Executive Steering Committee

KJ (Ke-Jia) Chong

KJ (Ke-Jia) Chong is Senior Counsel at Laurentis Energy Partners. Previously, she was General Counsel at BroadGrain Commodities Inc., a Canadian-based international grain trading company in the agricultural industry. She is called to both the Ontario and New York bar. Prior to moving in-house, KJ worked in the private sector on Bay street and other boutique law firms. 

KJ has led other non-profit legal organizations as chair and as treasurer of executive boards. In her capacity as treasurer for the National GC Network, she draws her knowledge from her undergraduate international business degree at the Schulich School of Business at York University. She completed her joint common law and civil law degree at McGill University, studying in both English and French.

Her understanding of equity, diversity and inclusion is informed by her pro-bono work at legal clinics in which she has helped persons facing systemic poverty. 

Catherine Chow

Catherine Chow is Chief Legal Officer at Canucks Sports & Entertainment. Previously, she was Vice President + General Counsel at Keg Restaurants Ltd. Catherine has 20+ years of experience in private practice, representing national tenants and real estate developers. 

Recognized by industry awards for leading innovation in risk management, Catherine shares her experiences as a columnist for a national corporate counsel magazine. Catherine recently won the Adam Albright Excellence Award for teaching business law as an Adjunct Professor at UBC Allard School of Law. Catherine has been appointed as an adjudicator to the Law Society of British Columbia for a four-year term to preside over cases of lawyer’s professional misconduct, disciplinary action and admissions. Catherine holds a LLB’97 and BA’94 from the University of Calgary, and an LLM’07 from the University of British Columbia. Together with her spouse, Catherine enjoys playing volleyball at Kits beach, and getting active outdoors with their two young children in Vancouver.

Rustam (Rusty) Juma

Rustam Juma is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Volkswagen Group Canada Inc. In this role, Rusty provides corporate governance, legal, and risk management advice to the Board and senior management during a period of unprecedented change. 

Prior to joining Volkswagen Group in 2023, Rusty was General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Eckler Ltd., Canada’s largest privately owned actuarial consulting firm with offices across Canada and the Caribbean, and was in-house counsel at Deloitte and worked in private practice at international law firms in both Toronto and Calgary.

Rusty graduated law school from Western University and obtained a Bachelor of Science from the University of Waterloo. He has worked in the United States and Afghanistan, studied abroad in India and has volunteered in Vietnam.

Rusty is a director of the Newcomers Women’s Services Toronto and was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario to sit on the Council for the Association of Professional Geoscientists. Rusty was awarded the Canadian General Counsel Award in 2022 and awarded the global Top 10 30-Something Award in 2016 by the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Hubert Lai

Hubert obtained his law degree from Queen's University. He articled in Vancouver with the intellectual property law firm of Barrigar & Oyen (now known as Oyen Wiggs Green & Mutala LLP), and practised law with the national firm of Fraser & Beatty (now known as Dentons Canada LLP).

Hubert was appointed as University Counsel at the University of British Columbia in 2001. At the time, he was the youngest person to have ever served in such a capacity at a major Canadian university. As well, from 2006 to 2007, he simultaneously served as the University's Associate Vice President, Government Relations. Since 2007, he has served as a member of the University Executive. In 2012, he was appointed as Queen's Counsel (now King's Counsel) by the Lieutenant Governor in Council. In 2022, he was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer Magazine.

Hubert has been involved in a number of organizations, both related and unrelated to the University. He currently serves as a director and as a member of the Management Committee of the Hong Kong Foundation for UBC Ltd., as a director of Asia Pacific Regional Office Ltd and as a founding director of the National GC Network. He co-chaired the national conference of the Canadian Association of University Solicitors in 2017 and co-chaired the inaugural conference of the National GC Network in 2022.

Previously, Hubert has served as a member of the British Columbia Advisory Council, convened to advise the federal Secretary of State for Western Economic Diversification, as a director and a member of the LIST Foundation, as a founding officer of Webnames.ca Inc., as a founding director and officer of Paragon Testing Enterprises Inc., as an officer of the Cedar Lodge Society, as the President of the Vancouver Branch of the Queen's University Alumni Association, as a founding director of entrepeneurship@UBC Management Inc. and entrepreneurship@UBC Ventures (VCC) Inc., and as a director and officer of UBC Research Enterprises Inc.

Hina Latif

Hina Latif is Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Mercedes-Benz Canada and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Canada. In her dual roles, which she has held since July 2022, Hina is responsible for providing timely, effective legal advice to both Mercedes-Benz corporation and the Financial Services company, and to minimize legal risk for both companies. She also oversees matters related to HR, privacy and compliance and works closely with external counsel to ensure services are cost-effective. She collaborates with her peers on the executive leadership team to devise and implement corporate strategy which relates to customers, dealers and employees.

As diversity leader, Hina co-chairs a recently launched diversity and inclusion working group at Mercedes-Benz Financial which aims to optimally utilize the diversity of thought that comes from the company’s existing diverse and inclusive workforce. Prior to Mercedes-Benz Financial, Hina acted as Canadian Counsel for Element Fleet Management and has extensive experience in secured financing.

Hina is qualified in Ontario, and in the UK where she began her legal career in 2000.

Kikelomo Lawal

Kikelomo Lawal is the global leader for CIBC’s Legal, Government Relations, Corporate Secretary, Client Complaint Appeals and Privacy Office functions, and related policies and programs. She is also responsible for leading the development of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy across the bank.

Kikelomo has more than 25 years of progressive leadership experience, including legal expertise as both a trial lawyer and a transactional lawyer. Prior to joining CIBC, Kikelomo was Chief Legal Officer, Ombudsman and Corporate Secretary at Interac Corporation, and, prior to that, she practiced law at firms on Bay Street in Toronto and Wall Street in New York City.

A mentor to many, Kikelomo contributes her time as a Board member and advisor to various organizations. She has been named one of the 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada, one of the top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada and one of the Top 25 Most Influential Women in Payments.  She has also been shortlisted as General Counsel of the Year. 

Kikelomo is a graduate of Harvard Law School and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from New York University. She is a member of the New York State Bar and Law Society of Ontario. She and her husband are the proud parents of three children. 

Jeanette Lee

Jeanette Lee is the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Arterra Wines Canada, Canada’s leading producer and marketer of award-winning Canadian and imported wines (such as Jackson-Triggs, Inniskillin, Le Clos Jordanne, Sandbanks, Ruffino, Kim Crawford, and others). As the company’s chief legal officer she acts as a strategic leader overseeing corporate and governance work, M&A, litigation, trade practices, strategic partnerships, privacy, digital, labour and employment, marketing and regulatory law, and other legal matters for the organization. She is also Chief Privacy Officer, Accessibility Officer and Compliance Officer, and acts as secretary for the company’s Board and Audit Committee.

Jeanette spent much of her legal career practising entertainment, marketing and IP law, at Bereskin & Parr, McCarthy Tetrault LLP, and at Stohn, Hay, Cafazzo, Dembroski, Richmond LLP, and in-house at Canwest Mediaworks/Global TV. Prior to joining Arterra, Jeanette acted as Director, Senior Corporate Counsel at Restaurant Brands International, managing Marketing & IP legal matters for Tim Hortons, Burger King and Popeyes brands in Canada and internationally.

Jeanette holds LL.B. and B.C.L. degrees from McGill University. She is called to the bar of Ontario. An active member of her community and the legal profession, she serves on the Boards of Wine Growers of Canada, National GC Network and ALAS/ALAC.

Leola Pon

Leola Pon is the Associate Director of Education, Organizational Transformation, Accountability, and Legal at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). She previously served as its Executive Officer, Legal Services. Before joining TDSB in 2013, Leola worked in private practice as a management-side labour and employment lawyer and as a human resources and labour relations professional. She co-founded the National GC Network, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Toronto Lands Corporation.

Leola was called to the Ontario bar in 2006, and has certificates in Human Resources, executive leadership, governance, and change management. She is the recipient of three Canadian Lawyer InHouse Magazine Innovatio Awards, including Innovation of the Year. In 2019, Leola and her team were recognized as one of Canada’s leading in-house teams by the Legal500 GC Powerlist Canada. She also received the Ontario Bar Association Canadian Corporate Counsel Association Excellence Award in 2020 and was an awardee at the 2022 Canadian Law Awards.

Hilda Wong

Hilda Wong is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for First National Financial LP and oversees all aspects of First National’s legal affairs including formation of legal policy and strategy, compliance and regulatory matters, board and governance matters, risk management, contract negotiation and documentation. She is also First National’s Chief Privacy Officer and Chief AntiMoney Laundering Officer.

Prior to joining First National in 2007, Hilda was a partner with the national law firm of Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP.

Hilda holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Toronto and has been in practice since 1993. She is a member of the board of The Barbara Schlifer Commemorative Clinic. From 2013 to 2023, she was a director on the board of the Women General Counsel Canada Network.