RES PUBLICA Consulting Group and a member of the Molson Foundation, a family foundation dedicated to the betterment of Canadian society, St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation, and the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation.
Mr. Molson was also recently appointed to the Order of Canada and was made Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Quebec in 2019. He holds an M.B.A. from Babson Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Lawrence University.
Avi Krispine
Avi Krispine is partner and co-founder at Claria Development, a Real Estate Development and Private Equity firm. Launched in 2020, Claria quickly gained recognition for its strategic investments and innovative approach.
With an impressive 25 years of experience in Real Estate as an executive, entrepreneur, speaker, and a coach, Avi leverages its vast experience to help investors of all sizes grow and achieve great results. He thrives on building alliances and has built an extraordinary network.
Prior to Claria, Avi Krispine was the Executive Vice President and Managing Director of CBRE from 2015-2020.
Throughout his career, Avi has earned a reputation for being an inspiring leader and mentor and cumulates over 30,000 hours of coaching experience with clients across the globe.
Avi’s love and passion for life is fueled by a commitment to discipline and holding professionals and organizations accountable to fulfill their greatness and unlock their full potential.
Native of Montreal, Qc. where he currently resides with his wife and four beautiful daughters, Avi is dedicated to giving back to the community and is actively involved in various philanthropic endeavors where he occupies Leadership or Board of Director positions.
Stuart MacMillan
Stuart is a senior executive with over 35 years of management experience, the last 24 of which have been in the direct selling channel.
Following a successful career in the telecommunications industry with companies such as Cantel (now Rogers Wireless), ACC TelEnterprises and Teleglobe, Stuart was introduced to direct selling with Dallas Texas based; Excel Communications where he was responsible for its explosive international growth as the first International President of Excel Communications in Canada. He also led Arbonne in its foray into International as the first President of Arbonne Canada, where the company set business records with unparalleled results. As the Co-Founding President of MONAT, he took this startup from zero to in excess of 800 Million in 6 short years.
Stuart has worked in both the United States and Canada and has spoken at events around the world including Europe, Australia, the Caribbean and South America. In 2022, Stuart was the recipient of an American Business Lifetime Achievement Award.
Marcia Cota
Marcia never dreamed that she would hold more than 700 home parties in her first seven years as an independent sales consultant, never mind build a successful business that would eventually lead her to the corporate side of the industry she had fallen in love with.
Fast-forward 20+ years, Marcia has filled various roles in sales, marketing and leadership positions with industry leaders such as Pampered Chef, Avon, lia sophia®, Origami Owl, Advocare and now MONAT Global, where she leads Canada and the North American sales teams as Senior Vice President of North America.
Marcia believes that the future remains bright for the world of direct sales, as it really was the pioneer of influencer marketing – using key independent sales consultants to drive a company message to a larger market in an organic way.
