Online

Pivot Points: Navigating Career Change and Reinvention

Thursday, May 14, 2026

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET

Online Livestream

Career paths rarely move in straight lines. This interactive panel explores how Ivey alumni navigated bold pivots across industries and geographies, sharing candid lessons, risks, and practical advice for your next move.

Fees

Complimentary

Free Registration

In This Session...

If you’ve ever felt stuck, restless, or quietly questioning whether your current path still fits, you’re not alone. A career change can spark equal parts excitement and anxiety: imposter syndrome, fear of losing momentum, and uncertainty about how to translate your experience into something new. It’s hard to know whether you’re chasing growth or simply reacting to discomfort.

In this livestream, you’ll hear candid stories from Ivey alumni who have faced those same doubts and made thoughtful pivots across roles, industries, and geographies. We’ll unpack the real catalysts behind their decisions, the risks they weighed, and how they reframed their Ivey experience to unlock new opportunities. You’ll leave with practical strategies, sharper self-awareness, and a clearer lens for evaluating your own next move.

Guests

JP Cadeau

Deputy Minister, Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade

JP Cadeau was appointed Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade in April 2024. In this capacity JP provides leadership to a cross-functional team in the planning and implementation of a number of key Provincial policy objectives to support growth through strategic investments across critical sectors (advanced manufacturing, life sciences, ICT, defence) and through an expansion of trade across Canada and internationally.

Prior to joining the Ontario Public Service (OPS), JP held a range of senior leadership positions in the private sector, including as President of the Canadian management platform of a pre-eminent North American owner, operator and developer of seniors living properties.

JP’s career spans executive leadership roles across strategy, operations and investments, having led teams through enterprise corporate strategic planning, market entry and asset growth strategies, joint venture partnerships, and capital allocation planning. Early in his career, JP was a management consultant focused on health system strategy.

JP graduated from Western University (BA) and the Richard Ivey School of Business (MBA).

Akash Rastogi

Chief Capital Strategy Officer, Canada's Ocean Supercluster

Akash is a seasoned business strategist with extensive experience driving complex transformational initiatives – both at industry level and for leading North American financial institutions. Despite being raised in the land-locked city of New Delhi, India, Akash dreamt of the high seas since childhood. After spending the last 20 years in the Financial Services industry – in senior roles that included Partner & Canadian Head of Financial Services Advisory practice at a Fortune 200 consulting firm and institutional derivatives trading – Akash finally pivoted to the ocean-climate nexus. Akash is currently the Chief Capital Strategy Officer at Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, co-founder of the Reykjavik Protocol, mentor at CDL – Oceans Stream, member of Canadian National Carbon Management Coalition, mentor to numerous ocean-based CDR startups and a Board member of Humber Bay Sailing Centre. Akash is passionate about ocean-based climate mitigation solutions and is leveraging his in-depth strategy consulting and capital markets experience to help propel it. Akash is a graduate of Indian Institute of Technology, Richard Ivey School of Business at University of Western Ontario and Stanford Graduate School of Business. Akash is a drummer and an ardent sailor preparing for his maiden ocean passage. He lives with his family in Toronto, Canada.

Naomi Midanik

Registered Psychotherapist & Founder, Bright Balance Psychotherapy

Naomi Midanik (HBA 2005) is a registered psychotherapist and founder of Bright Balance Psychotherapy in Toronto. After 17 years in marketing leadership roles at organizations including Johnson & Johnson, Bank of Montreal, and Plan International Canada, she made a mid-career pivot into psychotherapy. Naomi now works primarily with professionals navigating stress, burnout, and complex workplace dynamics, bringing both clinical training and firsthand experience from the corporate world.