A Bridge to Recovery

COVID-19 Rapid Screening for Alberta Companies

Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Time: 11:30 – 12:45 pm (MT)

Location: Online (Zoom webinar)

Cost: Free

Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout has experienced significant delays, and many business leaders fear our economy will fall behind other countries who will achieve herd immunity well before we do. One new tool – rapid antigen screening kits for COVID-19 – will soon be available to Alberta businesses to test asymptomatic people. The question is: how can businesses in our province implement rapid screening in the most effective way possible?

In partnership with the Business Council of Alberta and 19 to Zero, the Haskayne School of Business is hosting a virtual event for companies to learn about the rapid antigen screening protocols developed by the Creative Destruction Lab’s (CDL) Rapid Screening Consortium. Through their ambitious and unprecedented pilot project, the consortium has undertaken a national and collaborative approach with 12 large Canadian companies to develop an extensive playbook outlining the steps required for businesses to use these rapid tests safely and effectively.

Attendees will gain actionable insights that will enable them to roll out their own rapid screening programs. Participants will also receive access to the CDL playbook and hear from Alberta Health about the process to get access to Alberta’s rapid tests.

A recording of the event will be shared with all registrants and posted on this website after the event.

Presented in partnership with

The mission of the CDL Rapid Screening Consortium is to develop a cost-effective system for reopening the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic in the absence of widely available vaccines or treatments. It is a private-led, not-for-profit initiative formed in August 2020 with the goal of establishing a robust rapid screening system and operational implementation strategy to be delivered as a public good to Canada and then the world. It is led by the Creative Destruction Lab, which hosts one of it nine sites at the Haskayne School of Business.

Jim Dewald, Dean, Haskayne School of Business

Jim Dewald is the Dean of the Haskayne School of Business and Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship. Jim holds a BSc in civil engineering and MBA from the University of Alberta, and a PhD in strategy and global management from the University of Calgary. Prior to entering academics, Jim held several senior executive positions, including President & CEO of Walker Newby & Partners Inc., Hopewell Residential Communities Inc., and StoneCreek Resorts Inc. and President of 411HomeNet Inc. He has served on 30 private and public company and community boards and currently sits on the Global Strategic Advisory Board of the Creative Destruction Lab. Jim has several research and teaching awards, three books, two book chapters, over 20 academic papers, and more than 60 newspaper and practitioner articles to his credit.

Adam Legge (moderator), President and CEO, Business Council of Alberta

Adam Legge is the President of the Business Council of Alberta. He has worked with the founders since day 1 of the organization to create something new and unique – an organization of business leaders advocating for shared prosperity and a better life for Albertans. Adam has spent over two decades building and leading high-performance teams and organizations in business, public policy and economic development. He is a life-long student of economics and history and believes strongly in the ability of a team to create something remarkable. He was the 18th President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber where he transformed a struggling organization into a national and international award-winning entity. He is the author of Making Remarkable and a former Director at the Haskayne School of Business and Vice President and Chief Economist at Calgary Economic Development.

Dr. Jia Hu, Family Physician and Medical Officer of Health, Alberta Health Services; Chair, 19 to Zero.

Jia Hu, MD is a family physician and Medical Officer of Health with Alberta Health Services and Chair of 19 To Zero. He is also a Corporate Medical Director with the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board with Cleveland Clinic Canada. As Medical Officer of Health with Alberta Health Services, he has played an important role in many aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including scaling-up of testing and contact tracing, development of the mobile contact tracing app, assisting organizations with COVID-19 preparedness and re-opening, and engaging in risk communications. He works part-time as a family physician at a clinic and a long-term care facility that serves patients with complex medical, mental health, and substance abuse issues.

Bart Johnson, Deputy Incident Commander, Alberta Health Emergency Operations

Bart Johnson is Deputy Incident Commander of Alberta Health’s Emergency Operations Centre, where he co-leads coordination of the department’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also is the executive lead for testing in the department and co-chairs the Federal-Provincial-Territorial ADM Committee on Testing, Tracing and Data Management. In his usual (pre-pandemic) position, Bart is the Executive Director of Alberta Health’s Research and Innovation Branch, a post he has held since 2016. He has served in senior and executive positions in the Alberta government since 1999, including more than 17 years as a communications advisor to Ministers and senior government officials across several departments, including Treasury Board & Finance, Energy, Health and Executive Council.

Catherine Luelo, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Air Canada

Catherine Luelo is Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Air Canada, with overall responsibility for the IT strategy and systems that support and enable Air Canada's global business. Catherine sits on the Board of Directors for the Creative Destruction Lab Rapid Screening Consortium, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation, and Scale AI, the Montreal-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) supercluster. She also serves on the CIO Advisory Board for IBM and Amadeus, as well as the Bell Customer Advisory Board.

Sylvie Tran, Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety, Suncor

Sylvie Tran has been working in the energy industry for over 20 years. She joined Suncor in 2019 and is currently the Vice-President of Environment, Health and Safety. Prior to this role, she was the Vice-President of Engineering, Exploration & Development. Previously, Sylvie worked in various leadership roles for Shell in the United States and Calgary covering safety, environment and regulatory affairs, portfolio management, non-operated ventures and development (deepwater, shale, natural gas and coalbed methane). Finally, before joining Shell in Canada (2004), Sylvie worked as a drilling engineer and rig supervisor with various companies worldwide in Canada, Australia, France and Algeria. Sylvie holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from McGill University. Sylvie is passionate about community service and serves on several Boards including the National Academies of Sciences Marine Board, True School Studio and the Suncor Energy Foundation.