About the Mowat Centre

Advisory Board

George R.M. Anderson

George R.M. Anderson has been President and CEO of the Forum of Federations since 2005.

George has served for over thirty years in Canada's federal public service, where his positions included Deputy Minister of Natural Resources (2002-2005) and Deputy Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Privy Council Office (1996-2002). He has held assistant deputy minister level positions in the Energy, Finance and Foreign ministries.

George has degrees in political science from Queen’s University and Oxford University, and a diploma from the École Nationale D'administration in Paris.  He was a fellow at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs in 1992-93 and the author of Federalism: An Introduction (2008) and the forthcoming Fiscal Federalism: An Introduction, both published by Oxford University Press. 

George is also vice-chair of the board of trustees of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.


Alan Broadbent, C.M.

Alan Broadbent is Chairman and CEO of the Avana Capital Corporation, and Chairman of The Maytree Foundation. 

In support of its investment activities, Avana initiates and funds civic engagement projects to strengthen the public discourse on civil society, including the Jane Jacobs Prize, which celebrates unsung heroes in the Toronto Region; the Institute for Municipal Finance and Governance at the Munk Centre, University of Toronto; and Ideas That Matter, an organization to convene discourse on progressive ideas concerning the public good. 

Alan is also Chairman of several related organizations, including the Caledon Institute of Social Policy (co-founded by Maytree in 1992), Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement (co-founded in 2001), and Diaspora Dialogues, which supports the creation and presentation of new writing that reflects the diversity of Toronto.

Alan is Chairman of the Tides Canada Foundation; advisor to the Literary Review of Canada; Co-Chair of Happy Planet Foods; Member of the Governors’ Council of the Toronto Public Library Foundation; Senior Fellow of Massey College; and Member of the Order of Canada and recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal.  He is also the author of the recently published book Urban Nation.


Sean Conway

Sean Conway became the Acting Vice Principal, Advancement, of Queen’s University on January 1, 2009.

As Acting Vice-Principal, Advancement, Sean oversees the University’s fundraising (including annual giving, planned giving, major gifts, capital campaigns, and corporate and foundation fundraising), marketing and communications, alumni relations, and advancement services.

Sean also continues as Special Advisor for External Relations to the Principal, a position he has held since August 2006. As Special Advisor, Sean provides strategic advice on the advancement of Queen’s priority initiatives and directs the External Relations team in the Principal’s Office. Prior to becoming Special Advisor, Sean was the Director of Queen’s Institute of Intergovernmental Relations.

Sean is a member of the board of the Ontario Centres of Excellence and chairs the Centre for Energy. He is also a public policy advisor with the national law firm Gowling, Lafleur Henderson LLP and a public affairs analyst on various television and radio programs.

Prior to joining Queen’s, Sean was a member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly for 28 years, including five years as a Cabinet Minister in the Government of Premier David Peterson. In Cabinet, he held a number of portfolios, including Minister of Education, Colleges and Universities and Skills Development, Minister of Mines and Government House Leader. He also served on several legislative committees examining Ontario Hydro, energy issues, health care and constitutional reform.

Sean holds a graduate degree in history from Queen's University and has taught at both Queen's and Wilfrid Laurier universities.


Len Crispino

As Ontario Chamber of Commerce President and CEO since April 2002, Len has worked tirelessly to build a stronger chamber network.

The Chamber has thrived under Len’s leadership with an expanded research and advocacy capability, an ISO 9001 designation, and with the founding of the Ontario Economic Summit, an event that brings together leaders from business, labour, government, academia and the non-profit sector.

Len has served as Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ontario Exports Inc. from 1993 to 2001.

During his distinguished career with the Government of Ontario, Len served for three years as the province's chief trade representative to Italy, promoting Ontario's trade and investment interests, and was awarded the Order of Merit from the Italian Government for fostering business ties between Canada and Italy. Prior to his work overseas, he held senior management positions in policy, planning and operations.

Len’s experience extends beyond the public service to include the rewards and challenges of operating a small business.  While away from the Chamber, Len can most often be found in the Niagara region, where he and his wife Marisa own a niche estate winery.

Len has received a professional ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.  He has an MBA (Marketing) from York University, a Masters and BA from the University of Toronto.

Len lends his expertise in governance as Vice Chair of the Niagara College Board of Governors.  He has also served as Director of the Council of the Americas, Co-Chair of the William Osler Health Centre Foundation Board, past Chair of Seneca International, a member of the Governor General’s Study Group on private sector financing, as well as a number of other community organizations.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce represents over 60,000 Ontario businesses through 160 local Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade, and has been Ontario’s business advocate since 1911.


Clint Davis

Clint, an Inuk from Nunatsiavut, was the National Director of Aboriginal Banking at BMO Bank of Montreal before joining CCAB. Prior to the bank, he held senior positions with the Government of Canada. Clint holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Acadia University, a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie University and a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University. He is a Canada/US Fulbright scholar and a recipient of two scholarships from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation. Clint is a Trustee on the Inuit Capital Strategy Trust for the Nunatsiavut Government.

Clint Davis is the President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB), a national non-profit organization that supports Aboriginal business entrepreneurs.


Lisa de Wilde

Lisa de Wilde believes in the power of media to engage, to inform, and to serve the public good. Since her appointment in 2005 as TVO's CEO, Lisa has ushered in a new era for Ontario's public educational media organization, leading its transformation to a fully-digital, interactive source of multi-platform educational content that empowers people to be engaged citizens of Ontario.

Lisa's dedication to a strong Canadian media sector began upon her graduation from McGill University's law school, when she joined the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission as legal counsel. While with the CRTC, she also served as Director General-Cable Television, Specialty and Pay Television Service. Lisa practiced law in Montreal, where she was a partner at Heenan Blaikie. As Astral Television's President and CEO, she was instrumental in transforming the then-declining pay TV category into highly successful branded television networks, and in supporting the Canadian film-making community.

The world of film is a passion for Lisa, which she has combined with her commitment to contributing to the growth of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), heading up the board's Finance Committee. She works with many non-profits and voluntary organizations including the Canadian Digital Media Network Advisory Board; the McGill University Desautels Faculty of Management, International Advisory Board; the Noranda Income Fund (she is Chair of the Board of Trustees); the Consumers Waterheater Income Fund; and, the Government of Ontario's Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress. Fluently bilingual, Lisa champions the cause of educational broadcasters across the country as the Chair of ATEC (The Association for Tele-Education in Canada), and represents TVO internationally as an Executive Committee member of the CBA (Commonwealth Broadcasting Association).


Tony Dean

Tony Dean is a Professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance and is an advisor on public administration and building capacity for policy and delivery.

From 2002 to 2008 he was Secretary of the Cabinet and Head of the Ontario Public Service, a position that was preceded by appointments as Deputy Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister and Associate Secretary of the Cabinet responsible for Policy.

Tony has extensive experience in public sector leadership, public policy development, negotiations and mediation, and has written on public administration and leadership for the Public Policy Forum, Canadian Government Executive magazine,  for The Guardian newspaper’s magazine Public and for The Toronto Star.

Tony has a B.A. in Sociology and Social Anthropology from the University of Hull, U.K., and an M.A. in Sociology from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. Dean started his working life as a millwright with the Dunlop Tire Company in Birmingham, U.K.


Julia Deans

Julia is the CEO of the Toronto City Summit Alliance, a coalition of senior business, non-profit, government and community leaders formed to address challenges to the Toronto region’s social and economic future.  The Alliance’s current projects include a major regional environmental campaign, Greening Greater Toronto, and DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project aimed at accelerating the racial and cultural diversity of Toronto’s leaders.

Julia has been closely involved in the development and launch of the Toronto Region Research Alliance, the Time for a Fair Deal report of the Modernizing Income Security for Working-Age Adults Task Force, Luminato –Toronto’s festival of arts and creativity, the Emerging Leaders Network, and Toronto Summit 2007 – Making Big Things Happen, a meeting of over 630 leaders to discuss challenges facing the Toronto region.

Julia began her career as a litigation and environmental lawyer with Torys LLP, working in its Toronto and Hong Kong offices. From 1997-2001, she lived in Singapore, where she established the South East Asian operations of a major UK-based legal recruitment firm.

Julia has a BA (Hons) from Queen’s University, a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University, and an LL.B. from Osgoode Hall Law School.  She is qualified to practice law in Ontario, Hong Kong, and England and Wales.  Julia serves on the Board of Luminato and on the Advisory Councils of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council and MetroLinx.


Giles Gherson

Giles Gherson joined the Ontario government in 2007 as Deputy Minister of Communications and Associate Secretary of the Cabinet. In July 2008, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Policy and Delivery, Cabinet Office, and Associate Secretary of the Cabinet. 

Before joining the Ontario government, Giles had a career in journalism, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star and, before that, as editor of the Globe and Mail's Report on Business. He spent four years in Edmonton as editor-in-chief of the Edmonton Journal and was previously simultaneously editor-in-chief of the Southam News Service in Ottawa (now CanWest News) and political editor of the National Post.

Giles was a national political columnist with Southam News, and a Globe and Mail columnist and later, Ottawa bureau chief and columnist for the Financial Times of Canada. He began his journalism career as a pensions and insurance reporter with the Financial Post, before opening up the Post's Edmonton bureau just in time to cover the National Energy Program and the Trudeau constitutional patriation battles. He later covered politics in Ottawa and was the Post's Washington bureau chief during the epic Canada-US free trade negotiations.

During the mid-1990s, Giles took a two-year sabbatical from journalism to serve as principal secretary for social security reform in the federal Department of Human Resources Development. He is a frequent speaker and panelist on public affairs and the media, a director of the Public Policy Forum, and a member of the advisory boards of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen's University, Canadian Club of Toronto and The Canadian Journalism Foundation. Giles has a BA Honours in history and political studies from Queen’s University.


Dr. Frederick F. Gilbert

Dr. Frederick F. Gilbert was appointed as Lakehead University’s fifth President and Vice-Chancellor in July 1998.  He is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine.  He is a member of Ambassadors Northwest and of the Advisory Council to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization as well as being a member of the Thunder Bay Regional Research Institute’s Board.

Before joining Lakehead, Fred was Vice-Provost at Colorado State University.  From 1992 to 1997 he held the position of Founding Dean of the Faculty of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia.

Previously he held academic and administrative appointments at Washington State University, the University of Guelph and the University of Maine.

Fred’s academic interests include wildlife management, environmental studies and natural resources science and he has served on many advisory bodies and undertaken consultancies in all these areas.  He holds a B.Sc (Hons. Biol.) degree from Acadia University and MSc and PhD degrees in Zoology from the University of Guelph.  He has supervised a total of 25 Master’s and PhD students and has authored or co-authored over 60 refereed publications, several book chapters and two books in his areas of expertise.


Diane Gray

Diane Gray is the President and CEO of CentrePort Canada Inc. CentrePort is Canada’s first inland port and encompasses 20,000 acres in the North West quadrant of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Diane previously worked for the Province of Manitoba from 1995 to 2009 and served as Deputy Minister of Finance, Deputy Minister of Federal-Provincial and International Relations, and Deputy Minister of Trade.

Ms. Gray is a graduate of the University of Manitoba's and University of Winnipeg's Joint Master of Public Administration Program and has an undergraduate degree in political studies from the University of Manitoba.


John A. Honderich

John Allen Honderich was born in Toronto and attended Lawrence Park Collegiate Institute, acquired his Senior Matriculation from Neuchatel College in Switzerland and then attended the University of Toronto (1964-68), where he earned an Honours degree in Political Science and Economics.  He has an LLB from the Faculty of Law at U of T and was called to the bar in 1973.

John began his newspaper career with the Ottawa Citizen (1973-76).  He joined the Toronto Star in 1976 as a reporter and eventually became chief of the Star's Ottawa Bureau and later chief of the Washington Bureau.  After a stint as Deputy City Editor, he was appointed Business Editor of The Star in May 1984, a position he held until he took a leave of absence to do post-graduate studies in London, England. During that time, he wrote Arctic Imperative (1987) about the serious dangers threatening Canada's North.

In 1994, Mr. Honderich was appointed Publisher of The Star, a position he held for almost 10 years. Before that, he served as Editor for a year and Editorial Page Editor.

For 18 months until his retirement in 2004, John was Chairman of Canadian Press, Canadian Director for the World Association of Newspapers, and a director on the boards of the Canadian Newspaper Association, the Audit Bureau of Circulations and workpolis.com. John was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2004 and a Member of the Order of Ontario in 2006. Most recently, he was appointed Special Ambassador to the Mayor of Toronto and Special Advisor to the Premier of Ontario.  He was also recently appointed Chair of the Board of Torstar Corporation.

John is the father of two children, Robin, 27, and Emily, 25.


Sandy Houston

Sandy Houston is the President of the Metcalf Foundation. Over the last ten years, Sandy has led the development of Metcalf into an innovative and leading Toronto-based private foundation engaged in helping Canadians imagine and build a just, healthy and creative society. The Foundation addresses the issues of poverty reduction, ecological integrity and creative vitality through the development of new thinking and practice, the advancement of dynamic organizations and the strengthening of individuals to conceptualize and lead change.

After time spent working in the non-for-profit sector and government, Sandy was a litigation lawyer at Osler Hoskin and Harcourt. He went on to become a founding partner of Stitt Feld Handy Houston, Canada's first law firm to focus predominately on alternative dispute resolution. There he focused on mediation work, and served as a consultant to government, agency and corporate clients.

Sandy is currently engaged in a variety of issues across the non-for-profit sector, and has been instrumental in the establishment of a number of Canadian not-for-profits. Currently he is the founding chair of the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation, an arms-length, public foundation created by the government of Ontario to support the environmental and agricultural integrity of province’s new Greenbelt. He also serves as an advisor to a number of charitable organizations, including Imagine Canada, The Ontario Not-for-Profit Network, The Literary Review of Canada and The Walrus.


Shirley Hoy

Shirley is the Chief Executive Officer of the Toronto Lands Corporation. Her public service career has spanned more than 25 years since she began serving in the Metro Toronto government department of Community Services.

In 1988, Shirley accepted the role of General Manager – Administration & Corporate Secretary to the Board of Governors of Exhibition Place.  In 1989, Shirley joined the Metro Chairman’s office as Executive Director and then in 1991 accepted an appointment with the provincial government as the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ontario Women’s Directorate and Assistant Deputy Minister of Social Assistance and Employment for the Ministry of Community and Social Services. 

In 1993, Shirley became the Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations and Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Housing Corporation in the Ontario Ministry of Housing. There, Shirley led the $1 billion crown agency and had overall responsibility for the management of 84,400 units of public housing, through its 54 local management agents. 

In 1996, Shirley returned to the Metro municipal government to lead the Department of
Community and Social Services as Commissioner. In 1997, Shirley became both the Acting Chief Administrative Officer and Commissioner of Community and Social Services until the amalgamation of the Metro government with the City of Toronto in 1998. Shirley then became the Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services, where she directed six major service components. 

Shirley was appointed Toronto’s City Manager in June 2001, where she successfully managed the Toronto Public Service for the City of Toronto, the 6th largest government in Canada. Shirley managed a gross operating budget of $8.3 billion, a capital budget of $1.4 billion and a City staff team of approximately 35,000 workers who provided direct city services. Shirley’s key responsibilities included the control and management of all human, fiscal and physical resources of the City, the effective and efficient delivery of services on behalf of the City, and providing advice and support to the Mayor and Council in developing and implementing policies, plans and programs of Council. 

Shirley holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto and a Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University. She has also served in volunteer roles with the University of Toronto, The Learning Partnership, and other community organizations and Boards.


Patricia Lang

Since Patricia Lang’s appointment as President of Confederation College in 2000, six new centres have opened – an Aviation Centre of Excellence, a Forestry Centre, Centre for Applied Media Productions (CAMP), Negahneewin College of Academic & Community Development, the Paterson Library Commons and the Regional Research & Education Alliance for Community Health (REACH). She is currently championing a major renewal of trades and technology facilities and programs and a new Campus Master Plan. Fundraising campaigns for these projects have included raising $48.5 million to support these centres.

As a result of President Lang’s leadership, Confederation College has been especially effective in building community partnerships. Ongoing planning with governments, businesses, industries, and communities ensures the currency and relevancy of college programs and employment opportunities for graduates: this makes the college a key player in regional economic development.

Under her leadership, the college is realizing its potential of “changing lives through learning” through a strong focus on student and employee success.

Patricia Lang received her Bachelor of Nursing from the University of New Brunswick and her Master of Arts from Central Michigan University. In March 2009, she was appointed the newest Honorary Captain (Naval) by the Minister of National Defence, affiliated with Maritime Training & Education. Patricia received an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from the University of New Brunswick which was conferred in May 2009.

In 1998, she won the Dean’s Award at Central Michigan University for outstanding achievement and contributions to community college education in Ontario. She was named an Influential Woman of Northwestern Ontario for 2004 and has been called “one of Thunder Bay’s leading ambassadors.” She believes that life-long learning is a touchstone of a healthy community. She was recognized as one of Canada’s top 25 Canadians, in December 2009, by Carp Magazine for making a difference in the lives of Canadians as they age.


The Hon. Frances Lankin, P.C

The Hon. Frances Lankin, P.C., has been the President and CEO of United Way Toronto since 2001, guiding it through a strategic transformation into an organization that works to change social conditions. Under Frances' leadership, United Way has become a leading community builder that not only funds social service agencies, but also works to strengthen neighbourhoods and create opportunities for a better life for everyone in Toronto.

Frances has spent a lifetime serving community and non-profit organizations. In 2006, she chaired a federal government-commissioned Blue Ribbon Panel on Ottawa’s grant and contribution distribution process. She has served on the boards of several not-for-profit and charitable organizations and is currently a member of the Toronto City Summit Alliance Steering Committee and the University of Toronto's School of Public Policy Advisory Committee.

Frances has received the Queen's Jubilee Medal in 2003, and the United Way Canada’s Award of Excellence in 2005. In 2007, she was named the Canadian Public Relations Society’s CEO of the Year and received the Toronto Star’s Laurel Award. Other awards include the Equal Voice EVE Award, Toronto Consumers’ Choice Woman of the Year More Magazine’s Top 40 Over 40, and the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Toronto's Community Builder Award.

She served as MPP for Beaches-East York for eleven years before joining United Way in 2001. From 1990–1995 she served as Ontario’s Minister of Health, Minister of Economic Development and Trade, and Minister of Government Services.

In 2009, she was made a member of the Queen’s Privy Council of Canada, and appointed by the Prime Minister to the Security Intelligence Review Committee which provides an external review of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.


Dr. Danielle Martin, M.D., C.C.F.P.

Danielle is a comprehensive care family physician who works in downtown Toronto and in rural northern Ontario. She is Clinical Staff at Women's College Hospital and Lecturer in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto.

Danielle's policy expertise and passion for equity have made her an emerging leader in the debate over the future of Canada's healthcare system. A recipient of the Canadian Medical Association Award for Young Leaders, Danielle sits on the Health Council of Canada. In 2006 the Ontario College of Family Physicians recognized her as one of three New Family Doctors of the Year.

In May 2006 Danielle helped launch Canadian Doctors for Medicare, the voice for Canadian physicians who believe in a high quality, equitable, sustainable health system built on the best available evidence as the highest expression of Canadians caring for one another.


Tim O'Neill

Dr. Tim O'Neill is currently Visiting Professor in The Fuqua Business School at Duke University. He was appointed the first H. Ian MacDonald Visiting Economist in the Ontario Ministry of Finance in June, 2005 and served in that role until May, 2007.  He is also a partner in The Network Executive Team (TNET).

Tim served as Executive Vice President & Chief Economist of BMO from 1994 to 2005.   He joined the Bank of Montreal in 1993 as Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.  Prior to joining the Bank, Tim held the position of President of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council from 1988 to 1993.  For twelve years, he taught in the Department of Economics at St. Mary's University in Halifax and has also served as a consultant to several provincial governments, as well as to the Canadian federal government.

Tim is a native of Sydney, Nova Scotia.  He received his B.A.  (with Honours) from St. Francis Xavier University, his M.A. from the University of British Columbia, and completed his Ph.D. at Duke University. 

In his teaching, research and consulting activities, Tim has focused extensively on the structure and performance of the North American economy, on topics such as macroeconomic forecasts, assessment of key sectors of the economy, the economic impact of low literacy skills and the political economy of globalization.

Tim was, until recently, a Director of InStorage REIT and serves on the board of the United Church of Canada Foundation. He is one of two members of the Decision Review Board for the Province of Ontario and is a member of the National Statistics Council. Tim was the first Canadian economist to be elected to the Board of Governors of the Washington-based National Association for Business Economics (NABE) and served as Vice President in 2001-02.  In October 2002, he was elected President, and completed his term in September 2003.


Bonnie Patterson

In December 2009, Prof. Bonnie M. Patterson was appointed President and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities, after serving as Interim President since September 21, 2009. 

Prof. Patterson had served as President of COU from 1995 to 1998 before taking the post of President of Trent University, a position that she held for 11 years. She also served as Dean of Business at Ryerson University (then known as Ryerson Polytechnic Institute), and chaired and taught at its School of Administration and Information Management.

Prof. Patterson served as one of four Canadian university presidents to the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. She has served as Chair of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, and for nine years as a Director on the board of the Peterborough Regional Health Centre including two as its Chair. She currently serves on the board of directors for the International Consortium on Anti-Virals (ICAV).

In addition, Prof. Patterson served as the province's representative on the founding board of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and participated in a number of provincial advisory committees including the Biotechnology Commercialization Centre Fund; Health Industries Advisory Committee on Sectoral Strategy Development; and the Centres of Excellence, Ontario Technology Fund. In 2006, she was recognized by the Women's Executive Network with a Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada award in the Trailblazers and Trendsetters category. In 2010 Prof. Patterson was appointed to the Order of Ontario and as a Member of the Order of Canada for her contributions as a leader in postsecondary education.

She holds a BA and MLS from the University of Western Ontario.


André Pratte

André Pratte has been a journalist for thirty years. He has covered politics for most of his career as a reporter, a columnist, and an editor. He was named Editorial Pages Editor at La Presse in 2001. André has written five books on politics and the media, including Charest: His Life and Politics, Reconquering Canada – Quebec  federalists speak up for change (Douglas & McIntyre), a series of essays by a group of Quebec federalists taking a fresh look at Quebecers' relationship with the rest of the country, and he authored an exchange of correspondence on Quebec's political future with well-known sovereigntist Joseph Facal.

Along with eleven other well-known Quebecers including former Premier Lucien Bouchard, André Pratte was signatory to a manifesto that had a major political impact in Quebec, "For a Clear Eyed Vision of Quebec." He is currently writing a biography of Wilfrid Laurier for Penguin’s forthcoming collection, Extraordinary Canadians, edited by John Ralston Saul.


Kasi V.P. Rao

Kasi Rao is a consultant providing strategic guidance to broader public and private sector organizations with a particular focus on India. Rao has a diverse professional background spanning various sectors including Director, Office of the President and CEO at BMO Financial Group, Director of the Office of the President & Director of Government Relations at the University of Toronto, Senior Policy Advisor to the Ontario Government in New York, Policy Advisor to the Premier of Ontario, and, Special Assistant in Cabinet Office. He is a member of the international Steering Group of Global Indian Network of Knowledge (Global INK), an initiative launched by the Government of India. Rao has an M.A. from the University of Toronto and a B.A. from the University of Waterloo, majoring in Political Science. He obtained his primary and secondary education from schools in Gangtok, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Toronto.


Rana Sarkar

Rana Sarkar is the President and Executive Director of the Canada-India Business Council. He also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Munk Centre for International Studies and is the Co-Chairman of the Strategic Advisory Board at the new School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto.  

Based in London from 1996 - 2008, Rana was a co-founder and director of Rawlings Atlantic Limited, a cross border advisory firm.  In 2005, Rana co-founded Content Partners, one of Europe’s fastest growing media promotions agencies. Previously Rana served as the lead strategist at Europe’s leading digital agency and a consultant at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants based in London and New Delhi. Rana helped establish the Roland Berger office in New Delhi (1997-1998) working for a variety of leading global and Indian corporate clients.  

He has been a regular visiting lecturer at both the London School of Economics and the CASS Business School, Patron of the Guardian Hay Literary Festival and is a media and clean tech focused investor and board director. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics and Queen’s University at Kingston and is a member of the advisory council of the Literary Review of Canada.


The Hon. Hugh D. Segal, C.M.

The Hon. Hugh D. Segal was appointed to the Senate of Canada by the Governor General in the summer of 2005, representing Kingston-Frontenac-Leeds.   Since being appointed, he has served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs and International Trade committee, and as a member of the Agriculture and Forestry, Aboriginal Affairs, the Special Anti-Terrorism Committees and is the current Vice Chair of the Cities sub-committee of the Social Affairs, Science, Technology and Health Committee.

Before joining the Senate, Hugh was active in academe, public life, and business.  He is a Senior Fellow at the Queen’s School of Policy Studies.  He has lectured at Harvard, Carleton (the Richard and Ruth Bell Lecture) and the Queen’s University GOW lecturer (2009).  He is a graduate in history from the University of Ottawa (1972) and studied international trade economics at Carleton University.

Hugh served as Legislative Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition in Ottawa, Ontario’s Associate Cabinet Secretary for Federal Provincial Relations, Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Canada and President of the Institute for Research on Public Policy.  In the private sector, he served as Executive Chair of the Tact group of marketing, public relations, sports broadcast, and publishing concerns, was a Senior Advisor at a Bay Street portfolio management firm and a senior officer of a Canadian alcohol and food conglomerate.  He has authored four books on Canadian Conservative and public policy questions, was a regular columnist for the Toronto Star and the Financial Post, and a weekly broadcast commentator for CTV, PBS and CBC.  In 2003, he was named as a member of the Order of Canada, received an Honourary Doctorate from the Royal Military College in 2004 and an Honourary Doctorate (D. University) from the University of Ottawa in 2009. 

Hugh also serves on the boards of various public, private, for profit and not for profit companies, continues to teach at Queen’s, and is a Senior Research Fellow at the McMillan law firm.  He also serves in various not-for-profit volunteer community roles.  He is Chair of the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation, a council member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance in Stockholm, and a Canadian member of the Trilateral Commission.  He is an Honorary Captain of the Canadian Navy, and Honorary Commander of the Fort Henry Guard in Kingston.


Mark Stabile

Mark Stabile is Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Rotman School of Management, and Director of the School of Public Policy and Governance. Mark's current research interests include the economics of child health, economics of health care and health insurance, and tax policy and health insurance. His work has been published widely in journals including the Journal of Health Economics, Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, and American Economic Review, among others.

Professor Stabile's past honours include a 2007 Excellence in Teaching Award from the Rotman School of Management, and he was the recipient of the John C. Polanyi Prize in Economics in 2003, and the Harry Johnson Prize in 2002. Professor Stabile received his B.A. from the University of Toronto, and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University.


Carol Wilding

Carol Wilding is President and CEO of the Toronto Board of Trade, Canada's largest local chamber of commerce.

Since Ms. Wilding's appointment, the Toronto Board of Trade has intensified its city-building efforts: promoting economic and community prosperity, advocating for sustainable infrastructure to maintain Toronto's thriving business community, and strengthening local and regional governance to enhance Toronto's economic competitiveness. Through such initiatives as the Scorecard on Prosperity, the Board's newly-established annual benchmarking study comparing Toronto to other great cities from around the world, Carol has intensified the Board's policy and advocacy work.

Carol serves as a director on the boards of the Royal Ontario Museum, the Toronto City Summit Alliance and Pickering College. She is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization, and previously served on the Mayor's Economic Competitiveness Advisory Committee. In 2009 she was named a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario.

Carol is a recipient of the Schulich Business School's Outstanding Public Contribution Alumni Award, the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal and the Public Sector Excellence Award for Technology. Ms. Wilding was previously the President of the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation and President and CEO of Foster Parents Plan Canada (now Plan Canada). Carol holds an Honours degree in Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University.