Our Board

Joan Dea

Founder, Beckwith Investments, Past BMO Senior Executive and BCG Global Partner

Joan Dea is a business leader, investor and independent corporate director who invests in and advises organizations to build a strong and equitable future. After a career with Boston Consulting Group advising Fortune 500 companies on issues of performance, strategy, competitiveness and transformation, she became a senior executive with BMO Financial Group responsible for development and management of the strategic change agenda. Joan founded Beckwith Investments to invest in, and advise innovative, impactful companies. She is currently a director with Charles Schwab Corporation and Cineplex Inc. Reflecting her lifelong passion for the arts, education and social impact, Joan has effected change in these areas through her roles as Chair and Board Member with many organizations. She was named one of the Most Powerful Women in Canada in recognition of her work.

Helen Burstyn

Chair, Evergreen

Helen is the Managing Director of Crescent Investment Partners and the Co-Founder of Burstyn Inc., a strategic communications and events management firm. She spent most of her professional career in government, serving as the Chair of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Deputy Secretary of the Premier’s Council, Senior Advisor for Community Relations in the Office of the Premier, Co-Chair of The Partnership Project to redefine the government relationship with the non-profit sector, and co-founder of Canada’s first Office for Social Enterprise.

In addition to being a founding board member of LEAP|Pecaut Centre for Social Impact, Helen serves on the boards of UNICEF Canada, Evergreen (Chair Emeritus), Luminato Festival, the ROM, the Koffler Centre of the Arts (Chair), Green Iglu, the Radiation Safety Institute of Canada, and the bi-national Carol Shields Prize for women fiction writers. She is also a past-president of the Canadian Club of Toronto (2008-09) and past-chair of Waterfront Toronto and The Walrus Foundation, and served on the boards of TIFF and CAMH for nine years. Helen was the co-host of Toronto Files on Rogers TV, a weekly community affairs program focusing on the people and issues that matter to the city, and Canada. Her best-selling book, Eleven Out of Ten: The Life and Work of David Pecaut, was published in 2012.

She was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and a coach for young entrepreneurs at the Social Ventures Zone since 2013. Currently affiliated with Massey College at University of Toronto, she is an active member of the Quadrangle Society and a mentor for Junior Fellows. Helen’s studies focused on English literature, attending the University of Windsor (Honours BA), McMaster University (MA) and continuing her post-graduate studies in the Ph.D. program at the University of Toronto (ABD). Helen’s outstanding contributions to community and public service have been acknowledged through multiple awards and distinctions, including Membership of the Order of Canada, the YWCA Women of Distinction Award for Community Leadership, and the Provincial Citizenship Award in recognition of excellence in public service.

Joe Manget

Chairman & CEO, Edgewood Health Network Inc.

Joe Manget is an Operating Partner at Alignvest and Chairman of the Edgewood Health Network Inc. (EHN), a Canadian based private pay mental health and addictions treatment platform launched by Alignvest in December 2013. Prior to joining Alignvest, Joe was a Senior Partner at The Boston Consulting Group where he led BCG Canada (2006 to 2009), then led BCG’s Global Operations practice (2010 to 2012), which he transformed into the firm’s largest and fastest growing global practice. Prior to BCG, he was a senior manager at IBM Canada (now Celestica).

Joe holds a Master of Science from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Engineering from the University of Toronto, graduating first in class (summa cum laude) in both programs. Joe is a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), is on the Finance Committee for Upper Canada College, and serves on the board of Bridgepoint Active Healthcare.

Gordon Baird

Partner, McCarthy Tétrault

Gordon Baird is a partner in McCarthy Tétrault's Business Law Group in Toronto. His practice is focused on lending and secured transactions.

Gordon is the chair of the McCarthy Tétrault National Pro Bono Committee and a member of the boards of directors of Pro Bono Law Ontario and Connect Legal, a pro bono organization offering assistance to immigrant entrepreneurs, and Opera in Concert. He is recognized in the 2007-2014 edition of Chambers Global: The World’s Leading Lawyers as a leading lawyer in the area of banking and finance law. He also appears in the 2014 edition of the Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, a guide to the leading law firms and practitioners in Canada, as a leading lawyer in the area of Banking (including Financial Institutions Regulatory Law). Gordon appears in Best Lawyers Canada in the areas of banking and finance and project finance law.

Gordon holds a BA (Economics) from Trinity College at the University of Toronto in 1986, and his LLB from the University of Toronto in 1989. He was called to the Ontario bar in 1991.

Mark Davis

Mark A. Davis was the Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund. Mark served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Fund since its initial public offering in 2001 until he retired in 2021. Prior to that, he served as Marsulexs President, North American Operations from 1999 to 2001 and, as President of Sterling Pulp Chemicals Inc. from 1996 to 1999. In addition to this chemical industry experience, Mark gained a broad exposure to a number of industries when he was a partner with Borden Elliot LLP, one of Toronto's major law firms.

Mark has contributed his vast leadership and management expertise as a public board member of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, Osprey Media Income Fund, ACS Media Canada Income Fund and Consumers Water Heaters. He is currently serving on the board of two private companies.

Mark has also contributed in this capacity on various boards in the charitable space, currently as a Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee of Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation of Toronto. He has also served as a board member of Bishop Strachan School and the National Ballet of Canada. Historically, Mark was a many year Corporate Representative for the United Way and financially contributes to numerous charities including the Toronto Foundation.

Philip Moore

Former SVP, Deputy General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, TD

Philip Moore is former Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of TD Bank Group, where he provided leadership to the legal department in Canada and support for the Boards and Committees of TD Bank Group.

Prior to joining TD in 2013, he was a senior partner in the Business Law Group of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, where he advised clients on corporate and securities matters including mergers and acquisitions, cross-borders securities, corporate reorganizations and general on-going advice to various public and private corporations.

Philip received his BA from McMaster University and his LLB from Queen’s University and was called to the Ontario bar in 1983. He serves as a member of the board of directors of Neenah Inc. and as faculty member and Chartered Director of the Directors College, Canada’s leading director education program run by the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University and the Conference Board of Canada.

Janet Bannister

Founder & Managing Partner, Staircase Ventures

Janet Bannister is the Founder and Managing Partner of Staircase Ventures, which leads seed-stage rounds into Canada’s highest potential tech companies. Staircase provides its founders with unparalleled dedication to accelerating their development and performance. Prior to launching Staircase Ventures, Janet was Managing Partner at Real Ventures, one of Canada’s largest and most active early-stage investors. Janet is very active in the Canadian tech ecosystem, including being Co-Chair of C100 and on the Advisory Board of Ivey Business School. She is also a mentor at Creative Destruction Lab. In 2004, Janet launched Kijiji.ca and grew it to become one of the most visited websites in Canada.

Janet has won numerous awards and recognition including Venture Capital Journal’s 2021 “Women of Influence in Private Markets”, Pitchbooks’ 2021 “Female Founders & Investors to Know”, and American Bankers’ 2019 “Most Influential Women in Payments”.

Janet spent four years at eBay in Silicon Valley where she helped transform eBay from a collectibles to a mainstream marketplace. She started her career as a Brand Manager at Procter & Gamble and then joined McKinsey & Co. where she was an Engagement Manager. Janet attended Western where she was a varsity long-distance runner and attended the Ivey Business School. She was also Canada’s National Triathlon Champion.

Nan Dasgupta

Managing Director & Senior Partner, BCG

Nan leads BCG Canada’s People and Organization Practice and is a core member of the firm’s Financial Institutions practice, the leader of Women@BCG in North America, and an expert in People and Organization and women in business.

Nan has contributed extensively in the Social Impact domain and is one of the leaders of BCG’s Centre for Canada’s Future. In that role, she helps move Canada forward by providing insights and expertise on the country’s most important issues. The centre also aims to convene leaders from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors to work together to achieve impact.

Nan has taken on several firm leadership roles and currently chairs BCG’s Career Development Committee in Canada and leads the firm’s Women@BCG initiative in North America. Nan also serves on Non-Profit boards: Ivey Advisory Board, LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact, and CivicAction Leadership Foundation. Nan joined BCG in the Toronto office in 1996 and has worked on strategies in growth, sales force productivity, target operating model, and organization. She has worked predominantly in the financial services and consumer retail industries, and is one of the firm’s experts in the topics of customer experience and women in business—both in terms of inclusion in the workforce and targeting women as customers. Before joining BCG, Nan worked at General Electric as a project engineer.

Kilian Berz

Managing Director & Senior Partner, BCG

Kilian Berz is a Senior Partner, Managing Director, and Global Financial Institutions Leader at The Boston Consulting Group. Kilian leads large client relationships on behalf of BCG. Since joining BCG in 1995, has advised clients across many sectors in North America, Europe and Asia. He is the Chair of the Centre for Canada's Future, convening leaders from business, government and the non-profit sector to address Canada's biggest challenges. Kilian led BCG's Canadian offices from 2009 to 2015.

Kilian is Special Advisor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, helping to engage business and increase investment in Canada. He is a Board Member of Civic Action, a non-profit urban renewal coalition, and is Co-Founder of LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact. From 2001 to 2016, he chaired the Board of a mid-sized German chemical business.

Ashim Khemani

Board Member; Founder & CEO, Stem Capital

Ashim Khemani is CEO of Stem Capital, a professional services firm which serves institutions, boards and families in the disciplines of insurance, investments, wealth management, risk, talent solutions and digital strategy. Ashim has had the privilege of contributing, building and leading teams to design and execute start-up, growth and turn-around mandates in a wide range of organizations. He has focused on shaping and advancing firm-building (culture) activities in concert with retaining a keen competitive and commercial focus. Over the past 25 years, Ashim has led Medavie Blue Cross as President, he was the CHRO | CMO | Chief Development Officer at Sobeys and the CEO, Global Head of Innovation & Growth at Aon (Hewitt). He holds an MBA from the University of Toronto and an MA in International Relations from Tufts University. He is a certified director (ICD.D), serves on SAP’s Executive Advisory Committee, and the board and Audit Committee at Russell Investments.