Laurent Amram is a dynamic entrepreneur and the visionary behind some of Quebec’s most successful corporate-owned healthcare ventures. In 1993, Laurent founded CDL Laboratories which has since grown to become a leading Canadian diagnostic laboratory and national showcase and business partner of Roche Diagnostics. Today, CDL proudly serves more than 450 clinics and thousands of doctors, with an unrelenting focus on quality, service excellence, cutting-edge technology, and innovation. Building on its success, Laurent launched a network of medical service facilities in 2016 under the ELNA Medical banner, which has since become Canada’s largest network of primary and specialty clinics.
With a career spanning more than 25 years, Mr. Ifergan’s wealth of knowledge and keen business acumen has resulted in major mergers and acquisitions and financing initiatives in both privately and publicly held companies of diverse industries, including healthcare.
Mr. Ifergan’s extensive track record has encompassed various tenures as vice-president over a 10-year period for top accounting firms KPMG, Richter and RCGT, following his role as an investment banker with Desjardins Securities. A Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), he holds a Bachelor of Business Administration – Specialization in Accounting from HEC Montreal.
Patrick Gosselin is a highly skilled IT executive with proven success leading teams through the strategy, design, and implementation of advanced technology solutions across large medical and retail networks. As Head of IT at Medicentres Canada Inc., he was responsible for developing and implementing the strategic technology road map for the largest chain of corporately owned medical clinics in the country. The innovative solutions he put into place continue to help the clinic network – now part of ELNA Medical – rapidly expand, providing enhanced physician access and patient care, resulting in better health outcomes for Canadians. Prior to joining Medicentres, Mr. Gosselin held roles of increasing responsibilities in IT over two decades at the Rexall Pharmacy Group, owned by McKesson Canada. He led technology advancements for more than 450 retail pharmacies and long-term care homes.
Zachary Stauber is a proven leader in digital transformation. He brings his experience from global management firm McKinsey & Company’s New York office where he drove digital transformation in complex, highly regulated industries, such as aerospace, automotive, and pharmaceutical. He notably led building out the global consulting firm’s digital procurement offerings, including the acquisition and integration of Orpheus, a spend intelligence platform. Prior to this, Mr. Stauber was a mechanical engineer for multiple startups and acted as a researcher in Asia and Europe. Mr. Stauber holds an MBA with a focus in Operations, and a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering, both from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Dr. Marc Afilalo boasts a distinguished career of over four decades in healthcare. As the Director of the Emergency Department (ED) at the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) since 1986, he has been instrumental in optimizing ED operations, earning accolades from the Commissioner of Health and Welfare and Quebec Ministers of Health.
In 1999, during his tenure as President of the Quebec Association of Emergency Physicians, Dr. Afilalo played a pivotal role in establishing Emergency Medicine as a recognized specialty in Quebec. His commitment to academic development is evident in a prolific research program within the ED, resulting in over 106 peer-reviewed publications and 122 abstracts.
Appointed President of the Expert Committee for Quebec Emergency Departments in 2000, he co-authored “The Guide for Management of EDs in Quebec,” providing operational guidelines for EDs throughout the province.
In 2016, Dr. Afilalo became the first in his field to attain the rank of Full Professor at McGill University. Two years later, he was appointed Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at McGill, where he has fostered collaboration, innovation, and interdisciplinary research.
Dr. Afilalo serves as a consultant to the Quebec and Canada Ministries of Health. His current focus includes operations and innovation, pioneering healthcare delivery paradigms such as Big Data, Machine Learning, AI, Virtual Care, Telemedicine, and Tele-triage, all aimed at improving access to care and health outcomes.
Dr. Afilalo has taken on the role of Medical Consultant at ELNA Medical Group, further extending his impactful contributions to the field of healthcare.
An AI scholar and MIT Ph.D. graduate, Dr. Maxime Cohen holds the Scale AI Chair in Data Science for Retail and is a Full Professor of Retail and Operations Management at McGill University’s Bensadoun School of Retail Management and Desautels Faculty of Management. Dr. Cohen also serves as a Scientific Advisor in AI and Data Science at IVADO Labs and has held several strategic and research advisory roles at firms including Google/Waze, Aldo Group, IBM, Oracle and Couche Tard/Circle K.
Ravi Deshpande is a health professional with extensive experience in specialty pharmaceuticals, drug development and commercialization, post approval launch and channel development. Prior to joining ELNA Medical, Ravi served as special advisor to the CEO of McKesson Canada, advising on the corporate strategy and M&A activities of McKesson, Rexall, Claimsecure and Well.ca. Ravi has held appointments in the hospital sector and was Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He also co-founded Phase 4 Health, a pharmaceutical services firm providing patient, prescription and consulting services to the pharmaceutical industry. Phase 4 Health was acquired by McKesson Canada in 2005.
Dr. Benjamin Burko is a graduate of McGill University (BSc. 1984, MDCM 1988) and completed his General Pediatrics Residency/Emergency Fellowship at the Montreal Children’s Hospital in 1993. An assistant professor of medicine at the McGill University Health Centre in the Department of Pediatrics and Family Medicine, and a clinician teacher, he supervises 75 trainees per year. From 1997 until early 2020 he was the practice manager and medical director of Tiny Tots Medical Centre, Canada’s largest (non-hospital) pediatric ambulatory facility. At Tiny Tots, he brought both clinics to a fully paperless EMR environment and implemented the widespread adoption of Medical Scribes. In 2000, he created North America’s first on-line patient scheduling system and raised private and institutional equity to fund the venture. Dr. Burko continues to practice as a consultative pediatrician at ELNA Pediatrics and serves as a regular speaker on pediatrics both nationally and internationally.
Yolaine Cohen Scali is an experienced executive in business development strategy whose strong ability to identify and secure valuable partnerships and collaboration opportunities led to important pharmaceutical product portfolio expansion and growth across Canada. Most of her close to 20-year career was spent in the healthcare sector, more specifically in various key roles at Pharmascience Inc. Before joining ELNA, Yolaine spearheaded the successful licensing of Crescita Therapeutics Inc’s flagship dermatology product in key international markets. Yolaine holds a Master’s degree in Operations Research, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Quantitative Methods from HEC Montréal.
Wayne Samuels is a healthcare leader and strategist with extensive experience leading teams in multiple industries across three continents. A former Partner in PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) Health Advisory practice and senior leader at Canada Health Infoway, Wayne has led teams in solving problems across virtually all segments of the healthcare system, working with providers from hospitals to community care, as well as manufacturers and innovators, patient and advocacy groups, and policy makers and funding agencies. Wayne also focused on helping private companies succeed within Canada’s public healthcare system as the leader of the New Health Entrants practice at PwC Canada.
As General Manager of Medicentres Canada, Wayne oversees all of ELNA Medical’s clinics and the administrative support team outside of Quebec.
