Mohamed Basma leads our Small Business Services division for ADP Canada and oversees the complete client journey from implementation to Service. Mohamed’s mission is to make sure our Canadian Small Business Clients are satisfied and successful with their HCM solution.

Mohamed joined ADP in 2018 as Vice President of Service Strategy and Operations and held multiple roles including leading the Outsourcing Service Organization and then leading Service Delivery for our Small Business, mid-market, up-market and nationals segments.

Prior to ADP Mohamed worked for 11 Years in Management Consulting at Accenture followed by leading the Global Procure to Pay Department at Restaurants Brands International across all three brands: Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes.

Mohamed earned his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering at the University of Toronto and his Masters of Business Administration at INSEAD in France and Singapore. Mohamed lives with his family in Toronto, ON. He is a passionate cyclist and participates in cycling events to create awareness such as the “Ride to Conquer Cancer” from Toronto to Niagara, and “Cycle for the Cause, the NorthEast AIDS Ride” from Boston to New York.

Dan is an Executive Financial Consultant who has been providing personalized financial advice and support to his clients since 1991. Dan has earned both his Certified Financial Planner and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designations, a combination recognized by the financial industry as a true mark of excellence.

Dan has built his practice over the years from a sole venture to an 11-member team. Dan specializes in business succession strategies, retirement income planning and estate/legacy preservation.

While the team works together to provide excellent service to the practice’s client base, Dan and his Associates – Eddie Giraldo and Norm Shogilev – are concentrating on assisting business owners to enhance their financial plans and growth strategies. Their counsel includes tax efficiency, risk management solutions and incorporation advice.

Both approachable and unassuming, Dan works with clients to understand what retirement means to them and builds a financial plan to reflect their wishes. He has been fortunate to witness key milestones in many of his clients’ lives, growing their financial plans from early adulthood, through marriage, home purchases, children, business launches and pre-retirement. His dedicated client base—many of whom have been with him for 25 to 30 years—speaks to his business acumen and client service commitment.

An avid sportsman, Dan enjoys cheering on the Jays and the Raptors as well as playing golf and pickleball – however his favourite thing to do is travel with family and friends.

In conversations about artificial intelligence, the headlines tend to lean toward extremes; either promises of miraculous transformation or warnings about robots taking over. For small business owners, that noise often creates a bias: the belief that AI is reserved for big companies, is too complicated to learn, or poses nothing but a threat to jobs. This keynote challenges those assumptions head-on with humour, relatable examples, and practical insights for entrepreneurs who may feel left out of the conversation.

The message is simple but urgent: if there is any group that stands to benefit the most from AI, it’s small businesses. Far from being inaccessible, AI has already slipped into the daily tools owners and operators use, from accounting platforms to scheduling apps and even farming equipment. The real question isn’t whether you should “learn AI” or become a tech expert. The question is whether you’ll take advantage of the capabilities that are already built in.

This keynote will take a “glass-half-full” perspective on what AI means for business owners. Rather than dwelling on fears of job loss, it will spotlight the very real productivity gains AI is unlocking—transformations estimated to add hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in value across sectors like farming, retail, and professional services. And most importantly, these gains come not from replacing people, but from simplifying the type of routine, time‑consuming tasks that prevent business leaders from focusing on strategy and growth.

Through examples and lived experience, the talk will reframe AI as a powerful tool for eliminating paperwork rather than eliminating people. For small teams that lack layers of staff, the ability to automate forecasting, scheduling, and administration can serve as a genuine superpower. Yet the human element remains irreplaceable. Technology may accelerate efficiency, but only people bring the judgment, trust, and relationships that close deals, build teams, and keep customers loyal. As the keynote makes clear: robots don’t do coffee meetings.

Drawing on his background leading through past cycles of hype and skepticism, Yves will emphasize that the current wave of AI is different. Unlike speculative fads of decades past, AI is already embedded in tools small businesses rely on today. Owners don’t need to become coders or engineers to take advantage of it; the heavy lifting is happening behind the scenes. What business leaders must do is remain curious, adopt a bias toward optimism, and lean on the right partners to make these technologies work for them.

AI is not a choice between people or machines. The future of small business is the combination of human insight with AI‑powered bandwidth; brains plus efficiency, judgment plus scale. For those willing to stay engaged and glass‑half‑full, the payoff will be very real.