Moderators

Ted Hobson
Retired Professor
Mahone Bay Area Seniors’ Project

Ted Hobson spent 30 years in the Canadian Foreign Service, specializing in international trade and economic affairs. He served as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1996 to 2000. Before retiring in 2001, Ted was "Diplomat in Residence" at the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies at Dalhousie University in Halifax, where he also taught a course on "The Politics of International Trade".

Shortly after retiring to the Mahone Bay, NS area, he joined the board of directors of the Mahone Bay Centre, where for the past three years he has headed up the Mahone Bay Area Seniors Project, initiating programming for seniors in one of the oldest communities, demographically, in Canada.  The Seniors Project has established a range of social, recreational, cultural, and lifelong learning programs to encourage active living; provided a forum for information and discussion on topics of interest and concern to seniors; and initiated an effort to have "seniors helping seniors" with occasional household chores to enable them to live safely on their own homes longer than would otherwise be possible.

Chris Bryant
Senior Corporate Policy Analyst
Office of Policy and Priorities of the Government of Nova Scotia.

Prior to joining the Office, Chris spent 15 years with the Department of Economic & Rural Development working in Community Economic Development and Policy areas. Highlights of his work included preparation of the economic development strategies, Opportunities for Prosperity in 2000 and Opportunities for Sustainable Prosperity in 2006. He also led the team that prepared the Nova Scotia Community Development Policy.
 
Before joining the provincial civil service, Chris was President of Holland College, Director of International Programs with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and Executive Director of CUSO. Chris was educated at McGill, Harvard and Dalhousie.

Dan Jennings
Vice President
Deloitte Canada, Atlantic Financial Advisory

In his role with Deloitte, Dan advises Atlantic Canadian businesses on mergers & acquisition, corporate finance, business valuation and succession matters.  

Dan has spoken many times on corporate finance topics to various business groups throughout Atlantic Canada, including being accepted as an expert witness in the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia courts, and the federal Tax Court.

Dan is a graduate of Acadia University and is a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Business Valuator and Corporate Finance Specialist.

Deloitte & Touche is one of Canada’s leading professional services firms, offering audit, tax, financial advisory and consulting services to businesses and governments across the country and the Atlantic region, including offices in Saint John, Halifax and St. John’s.