On March 1, 2022, CCBC held a virtual fireside chat with Toronto Mayor John Tory on the City of Toronto’s post-pandemic economic recovery plan, and how Toronto can attract investment, trade, international students and tourists from China and beyond. Hosted by CCBC Executive Director & COO Sarah Kutulakos, the session was free of charge for CCBC members in good standing.

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The link to the video presentation is available upon request. Please contact your regional Chapter Director to request access:

• Atlantic: Edward Dai
• Quebec: Philippe Jeanneau
• Ontario: Jeff Zhang
• Prairies: Philippe Jeanneau
• BC: Philippe Jeanneau

• Beijing: Noah Fraser

• Shanghai: Edward Dai

About Mayor John Tory:

John Tory

65th Mayor of Toronto

Born and raised in Toronto, Mayor Tory has spent his life giving back to the city he loves, through his tireless work in public, private sector and philanthropic roles.

Elected as the 65th Mayor of Toronto in 2014 and re-elected in 2018, John Tory is making the city more liveable, affordable and functional.

He has improved the way people move around this city, fighting traffic congestion and speeding up major construction projects; introducing free transit for kids 12 and under and discounted transit for low income residents; championing a transit network expansion plan that includes the Relief Line, SmartTrack, the Eglinton East and Eglinton West LRT, Bloor Danforth Subway Extension to Scarborough and the Waterfront Transit Network; and securing $9 billion in transit investments from other levels of government – the single biggest infrastructure investment in this city’s history.

He has kept taxes low, while investing in priority services including affordable housing and poverty reduction, and modernizing the government services on which people rely.

Under his leadership, Toronto has attracted jobs and investment and emerged as an undisputed centre of innovation and opportunity on the world stage.

Mayor Tory and his wife Barbara have been married for 42 years and have four children and five grandchildren.

About Sarah Kutulakos:

Sarah Kutulakos
Executive Director & COO
Canada China Business Council (CCBC)

Sarah joined the CCBC in 2007 and has since revitalized CCBC’s role as Canada’s premier bilateral trade and investment organization. Sarah has re-centered the Council’s activities around providing business services, catalyzing business growth and activity, and advocating for stronger Sino-Canadian bilateral trade and investment. This has resulted in extensive public outreach activities, internal infrastructure improvements, the launch of new programs such as the Business Incubation Centre, and thriving member relations.

Prior to joining CCBC, Sarah worked for 11 years in marketing, product development, and management with a major multinational corporation, where she had multiple assignments involving China. Sarah managed worldwide product businesses that marketed to China and used China-based sources of supply. She was also involved in several projects requiring cooperation with the Chinese government. Sarah has led both established and start-up businesses within the context of a global corporation and has broad emerging market business experience, and has been involved in the Greater China region since the late 1980’s when she lived and worked in Taiwan. There, she was the first non-Chinese employee of a local high-tech start-up firm, where she gained a deep understanding of Chinese business practices.

A fluent Mandarin speaker, Sarah’s interest in China began at the University of Wisconsin, where she studied Chinese, marketing, and international business. She holds an MBA in finance and operations from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester. She frequently speaks on China issues, including marketing, trade, investment, and Canada-China relations.