Kirstine Stewart
Kirstine Stewart is the Head of Shaping the Future of Media and a Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum where she leads a team working with the CEOs, Chairs and other CSuite execs from more than 40 major global media companies including Google, Facebook, Tencent, NBCU, Bytedance and more. The team works with these media leaders to keep the industry on the leading edge in a disrupted marketplace.
Kirstine first worked at the intersection of tech and media when she led the Media and Content Teams as VP North America for Twitter, transitioning after she built the fastest-growing Twitter ad sales office in the world, located in Canada. As VP Media in New York, Kirstine led teams driving content creation and business partnerships in News and Government, Entertainment, Music, and Sports.
Before moving to Twitter, Kirstine was the Head of Canada’s national broadcaster the CBC. She is credited with reviving the public broadcaster by introducing such hit shows as Dragons’ Den, Murdoch Mysteries, Heartland, and more, expanding CBC’s reach across TV and Radio and taking the Corp through a major digital transformation marked by the 2014 Olympics.
Over her career, Kirstine held series of executive positions in Canada, and the US focused on the global expansion of US brands including leading Canada’s HGTV and Food network and management and programming 37 international channels for Hallmark with offices in Denver, Hong Kong, New York, and LA.
Prior to her work at the Forum, Kirstine held C-suite positions at two successful tech startups, the most recent being digital transformation company TribalScale working with John Hancock and Emirates among other international Fortune 1000 companies. She has served on a number of public, private, and nonprofit boards and advisories including TheScore, WOW (Creators of Castlevania) PSP Investments, and Ryerson University’s DMZ.
Kirstine is also the author of the bestselling leadership book published by Random House “Our Turn”.
3 words to describe Nature?
Overwhelming. Beautiful. Respect
3 things Nature taught you?
That there are literally things bigger than yourself.
That humans are not in control.
But that humans can do damage on a horrendous scale.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The pitons of St Lucia
The Niagara escarpment
The Colorado Rockies
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Calm
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Inquisitive
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Trembling
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Alive
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Guttural
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Displaced
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Lake & river
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Falling in the 16mile creek catching crawfish at school
Sonia Beeksma
Sonia Beeksma is a traffic anchor and segment reporter for CTV Morning Live in Vancouver.
The award-winning broadcaster joined CTV Vancouver in 2016, but her career started in 2009 after completing the Broadcasting and Performing Arts program at Columbia Academy and the journalism program at BCIT.
It was her internship at eTalk Toronto that not only fuelled her interest in the entertainment world but introduced her to the hard work it takes to be in media.
She soon returned to Vancouver and worked as a news reporter and anchor for both TALK-1200 (RJ AM) and news station CKNW 980.
Her radio days were numbered as she was snatched by Global Television to become the weekend weather specialist and feature story reporter. Her performance was not only noticed by her colleagues and competitors but also by the BC Association of Broadcasters whom would soon award Sonia with Broadcaster of Tomorrow award.
She then joined CTV Morning Live as a traffic specialist and entertainment/fashion reporter. Sonia is described as an incredibly versatile broadcaster having hosted entertainment stories, fashion, community and feature stories.
She is very active in the community and emcees a variety of charitable events.
When she’s not in front of the green screen, Sonia’s world is her 8-year-old daughter. And when she does have some spare time, she likes to weight train and get outside for fresh air.
3 words to describe Nature?
Liberating. Calming. Intriguing
3 things Nature taught you?
Constant confirmation that there is a God (Creator)
Us humans are such a small part of the equation on this earth
To slow down and be present
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Crescent beach (local)
Sunshine Coast hikes (around BC)
Road to Hana in Maui
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Overwhelmed with peace
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Comforted and a little indecisive if I want to dive in and see what wildlife awaits.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Powerless
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Invigorated, sunset means I get a good night’s sleep, sunrise means I have the entire day ahead of me to accomplish so much!
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Utter fear, that is some force that would make the hair on my back (if I had any) stand up.. lol
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Very refreshed, makes me feel like the air is cleaning itself out. In my field when there’s an air quality advisory in effect, you need that wind to come and blow out the bad air. So when that happens, we all take a deep breath in and say, fresh air!
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Definitely an Ocean and Mountain person. By the ocean in the summer and on the mountain in winter.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10. Nature teaches us so much, it helps us slow down, it not only cleans our lungs but I think it’s healing to our soul and spirit.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I grew up in New Delhi where it rarely rained, so when it did 3 or 4 times a year, all the kids would come out and play cricket in the rain. Memories I will cherish forever.
Kid Carson
Originally from Toronto, Kid is one of Canada’s most notable radio personalities. He started as mid day host for KISS 92, then moved to Z95 in Vancouver, hosted the morning show for The Beat 94.5 and finally host at KISS Radio. Kid has been honored with the BC Award of Excellence Association of Broadcasters, has received on multiple occasions the TV Week Readers' Choice Awards and was nominated a few times for Canadian radio personality of the year by CMW (Canadian Music Week). Some of his favorites interviewed guests include Eckhart Tolle, Dr. John Gray, Dr. Joe Dispenza, Gary Chapman and Malcom Gladwell.
For the past couple of years, Kid has been fully dedicated at launching a new digital platform he co-founded that will disrupt the growing podcast industry. The launch is set for early 2019.
3 words to describe Nature?
Connected. Provider. Intelligent
3 things Nature taught you?
I read a book called “the hidden life of trees”. It taught me that trees have personalities and are able to learn. They make their own decisions and learn from their mistakes. A tree that kept its leaves too long during one year will never make this mistake again. It makes you wonder, without brains, where do trees save their experiences? Learning this…taught me that there is an intelligence in nature that we don’t fully grasp.
That WE are nature… and not separate from nature like we are taught.
That, as an energetic human being, the environments I spend time in, have an influence on me.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
I love the old growth around lighthouse park, the smell, the energy.
Standing at the top of a mountain holding my snowboard in Whistler.
Jet-skiiing around the local islands… it’s almost meditative. This summer I had the experience of a lifetime when I rolled up on a pod of whales! We just cut the engines and floated in silence listening to them talk and breach the water a few times. It was surreal how close we were.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Calm, dialed in
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Curious!
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Tiny!
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Excited for the day ahead, and reflective of the day passed.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
I like it… builds some anticipation…
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Annoyed
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean all the way. It’s really important to me that I live within’ a few minute walk to the water.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
In elementary school, my friend’s family lived on a huge nursery. We spent hours and hours, running thought the forest, greenhouses, secret paths, tree forts, bush tunnels… it was epic and such a great memory