Mitch is the Managing Partner of the Toronto office of Mintz and the Chancellor of Ontario Tech University. Prior to joining Mintz, Mitch served as the chair of the Pensions and Employment Practice of an international law firm based in Toronto. His practice focuses on all aspects of pension, benefits and employment law.
He is the co-founder of the National Institute on Ageing at Toronto Metropolitan University, a former adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and a published author. Mitch is a member and former chair of the TFS Board of Directors, a member and former vice-chair of the North York General Board of Governors, chair of the Western Law Advisory Council, the immediate past chair of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Board of Governors and a former member of the Ontario Science Centre Board of Trustees.
He is an avid runner and has completed all six Abbott world marathon majors. Mitch was named one of the 25 most influential lawyers in Canada by Canadian Lawyer magazine and is a recipient of a number of awards and honours including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Ontario Bar Association’s Award of Excellence in Pension and Benefits Law and an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Toronto Metropolitan University. He has also been admitted to the Order of Ontario.
Vice Chair and Treasurer – Harcharan (Harry) Singh
Harcharan (Harry) Singh has extensive leadership and management experience in both the corporate and entrepreneurial arena within the pharmaceutical industry. After an illustrious career in the corporate world, in 1990 he founded Glopec International Inc., Canada, a global pharmaceutical ingredients company and continues to be its President & CEO. He has also been an active Investor/Promotor/Director in several companies in India/US/Canada including RA Chem Pharma, India, Eirgen Pharma, Ireland, Concord Biotech, India and ECI Pharma, USA.
Harry served on the Board of St Michael’s Hospital for nine years from June 2007 to June 2016. He has also been an advisor to the Indo-Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
He has a BTech from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (now Chennai) and an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India.
Secretary – Mark O’Connell
Mark O’Connell is President and CEO of Interac Corp. In his role, he oversees the operation of Canada’s leading payment brand — the only domestically run, coast-to-coast debit payment network that allows Canadians access to their money more than 16 million times per day through Interac products and services.
Mark is responsible for a suite of trusted payment products including Interac Debit, Interac Flash, Interac e-Transfer and digital offerings, such as the Interac Token Service Provider, Interac on Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay and mobile Interac Flash. He is also responsible for leading the development of fraud prevention and Digital Identity solutions and programs.
Mark has extensive experience in the payment card and banking technology industries. Previously, he was Executive Vice President, Finance Market at Emergis Inc. (now Telus) and represented Emergis Inc. on the Interac Association Board of Directors for two years. He has held other senior positions at NCR Corporation and IBM.
A graduate of McGill University and the University of Windsor’s MBA program, Mark has also studied finance at the Harvard Business School.
Governors
Gillian Akai
Gillian Akai is the Chief Administrative Officer, Executive Vice- President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Postmedia Network Inc., one of Canada’s largest media companies, where she leads the legal and regulatory affairs, corporate governance, human resources, communications and risk management teams, as well as being the executive sponsor of Postmedia’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and its community investment program, Postmedia Supports.
As part of the three person Postmedia executive team, Gillian’s expertise has supported Postmedia in mergers and acquisitions, refinancings, development of new business opportunities, and sponsorship and support for strategic organizational and employee initiatives.
In addition to her executive responsibilities, Gillian has been a member of the board of Hydrocephalus Canada since 2017 and Chair of the Board since 2020. She is also a Director on the Board of News Media Alliance, the leading voice for the news and magazine media industry operating out of Washington D.C., and an active member of the National GC Network which strives to help general counsel and in-house lawyers advance equity, diversity and inclusion values within their organizations and the legal community.
Gillian holds a joint LLB/MBA from Osgoode Hall Law School/Schulich School of Business (York University). Prior to joining Postmedia, Gillian was a lawyer at Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (now Dentons Canada LLP) focusing on private mergers and acquisitions, technology and software licensing.
Brad Badeau
Mr. Brad Badeau enjoyed a 30 year career in senior roles in the asset management business with Trimark Investments and Burgundy Asset Management.
A lifetime love of investing in smart people with big ideas has resulted in a number of successful innovations in health care and technology.
In 2016, Mr. Badeau was appointed to the North York General Hospital Foundation Board of Governors, serving as Vice Chair in 2017-2018. He has served on a number of corporation and philanthropic boards.
Mr. Badeau supports both discovery and applied research across every stage of the financing cycle. Mr. Badeau and his family were early benefactors of North York General’s research efforts through the establishment of our successful Exploration Fund and the Badeau Family Chair in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement.
Janet Beed
Janet Beed has more than 40 years of experience in the Ontario health care system, most recently as President and CEO of Markham Stouffville Hospital. Prior to that position she held a number of leadership roles at the University Health Network/Toronto General Hospital, Princess Margaret Hospital/Ontario Cancer Institute, and the Hospital for Sick Children. Janet was also a Partner with Deloitte Consulting working globally in the Change Management Service Line.
Janet is currently an independent practitioner and advisor with a focus on building organizational capacity, implementing strategic change and maximizing the innovation agenda in health care.
She has board experience in the not-for-profit and public sectors and is an IHPME fellow at the University of Toronto. She is currently the Chair of the Ontario Caregiver Organization and previously sat on the boards of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, ventureLAB, CIHI, and Seneca College. She is an invited speaker and conference participant, particularly in the areas of health care strategy and caregiver support.
A graduate of Dalhousie University and the University of Toronto, Janet holds a Master of Nursing degree.
Kristina Fanjoy
Kristina Fanjoy is Senior Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of CPP Investments, a global investment management organization that manages $590 billion in assets of the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). CPP Investments helps to provide a foundation upon which more than 22 million Canadians build their financial security in retirement. Kristina leads the organization’s global finance functions including financial policy, controls and reporting, business and financial planning, valuations, tax, structure management, and performance reporting and analytics. Kristina joined CPP Investments in 2010 and has contributed to the extension of the organization’s finance capabilities, including building and leading various functions, most recently serving as Head of Finance.
Prior to joining CPP Investments, Kristina had a successful 14-year career at KPMG across audit, compliance and advisory disciplines, culminating in a practice delivering international tax advice to global organizations in a variety of sectors.
Kristina is a CPA from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. She has a BComm from the University of Toronto and completed the CFO Leadership Program from the Rotman School of Management.
Debbie Fischer
Debbie Fischer is an experienced board director and has held senior leadership positions in professional consulting services, in health care and government. She is currently an Executive Associate with KPMG where she consults on organizational change and large-scale system transformation in health care and public sectors. Debbie serves on several boards including Joule-a subsidiary of the Canadian Medical Association, North York General Hospital and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. She also serves as an advisor to health and technology related businesses.
Debbie is also an Executive-in-Residence in Residence at the Rotman School of Management and has taught at the Rotman Executive Leadership Development Program at the University of Toronto. She was previously the Executive Vice President, Strategy and Organizational Development at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto and an Assistant Deputy Minister in Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. She has held a number of senior consulting and executive management positions in international professional services firms–Ernst &Young, Cap Gemini and KPMG.
Debbie has a BSc (Neurobiology and Comparative Physiology) from McGill University and MHA from the University of Ottawa. She also holds CHRL and ICD.D designations.
Jonathan Mackey
Jon brings a wealth of strategic expertise and leadership experience to the role. After successful tenures leading large, global leadership consultancies, Jon founded his own leadership advisory firm. Mackey & Company specializes in working with investors, founders, and private equity to achieve their strategic goals through business transformation. Additionally, he serves as Chairman of two private companies and sits on the board of a fintech company, roles that allow him to influence and drive business growth through good governance.
Jon has a commitment to community service which is reflected in his long-standing involvement with several non-profit organizations, including NYGH, The Hearing Foundation of Canada and the Patricia Mackey Patient & Family Centered Care Scholarship. Jon has served as a Community Member of the Governance Committee of NYGH for 8 years and as a Governor of the NYGH Foundation for 2 years. Jon’s deep expertise in executive leadership and corporate governance significantly contributes to the hospital’s mission and strategic direction.
Jon graduated from Queen’s University with a BA.
George Mavroudis
George Mavroudis is President and CEO of Guardian Capital Group Limited (Guardian). He joined Guardian in 2005 in a senior executive role, progressively assuming overall responsibility for the business management of the firm’s investment operations, including both institutional and private wealth management. George became a Board Director in November 2011.
His career in the financial services industry began in 1992 at Coopers & Lybrand. Prior to joining Guardian, George was a managing director at JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management, holding several senior management roles across their network of offices including London, New York and Toronto. He also served as CEO for Robert Fleming’s Russia institutional brokerage and investment banking business, from his base in Moscow from 1995-1998.
George graduated with a BComm from University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) of Ontario and holds the CFP designation from the Financial Planners Standards Council.
Robert Palter
For the last 28 years, Robert has been employed at McKinsey & Company in Toronto. He is currently a Senior Partner at McKinsey and is its Managing Partner for Canada. As the Managing Partner for McKinsey’s Canadian operations, he is responsible for all aspects of McKinsey’s operations across 1200 people in offices in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.
Robert has also been responsible for leading several of McKinsey’s global practices. From 2000 to 2010, he founded and ran McKinsey’s Institutional Investor practice where he worked with some of the leading pension plans globally on issues of strategy, investments and value creation. From 2010 to 2019, Robert founded and ran McKinsey’s Global Infrastructure practice where his work focused on helping governments and investors execute PPPs as well as deliver large, complex infrastructure projects on-time and on-budget. From 2019 to 2022, Robert founded and ran McKinsey’s real estate practice where his work focused on bring advanced analytics to real estate and successful real estate development.
Robert earned an M.B.A. with Ivey Scholar Distinction from the Richard Ivey School of Business. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (with Distinction) in International Relations from the University of Toronto. Robert was also named Canada’s Top 40 under 40 in 2006.
In the past, Robert was a Board member of the A.G. Bell Association, UJA Federation of Toronto, Centre for Jewish Education and Alpine Canada. He is an avid alpine skier, road cyclist and sailor.
Robert is married to Barbara, a teacher for children with hearing impairments. They have two children, Samantha (23) and Noah (19).
Aayaz Pira
As President, Canadian Tire Financial Services, and President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Tire Bank, Aayaz is responsible for the overall strategic direction and growth for the Financial Services division. His deep experience in technology and innovation within financial services and retail will serve to build upon Canadian Tire Bank’s successful foundation through customer-focused, digital innovation.
Prior to joining Canadian Tire Corporation in June 2021, Aayaz was Senior Vice-President, Digital Banking and Enterprise Innovation at CIBC, where he oversaw digital for the bank, including client experience, innovation, sales, and banking. His work at CIBC has been recognized by industry experts, receiving several accolades, including “Top Mobile Bank in Canada” by JD Power in 2020 and “Top Consumer Digital Bank in North America” by Consumer Finance in 2019. Aayaz was also responsible for building, launching and operating CIBC’s direct banking businesses across North America, including Simplii Financial – recognized as one of the world’s best banks by Forbes magazine in 2019 and 2020 – and CIBC Agility in the U.S. Previously, Aayaz spent nearly a decade at PwC Canada LLP, most recently serving as Vice-President, Management & Technology Consulting – Digital Transformation.
Aayaz has been recognized as the “Digital Banker of the Year” by American Banker, and was awarded the Ted Rogers School of Management Alumni Trailblazer award for his contribution to the school and community, the G. Raymond Chang Outstanding Volunteer award from Ryerson University, and was profiled as a “Next Gen” leader in Toronto. He is a passionate advocate for the advancement of women in the workplace, having served as an executive sponsor of CIBC’s Women’s Network and #movethedial, an organization that helps grow the pipeline of women in tech. Aayaz also dedicates time to giving back to various organizations and currently sits on several Boards including North York General Hospital and Ted Rogers School of Management’s MBA Program. He is also an active mentor at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, helping Canadian tech ventures grow and succeed.
Aayaz graduated with an MBA from Queen’s University and holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Honours, Information Technology Management, from Ryerson University.
Toni Rossi
A 30-year Real Estate Professional, Toni leads the Province of Ontario Real Estate Portfolio (one of the largest in Canada) and served as Infrastructure Ontario’s (IO) Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. Toni was also President of IO’s Lending Division and a key member of the Executive Team merging the Ontario Realty Corp and IO in 2012. Prior to IO, Toni was with Oxford Properties and Cadillac Fairview. Having her ICD Designation, Toni shares her knowledge and experience with industry and community.
She is a Director for Habitat for Humanity Canada. Toni also served as Board Chair for Habitat Toronto, was the First Chair of the largest Canadian Women Build and the inaugural Board Chair for a Canadian Olympic Athlete’s Fund, ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, was Board Director for Toronto CREW, and a member of Toronto’s Legacy and Toronto CivicAction Committees.
Toni serves on Ryerson’s Realty Advisory, ULI’s Advisory Board, the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Realty Committee. Toni was the 2020 WIN Outstanding Leader Recipient and was recently elected to serve as the first female Chair of REALPAC Board.
Toni holds an Honours BPHE from the University of Toronto and an ICD.D from The Rotman School of Management (University of Toronto).
John Walsh
John Walsh was elected as NYGH Governor in June 2019. Since January 2015, he has been a member of the Executive Team at OPTrust as Managing Director, General Counsel .
Mr. Walsh joined OPTrust in 2006 as an investment professional in OPTrust’s Private Markets Group, responsible for transaction negotiation, structuring and execution, corporate governance and operations.
As Managing Director, General Counsel, Mr. Walsh provides legal counsel to all of OPTrust and oversees all corporate governance, compliance, enterprise risk management and transactional structuring matters.
Before joining OPTrust, Mr. Walsh practiced corporate and securities law for a decade at two leading Canadian law firms.
Mr. Walsh has also worked at the senior levels of politics and government in Canada and the United States.
Christine Williams
Dr. Christine Williams (Ph.D.) is an immunologist and currently serves as the Executive Vice President and Head of Implementation Science at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR).
As part of OICR’s executive team, she develops and implements strategic priorities across the Institute’s translational research programs. Dr. Williams leads coordinated engagement and communications strategies with a broad range of provincial, national and international partners including clinical, academic, industry, government and patient partners.
Prior to her role at OICR, Dr. Williams held various leadership positions at the Canadian Cancer Society, most recently as its Chief Mission Officer & Scientific Director, responsible for strategy development and program delivery nationwide. She is currently a member of a number of boards and advisory committees, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Sinai Health System, The Canadian Cancer Trials Group and various other research and community organizations.
She received a degree in Life Sciences from Queen’s University and a PhD in Immunology from the University of Toronto. She received postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University where she studied the molecular pathways involved in the development of leukemia and lymphoma in children.
Michael Zahra
Michael Zahra is the President, CEO & Board Director of Drone Delivery Canada, an aerospace engineering company, and was previously President of Staples Business Advantage, President of Yahoo and President of Schlumberger RMS with prior positions at Motorola and Alcatel. He is currently on the Board of the Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust and was previously on the Boards of Junior Achievement and Computers for Schools and has been involved in activities with Bullfrog Power, Tree Canada, Evergreen, Habitat for Humanity, Mississauga Food Bank, YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs. He is on the Quality Committee and is Vice-Chair of the Audit & Finance Committee of NYGH.
Michael has a B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto, an M.B.A. from City University, Seattle and a P.Log from the Logistics Institute.
He has additionally taken numerous programs in Cybersecurity & Cryptography, Neural Networks, AI, Robotics, Lean Six Sigma, Leadership, Execution, etc. from esteemed institutions such as MIT, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, Queen’s University and the University of Virginia. He has also taken numerous Fiduciary and Advisory Board programs from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Michael was born in Toronto and is a world traveler and published photographer having traveled to over 57 countries.
Ex-Officio Governors
Aine O’Flynn
Chair, North York General, Foundation
Aine O’Flynn joined BMO Capital Markets in Equity Research in 1997 and moved into Equity Sales in 2000 where she leveraged her knowledge base and expertise to develop valued and deep relationships with leading Canadian investor clients. In December 2013, Aine was appointed Director of Canadian and European Equity Research. Her experience on the desk gave her valuable insight into our clients’ needs. In January 2017, Ms. O’Flynn was appointed Co-head of Global Equity Products alongside Alan Tannenbaum and was appointed Global Head of Equity Products in November 2017. On February 1st, 2021 Aine was appointed Head of Investment Banking Capital Markets. In this role, Aine’s proven ability to forge relationships and build businesses will be instrumental in driving the business forward.
Aine O’Flynn joined BMO Capital Markets in Equity Research in 1997 and moved into Equity Sales in 2000 where she leveraged her knowledge base and expertise to develop valued and deep relationships with leading Canadian investor clients. In December 2013, Aine was appointed Director of Canadian and European Equity Research. Her experience on the desk gave her valuable insight into our clients’ needs. In January 2017, Ms. O’Flynn was appointed Co-head of Global Equity Products alongside Alan Tannenbaum and was appointed Global Head of Equity Products in November 2017. On February 1st, 2021 Aine was appointed Head of Investment Banking Capital Markets. In this role, Aine’s proven ability to forge relationships and build businesses will be instrumental in driving the business forward.
Ms. O’Flynn takes part in the annual United Way campaign and the BMO Capital Markets mentorship and sponsorship programs. She takes part in her community through a variety of activities.
Aine has been a member of the Board for the past four years and previously served as Chair of the Foundation’s Audit and Finance Committee. She holds an Honours B.A.(French) from the University of Western Ontario, an International MBA from the Schulich School of Business, and is a CFA charterholder.
Dr. Everton Gooden
President and CEO
Dr. Everton Gooden began his tenure as President and CEO of North York General Hospital (NYGH) on December 1, 2023.
Everton has held a variety of progressive leadership roles, including serving as Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee, President of the Medical Staff Association, Division Chief of Head and Neck Surgery, Governor of the North York General Hospital Foundation Board of Governors and Chair of its Governance and Inclusion Committee. Everton is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine.
Everton’s passion for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion led him to champion the establishment of NYGH’s first Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office.
Beyond his roles with NYGH, he serves on the Board of Face the Future Foundation, which provides lifesaving facial reconstructive surgery for disadvantaged young people in developing countries.
Everton has received multiple awards including the Black Business and Professional Association’s Harry Jerome Trailblazer Award in 2017, the Urban Hero Award from Metroland Media also in 2017, and the University of Toronto’s Excellence in Community Based Teaching award for 2021.
Dr. Phil Shin
Chair, Medical Advisory Committee, Critical Care and Internal Medicine, Chief Medical Information Officer
Dr. Phil Shin has been an Active staff physician at NYGH since 2006 after completing his medical training in Internal Medicine and Critical Care at the University of Toronto. He recently finished a ten-year term as NYGH Chief of Medicine in 2022 and will be completing his term as Medical Director of Critical Care in June 2023. He performed both roles concurrently for nine years, including throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Since January 2022, he has served as the NYGH Chief Medical Information Officer, leading Digital Health initiatives on both the local and provincial levels.
During his time at NYGH, Dr. Shin has pursued additional training in Patient Safety and Quality Improvement at the University of Toronto, a Master’s degree in Bioethics at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, as well as advanced healthcare leadership through the Rotman School of Management.
Dr. Shin has been involved extensively in teaching and research. He has won multiple teaching awards and has served as a member of the University of Toronto Adult Critical Care Residency Program Training Committee since 2018. He has developed a successful ICU clinical trials research program at NYGH and was a founding member of the Canadian Community ICU Research Network. He also has a keen interest in supporting organ donation and has served as the NYGH Hospital Donation Physician for the Trillium Gift of Life Network since 2017.
Outside of work, he enjoys spending his time with his wife (also an NYGH physician), three teenage daughters, and pandemic dog. He is an aspiring golfer and tennis player
Dr. Lisa Tarshis
President, Medical Staff Association
Dr. Lisa Tarshis has been on active staff at NYGH in the Department of Family and Community Medicine since 1991. During her career, she has also been involved in the departments of Obstetrics and Pediatrics while managing her own Family Practice in the community. She has a passion for physician wellness and advocacy. She is the President of the Medical Staff Association and has participated in the Financial, Hospital Quality, and Medical Advisory Committees at NYGH. In addition, she is a Lecturer at the University of Toronto, teaching both undergraduate medical students and postgraduate residents for over 30 years.
Lisa obtained her MD Degree from McMaster University in 1989. She pursued her Family Medicine residency at NYGH where she was Chief Resident and received her Fellowship in Family Medicine from the University of Toronto in 2007.
Her past board experiences include Robbins Academy and DARA (Doctors Against Racism and Antisemitism).
She is married and has 4 wonderful children.
Linda Jussaume
Interim Vice-President Clinical Services and Chief Nursing Executive
Linda Jussaume joined North York General Hospital (NYGH) on December 12, 2023.
Before returning to NYGH, Linda led the Surgical Program with distinction for over 12 years.
Prior to her role at North York General Hospital, Linda worked at University Health Network as Clinical Manager of Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit and Rouge Valley Healthcare System as Director of Surgery, Cancer Care and Cardiology. In addition, Linda has had experience in Program and Hospital mergers and expansions and has consulted provincially, nationally and internationally.
Board Meetings and Policies
(Last Tuesday of the month unless otherwise noted)
2024-2025 dates:
Tuesday, September 24, 2024, 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, November 26, 2024, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (please note change in meeting time for November)
Tuesday, January 28, 2025, 5 p.m.- 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025, 5 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 27, 2025, 5 p.m. – 7:30p.m.
Monday, June 16, 2025, 2:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Annual General Meeting of Members
1st 2025/26 Board Meeting
No Board Meetings in July, August, December, and April
