Join the Centre for International Experience for an empowering conversation about the impact of innovation and change on leadership with U of T alumna, Kirstine Stewart, CRO of Pex and author of the award-winning bestseller, Our Turn.

Kirstine will share her perspectives on leadership drawing on her trailblazing career in Canada and the U.S. as a C-suite leader for some of the biggest names in technology and media, including Twitter, CBC, Alliance Atlantis, and Hallmark. 

Through lessons learned from her own dynamic and industry-spanning career, Kirstine will share practical insights and advice on what it's like working in tech and media, how women can tap into leadership at a time of new opportunities, and how to be an effective leader, no matter what your role or industry.

About Kirstine

Kirstine Stewart is an award-winning business leader with deep expertise working at the intersection of media and technology.  She is currently the Chief Revenue Officer of Pex, a digital rights technology company based in Los Angeles. Kirstine’s career spans executive leadership roles at Twitter, CBC, Alliance Atlantis, Hallmark, the World Economic Forum, among other media and technology companies.

In 2016, Kirstine authored Our Turn, a bestselling and award-winning book which discusses the potential of women leaders in a time of new opportunities, especially in the world of rapidly changing technologies.

At the World Economic Forum, Kirstine headed the Future of Media, Entertainment, and Sport division, collaborating with leaders from Facebook, Google, ByteDance, and more to address issues such as digital disruption, consumer privacy, and the future of work. At Twitter, she was instrumental to the company's entry into the Canadian market, having served as its Founding Head of Canada, and later its VP of Media for North America. Kirstine was the first woman and youngest person to ever head the CBC, leading the network to achieve record breaking ratings during her tenure. She also served as Senior Vice President for Alliance Atlantis, a media company with a portfolio of Canadian lifestyle channels including HGTV, Food Network, BBC Canada, National Geographic, History, and more.

Throughout her career, Kirstine has been recognized for her outstanding leadership including being named in The Power 50: Canada’s Most Powerful Business People by Canadian Business in 2016, Person of the Year by Playback Magazine in 2012, Woman of the Year by Canadian Women in Communications in 2010, among others.

Kirstine’s leadership extends into non-profit advocacy, having served as a member of the Founding Board for the Coalition of Innovation Leaders Against Racism (CILAR), and as a member of the board for the Center for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation.

She graduated from the University of Toronto in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts in English.