Women’s Leadership Symposium
The biggest Rotman Commerce student-run conference of the year.
WLS 2026
This year marks our 17th Annual Women’s Leadership Symposium!
WLS is a two-day leadership conference featuring panels, workshops, and networking opportunities that empower students with career insights from industry professionals.
Our evening networking social will take place on January 16th, followed by conference day on January 17th!
Both will be held at the Omni King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto.
Keynote Speaker
Jenn Harper, Founder & CEO of Cheekbone Beauty
Jennifer Harper had the most vivid dream of little Indigenous girls covered in colorful lip glosses. That dream is what gave birth to Cheekbone Beauty, one of the first Canadian Indigenous-owned and founded cosmetics companies.
After reconnecting with her Indigenous roots and learning about the effects of residential schools from her grandmother, Jennifer set off on her mission to build Cheekbone Beauty and to create a space in the beauty industry where everyone, including Indigenous people, feel represented and seen.
Since then, she has been on Dragon's Den, gotten her products into Sephora, been covered by several recognizable news outlets and was listed among Canada Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2024.
Keynote Moderator
Baiyinah Jivanjee, Customer Experience Coordinator at Holt Renfrew & Principal Writer of Interiors of Fashion
Baiyinah Jivanjee is a graduate of the University of Toronto and McMaster University, with a strong academic foundation in ethics, globalization, and consumer behavior.
She has extensive experience in the fashion and luxury retail industry and currently works as a Customer Experience Coordinator at Holt Renfrew. Alongside her industry work, she is the principal writer of Interiors of Fashion, a Substack publication with a global readership of over 46,000 subscribers, where she publishes in-depth analysis on fashion business strategy, consumer behavior, and market trends.
