Board of Directors

Mary-Anne Carignan

President, Clinical Division, Purkinje, MBA

Mary-Anne has broad international managerial experience with global firms such as Philip Morris, part of the Kraft and Nabisco family of companies, where she was the first woman named to its international budget department. Her experience spans 30 years working in Switzerland, Croatia, Belgium, and the US in areas such as Trade Finance, Client Management and Corporate Finance.

In 2007 she was the first woman Vice-President hired by the medical software firm Purkinje as head of Canadian Operations. Purkinje is a pioneer in the design, development and marketing of solutions supporting clinical decision-making and healthcare information technology. Within a year Mary-Anne executed a management buy-out and the company has since quadrupled.

In 2017 the Quebec health minister appointed her to the board of directors of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). She is also on the board of the Research Institute of the MUHC; and is an advisory board member of the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital.

Mary-Anne earned her honors MBA from the Business School of Lausanne and is recognized as a hands-on manager who is focused on driving sustainable results. She is active in mentoring and promoting the advancement of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

David Court

Director Emeritus, McKinsey & Company

David C. Court is a Director Emeritus at McKinsey & Company. Mr. Court was previously McKinsey’s Global Director of Technology, Digitization and Communications, led McKinsey’s global practice in harnessing digital data and advanced analytics from 2011 to 2015, and was a member of the firm’s Board of Directors and its global operating committee. Mr. Court is a director of Brookfield Business Partners, Canadian Tire Corporation, National Geographic’s International Council of Advisors and the Board of Trustees at Queen’s University. He also chairs the advisory board of Georgian Partners, a venture capital firm specializing in analytics and artificial intelligence. Mr. Court holds a BCom from Queen’s University and an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar.

Lori Evans

Executive Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Development Iogen Corporation

Lori Evans has over 20 years’ experience in executive and board roles in private equity, cleantech and renewables, telecommunications, healthcare, education and industrial services businesses operating across the Americas and Europe. She is responsible for corporate strategy development and execution, investment, M&A and funding opportunities, and government relations and policy strategy at Iogen Corporation, a leader in low carbon fuels using its innovation platform to create transformative net zero solutions. Lori has also served as Chief Administrative Officer at Marsulex, an international cleantech services company, where she led an enterprise-level organizational transformation. Previously, she practiced corporate, M&A and securities law with prominent Canadian law firms and leading Canadian and US operating and investment businesses across a wide range of industries, including American Medical Response and Birch Hill Equity Partners.

Lori received an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, an LL.B from the University of Victoria and a BA (Economics) from the University of Calgary. She holds the professional ICD.D designation granted by the Institute of Corporate Directors and has a special interest in board governance best practices. She has been named one of the 25 Most Influential Lawyers by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. Lori has served on numerous not-for-profit boards, primarily focused on health and wellbeing of children.

Helena Gottschling

Former CHRO, RBC

Prior to retiring in June 2022, Helena Gottschling was RBC's Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) with global responsibility for Human Resources. She was part of RBC's nine member Group Executive responsible for setting the overall strategic direction of RBC – extending to over 86,000 employees in 29 countries.

Helena joined RBC in 1985, holding progressively senior roles in in Retail Banking, Human Resources and National Office, which included postings in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto. She re-joined Human Resources in 2006 and held a number of executive roles before being appointed CHRO in 2017.

In her more than three decades with RBC, Helena distinguished herself as a trusted advisor, a change champion, and a devoted employee advocate – leadership qualities that helped to unlock the potential of RBCers and strengthen RBC’s brand as a top employer of choice on a global scale.

In 2021, Helena was named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network in the C-Suite Executives award category.

Helena has supported community organizations over the course of her career, serving on a number of non-profit boards. She is a long-time supporter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and has been as a director on the Canadian JDRF Board since 2019. Helena currently chairs the HR Committee and was appointed Vice-Chair in June 2022. She is also a Director of Plan International Canada and is a member of both the Governance and Development Committees.

 

Helena holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.

She is married with one son and lives in Kelowna, British Columbia, Ontario, Canada.

Martine Irman

Former Vice Chair, TD Securities and SVP, TD Bank Group

An experienced executive and corporate director, Martine Irman has over 30 years' experience in International Banking, Treasury, Securities and Trade. She also has 20 years of expertise on both Corporate and Not-for-Profit boards along with Executive Advisory Councils.

Formerly Vice Chair, TD Securities and SVP, TD Bank Group, Martine currently sits as an Independent Director on the Board of the TMX Group of Companies and First National Financial Corp. and Chair of the Board for Export Development Canada.

Martine values community involvement and is known as a strong leader and mentor for women in the investment industry. She sits on the Board of St-Michael’s Hospital Foundation and the Campaign Committee of MAP Centre For Urban Health Solutions and is the Past Chair of the YMCA of Greater Toronto and Co-Founder of United Way’s Women Gaining Ground, now Women United.

 

Ziyana Kotadia

Anti-violence advocate and researcher

Ziyana Kotadia is a Calgarian anti-violence advocate and researcher. As the Strategic Communications & Public Relations Specialist at Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence, Ziyana applies social justice theories and principles to drive knowledge mobilization projects focused on research findings, policy recommendations, legislative reforms, and practice changes to prevent gender-based violence.

Armed with an MPhil in Multi-Disciplinary Gender Studies from the University of Cambridge, Ziyana was recognized as one of Alberta's 2024 Top 30 Under 30 and a 2023 Rising Star National Finalist with the Women Empowerment Awards. She has served in several leadership roles across not-for-profits, including as the inaugural Chair of the Safe Campus Coalition, Vice-President University Affairs for Western University’s students’ union, and co-author of the “Our Campus, Our Safety” violence-prevention national action plan representing 1.2M+ students across Canada.

Ziyana is currently an advisor to Senator Marilou McPhedran via the Canadian Council of Young Feminists, sits on the Boards of Directors for Plan International Canada and Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre, and recently represented Canadian youth as an official delegate with Young Diplomats of Canada to the 68th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Rania Llewellyn

Former President and Chief Executive Officer of Laurentian Bank of Canada

Rania Llewellyn is the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Laurentian Bank of Canada. Appointed in 2020, she was the first woman to lead a major chartered bank in Canada. Under her leadership, the Bank launched a three-year strategic plan including a new purpose, core values, culture and strategic priorities and the bank exceeded all of its financial and non-financial targets.

Rania is a first-generation Canadian, having immigrated from the Middle-East in her teenage years. As a transformational change leader, her top priority is building high-performance teams and creating a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion. Her focus on improving the customer experience and driving growth and shareholder value has earned her wide recognition and awards, including being awarded the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Leader of the Year Award in 2023, being named on Maclean’s 2022 The Power List, and included as one of the Top 25 Women of Influence in 2021.

Rania has more than 29 years of experience in the banking industry. She previously served as Executive Vice President, Global Business Payments, at Scotiabank, where she began her career 26 years ago as a part-time teller. Over the years she rose through the ranks and held Senior positions at Scotiabank such as Vice-President, Multicultural Banking; President and CEO of Roynat Capital; Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking, Growth Strategy; and, Senior Vice President, Products and Services, Global Transaction Banking.

She holds Bachelor of Commerce and MBA Degrees from Saint Mary’s University where she focused on Finance, Marketing and International Business. In 2022, Ontario Tech University awarded her with an Honorary Doctor of Laws, and she received an Honorary Doctor of Commerce from Saint Mary’s University in 2014. Rania is married to Sean Llewellyn and is the proud mother of two children, Sofia and Zachary.

Colleen Mcmorrow

FCPA, FCA, ICD.D

Ms. McMorrow retired as an Assurance Partner from Ernst & Young, a global professional services firm, where most recently she served as the Canadian leader of Ernst & Young’s (EY) Strategic Growth Markets practice and National Director, Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. She was a senior partner in EY’s Assurance practice until 2016 and held a number of senior leadership roles over her 38-year career at EY. Ms. McMorrow serves on the boards of public and private corporations including: Exco Technologies Limited, Ether Capital, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO) as well as the following not-for-profit organizations- NEXT Canada, an entrepreneurial institute and Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation. In 2015, she was recognized by WXN as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Top 100 as a Trailblazer and Trendsetter.

Barun Mohanty

Former MD International, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation

Barun Mohanty retired as the Managing Director International at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, where he set up and ran the two international offices in India and South Africa, and led part of the US education portfolio.

Barun’s work has been defined and driven by using the best of the corporate world’s tools and processes, with relevant top talent, to deliver scalable, sustainable and measurably improved outcomes for underprivileged children and youth. He was deeply involved in setting up consortium and outcomes-driven partnerships with Government, impact investing, outcomes-linked and incentive-driven large-scale change management in the social sector, such as through development impact bonds.

Previously, Barun was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, and worked in Canada, the Netherlands, India and Portugal. He holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, and an MBA from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

William Onuwa

Executive Vice President & Chief Audit Executive, RBC

Mr. Onuwa is RBC’s Executive Vice President & Chief Audit Executive. In this role, he is responsible for the Internal Audit function, Credit Review Group, and the Complaint Appeal Office (Previously the Ombudsman) for RBC. He is a member of the RBC Diversity Leadership Council.

Prior to this, he was the Senior Vice President & Global Head of Wealth Management, Insurance and RBC Bank risk management groups and insurance actuarial group. Before joining RBC, he held various executive leadership positions at General Electric (GE) in the UK and USA. In addition, he also lived and worked in the financial services industry in Jamaica.

William currently serves on the board of Boyd Group Services Inc. a TSX listed company and serves as the Chair of the Audit committee. He also serves as a Governor on the board of Governor for the University of Guelph.

William recently served as the Chair of the Board of Holland Bloor view Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation Board and as Chair of the Board of Yonge Street Mission in Toronto. He received the 2015 Transformation Award for Professional Excellence and was recognized as 100 Most Influential Black Canadian (MIBC) in 2022 and 2023.

Mr. Onuwa holds a Doctorate degree in Business Administration from the University of Surrey England, as well as other professional designations in finance and insurance management.

Rima Ramchandani

Partner, Torys LLP

Rima Ramchandani is a passionate advocate for gender equality and has been a Plan International Canada supporter for over 15 years. She is a Partner and co-head of Torys’ Capital Markets Practice, and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. A leading securities lawyer, Rima has a broad practice advising clients on a wide range of strategic mandates, including corporate finance, corporate governance and mergers and acquisitions. She is a prolific writer, speaker and commentator on policy developments impacting the Canadian capital markets, and co-leads the firm’s ESG practice. She is an ICD.D member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, and is ranked as a leading lawyer by Chambers, IFLR, The Legal 500, Best Lawyers in Canada and Lexpert.

Rima is a graduate of the University of Toronto Law School and received a Bachelor of Philosophy from McGill University.

Michael Rolland

FCPA, FCA

Michael Rolland recently retired from OMERS, the defined benefit pension plan for municipal employees in Ontario, after more than two decades as a senior executive. During his time with OMERS, Michael held a number of leadership roles including Chief Executive Officer of OMERS Sponsors Corporation, President and Chief Operating Officer, Asia-Pacific, and Chief Investment Officer, Private Markets.

During his tenure at OMERS, Michael pioneered change and drove success across a number of initiatives including leading the evolution of OMERS Infrastructure and OMERS Private Equity from 2007 to 2018, with a focus on transforming those businesses into leading, global investment operations.

Michael has a diverse background in accounting, commercial finance, and a broad range of industry sectors. He holds an Honours degree in Business Administration from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants (FCPA) of Ontario.

Combining business experience with a deep commitment and passion to giving back, Michael has served on various boards of public, private, charitable and community organizations both domestically and internationally.

Paula Sahyoun

Senior Associate, Social Venture Connexion (SVX)

Fora’s Girls on Boards Young Director

Paula Sahyoun is working towards urban transformation and societal change by using social finance and social impact tools. She is a strong advocate for transforming systems so that they better serve and uplift marginalized communities. She is currently Manager, Systems Change and Social Finance at SVX and Director on the Board of Plan International Canada. Her projects range from building up the impact investing ecosystem in Colombia to supporting Indigenous entrepreneurs and economic reconciliation across Canada. She is a previous Senior Officer at the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and Policy Advisor at the Ministry of Economic Development and Growth. Paula has been recognized as a McConnell Social Innovation Fellow, World Economic Forum Global Shaper, Climate Reality Leader and United Nations SDSN Local Pathways Fellow.

Leagh Turner

CEO, Coupa

Leagh Turner is CEO of Coupa and a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Leagh oversees the end-to-end operations and strong execution that are fundamental to Coupa's growth. Prior, Leagh served as co-CEO of Ceridian.

Leagh has been a leader and innovator in the software industry for more than 20 years, previously serving in senior leadership roles at SAP and Oracle and has twice been recognized by the Women’s Executive Network as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

Leagh is a member of the boards of directors at Manulife, a leading international financial services group, and Plan International Canada, a global not-for-profit that focuses on improving the lives of children around the world. She is a strong advocate for the advancement of women in leadership and a champion of diversity, equity, and inclusion within the workforce.

Leagh is a graduate of Western University in London, Ontario.