Top 40 Advisory Board

The Top 40 Advisory Board is composed of respected and experienced individuals from across Canada, leaders in their industries, professions, and communities. Many of our members are former recipients of the Top 40 honour. The Advisory Board reflects the diversity and leadership excellence in Canadian business and broader public sectors.

Members volunteer their time to review nominee material and to meet annually to select the Top 40. We thank them for their commitment and the important role they play in the selection.

Sharon joined Ritchie Bros. in July 2015 as Chief Financial Officer, following 17 years of senior executive experience at companies such as Rexall Pharmacies Canada (Katz Group Canada), Sears Canada Inc. and Loblaw Companies Limited.  Most recently, Sharon was Executive Vice President and CFO at Katz Group Canada Ltd., where she was responsible for all financial operations, including capital allocation, financing strategies, treasury operations, regulatory compliance, risk management and financial talent development.  Prior to Katz Group, Ms. Driscoll was Senior Vice President and CFO of Sears Canada Inc., one of Canada's largest retailers. Ms. Driscoll is a Chartered Professional Accountant and has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Queen's University.

Ms. Driscoll also serves as a Director of Empire Company Limited (TSX: EMP.A).

Grant is the former General Manager, BNN Bloomberg where he oversaw the day to day operations and strategic vision since 2014. Prior to this role, Grant spent seven years at Financial Post, most recently as Editor.

David Garofalo currently serves as Chairman & CEO of Gold Royalty Corp., Chairman & CEO of the Marshall Precious Metals Fund and Chair of the Board of Great Panther Mining Limited. David was also President & CEO and Director of Goldcorp (2016-2019), President & CEO and Director of Hudbay from 2010, Senior Vice President and CFO and Director of Agnico-Eagle from 1998 and Treasurer of Inmet Mining from 1990. He has also served on multiple public company boards over his career.

David was recognized as The Northern Miner’s Mining Person of the Year for 2012.

He was also awarded as Canada’s CFO of the Year by Financial Executives International Canada (2009) and Top Gun CFO by Brendan Wood International (2009 and 2010) and was recognized by IR Magazine with awards for Best Investor Relations by a CFO (2009 and 2010) and Best Investor Relations by a CEO (2011).

David earned designations as a Fellow of Canadian Chartered Public Accountants and a Certified Director of the Canadian Institute of Corporate Directors. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (Vice Chair) and Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

Dr. David Granville is the Executive Director of Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI), western Canada’s largest hospital-based research institute. He is also a Professor and Associate Dean, in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC). David is a principal investigator at ICORD Centre, the UBC Centre for Heart Lung Innovation, and is the Associate Director of the BC Professional Firefighters’ Burn and Wound Healing Research Group. In his early career, he worked at QLT, Inc. (1994-2001) where his work supported the approval of Visudyne® to be used as the first treatment for macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. In 1999 Visudyne® was approved by the FDA resulting in the largest ophthalmic product release in history. His research at Scripps Research Institute in California identified a novel therapeutic approach for reducing myocardial infarction that led to the formation of a biotechnology spinoff company. Since relocating back to UBC, his research has focused on novel therapeutics for aging and chronic diseases, resulting in numerous publications, patents and the formation of viDA Therapeutics of which he is a co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer.

David was awarded Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2004.

Blake has recently been named the President and Chief Executive Officer of OMERS (effective June 1st, 2020), one of Canada’s largest Pension Plans with over $110 billion of equity.  Prior to that Blake was the President and Chief Pension Officer of OMERS and prior to that their Chief Investment Officer of Real Estate and Platform Investments.  He was also President & CEO of Oxford Properties Group from 2010 to 2018, and prior to that he was based in New York as the Head of Global Real Estate Investing for a multi-strategy private equity firm.

Blake has also served on many Boards and Committees, some of which include Algoma Central Corporation Alpine Canada and Canadian Sports Hall of Game, Toronto Mayor’s Task Force on Affordable Housing 2015; Build Toronto (Chair, 2010 – 2012); Member of the Premier’s Transit Advisory Panel (2013); and Chair of the Mayor of Toronto’s Fiscal Advisory Committee.

He has been recognized with several distinguished industry awards and was named a recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2000.

Bruce Leboff is a Managing Director, Client Wealth Management.   He is a registered Portfolio Manager. He received a Bachelor of Commerce degree with Great Distinction from McGill University and a Graduate Diploma in Public Accountancy, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford University. Bruce has earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) designations. In 2017, he was elected a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant (FCPA, FCA). Prior to joining Gluskin Sheff in 1997, Bruce was a Vice-President and Director with Toronto Dominion Asset Management, where he was a member of the Investment Management team focused on Canadian and US securities. Bruce is Past Chair of the Board of Directors of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. Bruce is Past Chair of the Keren Hayesod – United Israel Appeal’s Investment and Endowment Board, and a member of the Keren Hayesod World Executive Advisory Board.  He is a Member of the Board of Governors of Jewish Agency for Israel, and Chair of its Aliya Committee.

Andrew MacLeod was appointed Postmedia’s President and Chief Executive Officer in January, 2019. He joined Postmedia in 2014 as EVP and Chief Commercial Officer and was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer in 2017. Mr. MacLeod also currently serves as a Director on the boards for Waterfront Toronto and Communitech.

Prior to joining Postmedia, Mr. MacLeod held a number of senior executive positions, most recently as Senior Vice President & Regional Managing Director, North America at BlackBerry.

Susan McIsaac joined Right To Play International on June 17, 2019 as the Chief Philanthropy Officer and was appointed Chief Executive Officer on January 4, 2021.

Prior to joining Right To Play Susan was the Managing Director, Strategic Philanthropy at RBC Financial where she provided strategic advice and guidance to RBC’s ultra-high net worth clients in developing their family philanthropic and legacy plans.

In the previous two decades, Susan was a senior executive with United Way Greater Toronto as the organization’s Chief Development Officer and then as President and CEO.  With her leadership, United Way mobilized people and resources to help address many of the regions most pressing challenges including income inequality, housing, precarious employment and youth success.  During her tenure, the organization grew from $58-million in 1998 to $118-million in 2015.

Susan has been involved in the community throughout her life as a volunteer and director of numerous organizations and was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal in 2012 in recognition of her efforts.  She was named by WXN as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2014 and won Toronto Region Board of Trade’s Region Builder Award in 2017.

Arielle has been a member of Air Canada's Executive team since 2013. She has oversight for all human resources and culture change initiatives across the company, labour relations, labour and litigation legal services, customer service training, as well as internal and external communications, government relations and community investments to support Air Canada’s goal of becoming a Global Champion.

Under Arielle's leadership, Air Canada has been named for multiple consecutive years, one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, one of Montreal's Top Employers, one of Canada's Top Diversity Employers, in addition to being recognized as one of the Top 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures in Canada. She is also Air Canada's Champion of Official Languages, proudly focusing on the airline's commitment and efforts in offering the greatest range of services in both of Canada's official languages. Arielle also has oversight for both the Air Canada Foundation as well as Air Canada's CSR Reporting.

Darcy founded Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners in 2011. He is responsible for managing the firm’s relationships, and also contributes to investment research and general operations. He currently serves on the boards of The Caldwell Partners International Inc., ZCL Composites Inc., the Toronto Public Library Foundation and the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) Foundation. Prior to co-founding Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners, Darcy was a portfolio manager at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier Inc., where he built a successful investment management business. He previously worked at Burgundy Asset Management.

Marie is the President and CEO of CUA, one of Atlantic Canada’s largest community banking institutions, a position she has held since 2011.  She is also the current Chair of the Board for Nova Scotia Business Inc. and a Director on the Board of Nova Leap Health Corp.

Prior to her current role, Marie spent ten years as President and CEO of the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation (NSGC), a Provincial Crown corporation. Under her leadership, the NSGC was recognized as a global leader for innovative responsible gambling programs.

In addition to being an active volunteer, university lecturer, wellness instructor, mentor and business advisor, Marie contributes to countless private, not-for-profit and public sector boards, and is a sought-after expert on the topic of corporate governance practices.

Recognized as one of the top 50 CEOs in Atlantic Canada, Marie holds the Certified Director’s designation from the Canadian Institute of Corporate Directors along with Bachelor of Commerce and Master of Business Administration degrees from Dalhousie University. Marie has also been awarded the Fellow Chartered Accountants designation from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nova Scotia, and was named Chartered Accountant of the Year in 2008.

Karen Oldfield QC, ICD.D, served for more than 17 years as President and CEO of the Halifax Port Authority. During her tenure, Port Authority revenues more than tripled, enabling the organization to make significant financial investments in strategic port and transportation infrastructure to improve port competitiveness and the livability of the City of Halifax. Karen has global experience in trade development, particularly in the establishment of  new markets combined as well as deep expertise in supply chain management and logistics.

Karen is immediate  Past Chair of the Board of Governors of Saint Mary’s University and served as President of the Canadian Chapter of the International Women’s Forum. She also served as a Director of the Conference Board of Canada, as a member of the Human Resources Committee. Currently Karen serves as Lead Director of Acadian Timber (ADN.TO), and is Chair of Nomination and Governance and Executive Compensation as well as member of the Audit Committee. Karen remains active in the transportation and supply chain sector advising regional and national companies seeking to develop and grow.

Sue is the CEO of the Digital Technology Supercluster, which is developing, deploying and scaling made-in-Canada digital solutions to address some of the biggest challenges in society and industry, as well as driving business growth and our country's global competitiveness through a collaborative innovation model.

Sue chairs the boards of the CORIX Group of Companies and Canexia Health, and serves on the boards of Own the Podium and Stemcell Technologies. She is the Co-Chair of Canada's COVID-19 Testing and Screening Expert Advisory Panel, a member of the Expert Panel on Housing Supply and Affordability and the Government of Canada's COVID-19 Supply Council. Sue is also the past Chair of the Business Council of British Columbia.

Ferio Pugliese joined Parkland as Senior Vice President, People and Culture on December 21, 2020.  In this role, he is responsible for enterprise-wide planning, alignment, and execution of Parkland’s People and Culture strategy to support and develop the company’s culture and enable Parkland Strategic Vision.

Ferio joins Parkland from Air Canada where he served as Senior Vice President of AirCanada Express and Government Relations, overseeing all aspects of the company’s regional airline brand, business operation and government relations.

Prior to Air Canada, Ferio was Executive Vice President Customer Care and Corporate Affairs at Hydro One overseeing all aspects of the company’s Customer, Marketing and Corporate Affairs. He spent over nine years at WestJet as Executive Vice President People and Culture before becoming President of WestJet Encore, WestJet’s regional airline.

Ferio completed the Ivey Executive Development Program through Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario.  He also holds a Master of Arts MA, from Central Michigan University, and Bachelor of Arts BA in Organizational Communications and Bachelor of Commerce BComm from the University of Windsor. In 2007 he was named one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40.

Jane Rowe is the Vice Chair, Investments at Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board.  Jane joined Ontario Teachers’ as head of private equity in 2010. Her mandate was subsequently expanded to include high-conviction equities, public or near-public company investments intended to generate superior financial returns. Under her leadership, net assets managed by the Equities team have grown from $11 billion to $40 billion.

Jane sits on Ontario Teachers’ Investments and Risk committees.  She also serves as a director on boards associated with several of Ontario Teachers’ portfolio companies, including Cadillac Fairview, a wholly owned real estate subsidiary, and Camelot Group PLC, the operator of the U.K. National Lottery. Outside of Ontario Teachers’, Jane is a director for TD Bank Group.

Prior to joining Ontario Teachers', she held senior roles at Scotiabank, Scotia Merchant Capital Corporation, the bank's Canadian private equity fund, was President and CEO of RoyNat Capital Inc., Scotiabank's wholly owned mid-market merchant bank, and was President and CEO of Scotia Mortgage Corporation.

Jane received a B.Comm (Honours) from Memorial University, an MBA from York University's Schulich School of Business, and an ICD.D certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors. She previously served on the Board of Governors at York University, and currently serves as a trustee for the United Way of Greater Toronto.

Geeta Sankappanavar is the Founder and CEO of Akira Impact, an essential assets investment firm that invests to support UN Sustainable Development Goals. She is recognized as an international thought leader, an unrelenting advocate for women’s equality, a committed philanthropist and has been honoured as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.

Geeta serves as the Chair of the Board of Governors for the University of Calgary, as a board member of UNICEF Canada, AXIS Connects, and the Palix Foundation and as a member of the Calgary Foundation Investment Committee. In addition to her non-profit boards, Geeta serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for Daytona Power Co., and on the Board of Directors of Pipestone Energy Corp. Geeta is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Christian Sinclair is a proud member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN). In 1988, he graduated from Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute (MBCI) and then he went on to serve in the Canadian military until 1995, participating in tours of duty, in Cyprus (1990 Recon) and in Somalia (1992–93 Special Forces).

In 1999, Christian co-founded the Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games (MISG), held on the traditional territory of Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN). MISG showcased the athletes, coaches and officials participating in multi-sport competition. In 2002, Christian was hired as General Manager of the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). The event was the most successful NAIG ever hosted and ended with a surplus of over $1.3 million. In 2003, Christian began working in the corporate sector with aboriginal groups across Canada, focusing on corporate development and positioning for major natural resource projects in the areas of hydro, mining and oil and gas. In 2003, Christian was named as one of Canada's Top 40 under 40.  He completed the Masters in Project Management from University of Winnipeg, as well as Negotiations and Leadership from Harvard Law School. Christian also incorporates traditional knowledge and teachings from the people he has worked with and he acknowledges the importance of balancing these practices in his work. In 2013, Christian made a career change to work as an independent business advisor and in he was elected as Onekanew (Chief) for the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.

Formerly the CEO of HSBC Canada, Sandra now serves as a Director for the Supervisory Board for HSBC Trinkaus, Belkorp Industries, and as Director and Audit Committee Chair for DRI Healthcare Trust.

She has been recognized by the Association of Women in Finance for Excellence in the Private Sector, received the Women’s Executive Network Deloitte Inclusion Vanguard Award (2016), was named one of WXN’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada (2014), and British Columbia’s Most Influential Women by BC Business Magazine (2015/19).  In 2019 Sandra became  a Catalyst Canada Honors Champion.

Sandra has a BA with a double minor in Economics and Business from Simon Fraser University and has completed a number of Executive Management courses at the Harvard Business School, IMD, and UBC.

Charlene Theodore is a workplace lawyer and diversity strategist with a background in public policy and government relations.  Ms. Theodore’s legal practice focuses on pensions and benefits law. She also provides counsel on legal matters related to governance, regulatory compliance, and fiduciary duties.  Ms. Theodore has represented the interests of Black Canadians before United Nations human rights treaty bodies, Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal, as well as federal and provincial legislative committees.

As leader in her profession, she has developed and championed a series of equality initiatives, with a focus on diversifying traditionally homogenous spaces in law and affecting positive change throughout legal industry for women and people of colour.  Her work on behalf of the legal profession was recognized nationally when she was honoured with a Lexpert Zenith Award, celebrating champions for the advancement of women in the legal profession.

In 2020, Ms. Theodore was was named one of Canada’s 25 Most Influential Lawyers by Canadian Lawyer Magazine and was elected as President of the Ontario Bar Association, the first Black lawyer and the 10th woman to hold the Office since its founding in 1907.  As OBA President, she has committed to working with lawyers and law firms to re-imagine workplaces – building productive, profitable, healthy, diverse and inclusive work environments for all lawyers.

The Hon. Brian Tobin was named as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2013 for his contribution to Canadian public policy as a federal and provincial politician, and for supporting economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Brian served as the Federal Minister of Industry from October 2000 to January 2002, prior to which he served as the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1996 to 2000.  Brian served as a Member of Parliament from 1980 to 1996 and served as Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in the federal cabinet from 1993 to 1996.

Brian is currently Vice Chair with BMO Financial Group in Toronto and he also serves as Chairman and director of NFI Group Inc. He was Executive Chairman, President & CEO of Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd.  Brian led the negotiating team that sold CLM to Cliffs Natural Resources for 4.9 billion dollars which was one of the biggest global mining deals in 2011.

Brian is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and a graduate of the Directors Education Program.  He has been awarded honorary degrees by both St. Francis Xavier University and Brock University.

As the National Managing Partner of PwC’s Industries and Regions, Matthew oversees PwC Canada’s industries, market segments, large cities and regional offices and works with leaders to address evolving market trends and solve important problems and build trust with clients.

From a practice development and client delivery perspective, Matthew focuses on private equity and pension funds, working with them on investment theses, deal origination, value creation and fund management efficiency.

Prior to his current role, he was the national leader of PwC's energy, utilities, mining and industrial products (EUMI) practice and led PwC’s Canadian Strategy& practice.  He has led projects ranging from M&A strategies; business transformation and cost alignment; risk mitigation; business integration and value creation. Adding to his practice experience, Matthew acted as an interim VP finance for

a large energy client and prior to joining PwC, worked in an energy industry role.

Matthew graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Commerce (with Distinction) and has Canadian CPA, CA and US CPA (Illinois) designations.

Brett Wilson is best known for being a ‘fan-favourite’ on CBC’s hit reality TV show Dragons’ Den where he established himself as the all-time lead deal-making ‘dragon.’ In 1993, he co-founded FirstEnergy Capital Corp., a Canadian brokerage firm that provides investment-banking services to Canada's energy-based industries. Since inception, FirstEnergy has participated in thousands of financing and merger and acquisition projects totalling $200bn+. Brett has since gone on to develop extensive holdings in the energy, real estate, agriculture, sports and entertainment industries.

His business and philanthropic leadership have brought him much recognition, including being named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2011. Brett continues to simplify and organize his life to focus on what is most important – his family, friends and health.  Frequently (still after five years) his semi-autobiography Redefining Success: Still Making Mistakes makes the Canadian bestseller list.

Brett holds a BSc (Engineering, Saskatchewan), MBA (Calgary), and LLD (honoris causa, Royal Roads University).