March 10–11, 2026
St. John’s Convention Centre, St. John’s, NL

2026 Conference Agenda

(Agenda details subject to change)

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Day 1 - Tuesday, March 10, 2026

8:00 AM

Doors Open

8:30 – 9:00 AM

The Honourable Lloyd Parrott
Minister of Energy and Mines, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

Opening Remarks

Session 1: Delivering Digitalization - Opportunities and Challenges

Hear about how digitalization is changing operations and improving efficiency, safety, and environmental performance in key global sectors – offshore energy, defence, mining and other sectors, and what opportunities exists for Canadian businesses and innovators.

9:00 AM – 10:15 AM

Bill Browne
Surface Engineering Supervisor, ExxonMobil Canada

Dr. Vincent Myers
Defence Innovation Secure Hub (DISH) Implementation Lead, Defence Research & Development Canada (DRDC)

Charles Nyabeze
Executive Vice President, CEMI and Network Director, MICA

Moderator:
Dave Finn
CEO, Energy Research & Innovation Newfoundland & Labrador (ERI)

Session Sponsor

10:15 – 10:45 AM

Networking Break

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Session 2: Energy and AI at Natural Resources Canada

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the future of energy in Canada and around the world. This presentation will draw on insights from the International Energy Agency (IEA), explore how Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) labs are using AI to accelerate energy innovation, and take a look at how NRCan is supporting the adoption of AI in the energy sector.

10:45 – 11:15 AM

Frank Des Rosiers
Assistant Deputy Minister, Energy Efficiency and Technology, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)

Moderator:
Tyler Beatty
Canada East R&D - Research, Education & Training Lead, ExxonMobil Canada

Session Sponsor

Session 3: Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS)

Canada's Defence Industrial Strategy is a whole-of-government plan to build up a robust and resilient defence industrial base that is capable of meeting the needs of the Canadian Armed Forces and Allies, building up sovereign capabilities, and investing in defence and dual-use innovation. This session will highlight key aspects of the DIS.

11:15 – 12:00 PM

Kate Belo
Acting Deputy Director, Defence Industrial Strategy (implementation), Department of National Defence (DND)

Keegan Filion
Deputy Director, Aerospace, Defence & Marine Branch, Innovation, Science & Economic Development Canada (ISED)

Erin Strohm
Deputy Director, Policy & Governance, Defence Investment Agency (DIA)

Mark Cumby
Regional Director/Energy, Eastern Canada, Hatch

Realizing Canada’s Dual-Use Opportunities

Moderator:
Dave Finn
CEO, Energy Research & Innovation Newfoundland & Labrador (ERI)

Session Sponsor

Session 4: Insights from the Deployments of Autonomous Robots in Operations

Equinor, recognized as a leader/early adopter of robotics in the energy sector, will share insights from their experience in deploying autonomous robots in operations.

12:00 – 2:00 PM

Svein Ivar Sagatun
Advisor and Head of Robotics, Equinor ASA

Moderator:
Brad Elliott
Principal Engineer, Equinor Canada

Session Sponsor

Session 5: Autonomous and Remotely Operated Systems in Harsh Marine Environments

A panel discussion of companies’ paths to success and lessons learned in deployment of leading-edge technology systems including autonomous surface vessels (ASVs), and subsea and aerial drone systems and the partnerships/collaborations that contribute to their success.

2:00 – 3:00 PM

Peter Crocker
Product Owner - KATFISH & ALARS, Kraken Robotics Inc.

Jelmer DeWinter
Regional Commercial Strategy MAI & Uncrewed Solutions Manager, Americas, Fugro

Chris Laporte
Project Manager, Suncor (Seconded)

Steve Priestly
Chief Operating Officer, Altomaxx

Moderator:
Kelley Santos
Director of The Launch and Centre for Applied Ocean Technology, Marine Institute (MUN)

Session Sponsor

Session 6: AI Collaboration and Application Case Studies

Newfoundland and Labrador’s innovative tech sector has successfully collaborated with the oil and gas sector to develop AI-based solutions to operations challenges. Two recent case studies will be discussed including the lessons learned in technology development and implementation in a collaborative relationship.

3:00 – 3:45 PM

Enhancing Safety and Operational Performance with AI:

Jeff Brown
President and CEO, FocusFS

Mike Jones
Senior Digital Lead, ExxonMobil Canada

Nina Verster
Project Engineer, Enaimco

Terra Nova Subsea Digital Twin:

Moderator:
Jill Mackay
Chief Safety Officer, Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Regulator (C-NLOER)

Session Sponsor

3:45 – 4:30 PM

Session 7: Additive Manufacturing and Design

Additive manufacturing continues to advance as an important solution for maintenance and repair in heavy industry and multiple sectors. The path to maturity is complex and challenging, and this session will explore the growth and adoption of AM through a range of perspectives.

Alexandre Bois-Brochu
President, Canada Makes & Deputy Director, Quebec Metallurgy Center

Dr. Ahmed Elruby
Assistant Professor, Smart Materials Additive-Manufacturing Research Technologies (SMART), Memorial University

Sean Morgan
Director of Operations, Atlantic XL

Moderator:
Dr. Ladan Khaksar
Senior Materials Engineer and Additive Manufacturing Specialist, Aker Solutions

Session Sponsor

4:30 – 6:00 PM

Social Event

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Day 2 - Wednesday, March 11, 2026

8:00 AM

Doors Open

8:30 – 8:35 AM

Meagan Kay-Fowlow
President, Co. Innovation Centre (Co.IC)

Opening Remarks

8:35 – 9:15 AM

Session 8: Opening Keynote

Dr. Peter Mason
Director General, National Research Council Canada, Quantum and Nanotechnologies Research Centre (QN)

Moderator:
Dr. David Murrin
Director General, National Research Council Canada, Ocean, Coastal, and River Engineering Research Centre

Session 9: Accelerating Canada’s Leadership in AI and Digital Innovation – Panel

AI is invoking a step change in how businesses, governments, and society in general work and live. Canada’s ambitions as a global leader in AI and digital innovation will need to be met to deliver the nation’s agenda for resilience and growth and fulfill a “generational change” in trade, technology development, infrastructure renewal and modernization, and ambitious resource development and defence needs. Panelists will discuss the path for Canada’s innovation leaders in the future of AI and high-performance computing and how we collaborate nationally.

9:15 – 10:30 AM

Warren Ali
Director, Industry Development, Vector Institute

Dr. Trung Duong
Canada Excellence Research Chair and Full Professor, Memorial University

Jacqueline French
Director of the Center for Analytics, Informatics and Research, Memorial University

Chris Melnick-MacDonald
Director, Artificial Intelligence and Data, Atlantic Business Unit, CGI

Marlene McNaughton
Chief Revenue Officer, Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (AMII)

Joe Sehl
Innovation Leader, IBM Canada

Moderator:
Tyler Beatty
Canada East R&D - Research, Education & Training Lead, ExxonMobil Canada

Session Sponsor

10:45 – 11:15 AM

Networking Break

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Session 10: Celebrating the Ecosystem: NL AI and Quantum Update

Gain insight into Newfoundland and Labrador’s growing AI and quantum capacity and capabilities and meet some of the research and entrepreneurial leaders. This session will highlight the activities and successes of AI and quantum research programs and applications and inspire you to connect, learn more and explore opportunities with local expects in our ecosystem during the networking sessions.

11:00 AM – 12:15 PM

Stephen Hill
Managing Director, Avalon Holographics

Dr. Brad McNiven
Coordinator of Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Memorial University; Co-Founder, Compute Everything Technologies Ltd.

Steve Mercer
Vice President, Innovation & Digital Transformation, Keyin College

Robin Murphy
Founder & CEO, Audyse

Salar Salahi
CEO & Co-Founder, Nditive

Moderator:
Ed Martin
President and CEO, Genesis Centre

Session Sponsor

Session 11: Luncheon Keynote

Guardrails for the Digital Age: How Regulators Enable Safe Innovation

12:15 - 2:00 PM

John Pirie
HM Principal specialist Inspector - Electrical, Control Systems & Cyber Security, UK Health and Safety Executive

Moderator:
Scott Tessier
CEO, Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Regulator (C-NLOER)

Session Sponsor

Session 12: Digital Innovation – How Do We Get It Approved, Faster? - Panel

Industry regulators are finding innovative ways to keep pace with changing digital technologies being adopted by industry while avoiding “regulatory capture”. Accelerating collaboration with industry while maintaining safety is an important challenge that must be met to accelerate innovation. Panelist will discuss their experience, successes, and challenges.

2:00 – 3:15 PM

Jacqueline Lee
CEO, PolyUnity

John Pirie
HM Principal specialist Inspector - Electrical, Control Systems & Cyber Security, UK Health and Safety Executive

Roger Barakett
Managing Director, Robotics, Leeway Marine

Moderator:
Scott Tessier
CEO, Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Regulator (C-NLOER)

Session Sponsor

Session 13: Closing Keynote

CoLab Software is emerging as one of the fastest growing start-ups emerging from NL’s innovation ecosystem, recently announcing a $72M USD Series C fundraise. The company’s first AI agent, AutoReview, has 47,000+ engineers on the waitlist and major multinational designers and manufacturers are adopting CoLab’s EngineeringOS platform. Co-founder and CEO Adam Keating will discuss CoLab’s experience growing from a local start-up to a scaling technology company on the international scene, and his perspectives from participating in the renewal of Canada’s National AI Strategy.

3:15 – 3:45 PM

Session Sponsor