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Guest Speakers
Laura Schwab President for Aston Martin the Americas
Laura Schwab has been President for Aston Martin the Americas since 2015. Her role as Regional President embraces sales and service, public relations, brand marketing and communications to both Aston Martin’s customers and 45 dealers in the region spanning the United States, Canada, Mexico and South America. She joined Aston Martin from Jaguar Land Rover, where she worked most as Marketing Director, leading marketing communications, experiential events, sponsorships, product marketing, customer engagement and corporate social responsibility.
Patrina Gentile Moderator
Petrina Gentile is an award-winning automotive journalist -- one of the few women who cover cars in Canada. Petrina has been writing for The Globe and Mail’s Drive section since 2004. Besides auto reviews, she also interviews celebrities such as Theo Fleury, Mario Andretti, Patrick Dempsey, Clara Hughes, and Ron MacLean about their cars. She covers the automotive beat for CTV NewsChannel on her bi-weekly segment called "Up to Speed" and reports regularly on CP24 and BNN. She produced 18 seasons of the national TV show Car/Business with Jeremy Cato and Michael Vaughan, which was broadcast weekly on CTV and BNN.
Maria Soklis President of Cox Automotive Canada
Maria Soklis was named President of Cox Automotive Canada in 2015. She is leading the development and execution of Cox Automotive’s Canadian business strategy and operations and has responsibility for the existing Manheim, Dealertrack and Next Gear Capital business. Since she joined Cox Automotive, Manheim’s footprint has been expanded coast to coast and the business has grown nearly 20%.
Prior to her current role, Maria was the Vice President & COO of Kia Canada where she was the highest ranking female executive globally and the pioneer of Drive Change.
Susan Gubasta President of Cox Automotive Canada
Susan Gubasta is President & CEO of Mississauga Toyota, a family run dealership in the GTA. Susan has worked in the business for 23 years, working in all departments of the dealership to understand the operation, eventually becoming a General Manager and then President. Susan was the first woman on the Ontario Toyota Dealers Advertising Association. She is currently serving on the Executive Board of the TADA (Trillium Automobile Dealers Association) and in 2018, she will become the first female President in its 110 year history.
