Effective Year-End Governance for Boards and Executives (Edmonton)

February 13, 2023

There are rising expectations for Canadian Boards’ governance, and the end of the year Board cycle is a good time to evaluate the effectiveness of Board oversight and alignment to strategic futures.
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Our Fireside Chat Features:


Mary Cameron, ICD.D

Chair – Habitat for Humanity International and Vanderwell Contractors Advisory Board 
Director – AltaML and Court Holdings Ltd.


Naomi Stefura

EVP & CFO – Melcor Developments
CFO – Melcor REIT


Robert Roach

Deputy Chief Economist & Managing Director – ATB Financial


Catherine Samuel

Partner – McCarthy Tétrault
Board Director – Board Ready Women
Director & Vice-Chair – Theatre Calgary

Moderated by:


Bernie Kollman

Trustee – Melcor Real Estate Investment Trust,
Board Director – Edmonton Global
Advisory Board Member – Arrkann Trailer & RV Centre

We are pleased to invite you to join our next Board Ready Women Edmonton event on February 13th from 4:30 to 7:00 pm (MT). We are hosting this event in-person at DLA Piper (Canada) LLP. In-person registration starts at 4:00 pm, with the panel starting at 4:30 pm, followed by cocktails and networking.

In-person attendance is limited to 100 attendees so register early!

There are rising expectations for Canadian Boards’ governance, and the end of the year Board cycle is a good time to evaluate the effectiveness of Board oversight and alignment to strategic futures.

 

At the session, we will address annual governance areas of Boards relative to:

  • Financial performance
  • Evaluating Corporate Performance
  • Shareholder Reporting

 

We will provide the current economic outlook and regulatory updates that are important for Board Members to know and have a discussion with the panelists on their take on 2023. Hear it from our all-start panel, Mary Cameron, Naomi Stefura, Robert Roach and Cathy Samuel, moderated by Bernie Kollman. We are again taking this opportunity to showcase local talent to inspire and encourage women to participate in our efforts to increase diversification of Boards. Join us for this exclusive opportunity to meet and network with people from various industries.

 

We invite both men and women to join us for all of our events as men can be instrumental in supporting women on their Board journey.

Register Here

Some Of Your Comments:​

  • Great information. I liked the flow of this event. Insightful information from female experts (Cathy and Alicia). Candid comments and insights from Naomi and Mary.   Precision of the timing, beautiful venue with nice view and high quality hosted reception.
  • The Panel discussion felt very natural and engaging.
  • I liked the differing perspectives that the panel members brought. Allowed for a comprehensive discussion of a broad spectrum of considerations when it comes to board meeting preparation. The networking component was excellent as well and the group was the perfect size to allow for effective networking.
  • Great group of women. I looked forward to this event for networking.
  • It was great to connect with new and familiar faces.
  • Bernie is a fantastic moderator.
  • Looking forward to more Edmonton events!
  • Great event! Thank you for organizing!


Speakers' Bios:

Mary Cameron, ICD.D


Chair of Habitat for Humanity International and Vanderwell Contractors Advisory Board


Director of AltaML and Court Holdings Ltd.

SYNOPSIS

An experienced C-suite leader, Director, and Chair in both the public and private sector. A track record of creating alignment around a strategic vision, from start-ups to large corporations. Welcomed in the board room as a voice that can build commitment.  She has an ability to lead conversations to the critical areas which create growth, sustainability, and profitability. Her experience spans lumber, drilling, construction, manufacturing, automotive parts, real estate, electric utilities, and technology.

CURRENT BOARD POSITIONS

Chair Habitat for Humanity International: The only Canadian on the International Board.  Chair of Operations Committee and Past Chair of Audit Committee.

Director, AltaML: started as an Advisory Board and transitioned to a Fiduciary Board.  The company raised seed capital and closed a series A and is now positioned as a recognized artificial intelligence and machine learning leader in the Canadian tech ecosystem.

Chair, Vanderwell Contractors Advisory Board: Since the Advisory Board was created in 2017, Vanderwell has increased production, significantly reduced costs and vastly strengthened profitability and balance sheet.

Director, Court Holdings Ltd: CHL is a privately owned Canadian company, headquartered in Ontario with operations in over 15 countries.  CHL specializes in steel surface technologies, automotive and rail parts.  CHL is diversifying into other industries and real estate.  Chair of the committee with oversight in developing the fourth generation of family members and their introduction into the company.  Assisted in transforming the board from advisory to fiduciary and is now chair of the HR and Governance Committee.

Member, Edmonton ICD Executive Committee

CURRENT EMPLOYMENT

Principal, Ozone Advisory Group: Ozone’s purpose is to assist companies to elevate governance to help achieve their purpose.  We set up private company boards, assess board performance, and provide governance coaching.  OAG also offers a course for C-suite executives and directors on Private Company Governance.

ICD Instructor: deliver the ICD Directors Education Program course component on private company and crown corporation governance.

Hon. Lt. Col, Loyal Edmonton Regimen

PAST BOARDS

Chair (inaugural and interim during its creation), Edmonton Global
Chair, Habitat for Humanity Canada
Chair, Habitat for Humanity Edmonton
Director and Chair HR and Governance, Edmonton International Airports
Chair, Advisory Board, Surehire
Chair, Cougar Drilling Solutions Board of Directors
Director and Chair HR and Compensation, FortisAlberta
Director and Chair Environment, Health, & Safety, EPCOR

PAST EMPLOYMENT

CEO, Workers Compensation Board, Alberta: 1700 staff, over $3B in injury account. Brought together the two sides of the organization – claims and employers – and created industry-based teams to facilitate return-to-work as the key measure of success.  Increased benefits to the severely injured while achieving some of the lowest WCB rates in Canada.  Maintained a positive fund balance.

CEO, PSC Ltd: PSC was a financial payment and payroll company joint venture between IBM and the Government of Alberta.   Implemented the largest public sector conversion to PeopleSoft with no loss of service metrics.

Deputy Minister, Manitoba Housing and Chair of the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation: Transformed the housing delivery programs throughout the province to a needs-based approach. Introduced rigorous cost accounting and scheduling for construction projects.  Worked with private developers and rental owners to increase supply of private sector housing and rental accommodation.

President, Alberta Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Sold over $1b in single-family residential mortgages to the private sector. Negotiated refinancing on $1b in multi-family mortgages to enable owners to avoid bankruptcy during the housing market turndown.

Vice-President, Northern Alberta and BC land, Nu-West Group Ltd: Earned the President’s award for most profitable division 7 consecutive years.  Introduced innovations in community design and development to lead the residential market in Edmonton.

AWARDS

Queen’s Diamond Medal
Queen’s Jubilee Medal
Consumer Choice Business Woman of the Year
ITV Woman of Vision
YWCA Business Woman of Vision
Alberta Venture 50 most influential Albertans

Naomi Stefura


EVP & CFO of Melcor Developments


CFO of Melcor REIT

Naomi Stefura is a results-driven financial executive with 15 years of experience in finance and business strategy and a proven track record of financial planning and analysis, risk management, budgeting and capital market transactions.

Naomi is the EVP & CFO of Melcor Developments and the CFO of Melcor REIT, playing a key role on the executive team of both Toronto Stock Exchange traded companies’. She oversees all aspects of Melcor and the REIT’s financial health and risk management as well as corporate services including IT, HR and Marketing Communications.

Naomi leads the finance team and develops systems and metrics to support the growth and strategic direction of both companies. She oversees financial planning and analysis and management reporting and ensures financial reporting integrity through proper controls and processes to provide assurance on regulatory compliance.

Naomi holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta and a Masters of Professional Accounting from the University of Saskatchewan.

CAREER HISTORY

Prior to her promotion to EVP in November 2021, Naomi was appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2016, one of the youngest women to achieve this position with a publicly traded company. Prior to joining Melcor in 2008, she worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers as a Senior Audit Associate and was assigned to the Melcor audit.

EXTRAS

  • Trustee, Melcor REIT
  • Vice-chair, Explore Edmonton 2019 Edify magazine Top 40 Under 40 recipient
  • Passionate about supporting women in business
  • 2021: Melcor named Report on Business magazine’s Women Lead Here honouree
  • 2019: Edify magazine Top 40 Under 40 recipient

Robert Roach


Deputy Chief Economist and Managing Director at ATB Financial

As the Deputy Chief Economist at ATB Financial, Rob is laser-focused on the Alberta economy, the forces that shape it and the challenges and opportunities affecting the prosperity of Albertans. He is the co-author of three books: “The Boiling Frog Dilemma: Saving Canada From Economic Decline,” “Spiders in Space: Successfully Adapting to Unwanted Change,” and “Spiders in COVID Space: Adapting During and After the Pandemic.” As Vice-President of Research with the Canada West Foundation, Rob had the opportunity to explore a broad array of economic and public policy topics. Rob recently served as the Chair of the National access Arts Centre–Canada’s largest and oldest disability arts organization. Rob also teaches courses on local government for the University of Alberta.

 

Catherine Samuel


Partner, McCarthy Tétrault


Board Director, Board Ready Women


Director & Vice Chair, Theatre Calgary

Cathy is a partner in the Business Law and Technology Groups of McCarthy Tétrault LLP where she currently leads the national Procurement Group and is Alberta Chair of the Inclusion Now PRIDE Committee. With over 20 years’ experience, Cathy’s practice focuses on complex M&A and commercial transactions, acting for early stage and mid-market companies as well as large Canadian and international clients in the energy, telecommunications, technology, retail, cannabis, financial services and healthcare industries. Cathy is recognized as a Leading Lawyer by Chambers Canada in the area of Corporate/Commercial (Alberta) and by Lexpert in the areas of Corporate Mid-Market, Computer & IT Law and Technology Transactions.

Cathy currently serves on the board of Theatre Calgary, where is she is Chair of the HR Committee and a member of Governance & Nominating Committee. She is also a director of Apollo Endosurgery Canada Ltd. She is the Corporate Secretary for Pulse Seismic Inc. (TSX: PSD) and Baby Gourmet Foods Inc.

 

Bernie Kollman, ICD.D


Trustee, Melcor Real Estate Investment Trust


Board Director, Edmonton Global

Bernie  is a passionate leader who is dedicated to building a stronger community, both economically and socially,  and to helping others achieve their goals.   She is an experienced board director and chair, serving on public, private, crown and not for profit boards.  During her extensive career as an executive at IBM Canada, she was a catalyst for digital transformations and oversaw complex Information Technology initiatives for public sector clients.   Bernie has been a long term advocate for diversity and inclusion, creating awareness among young women of the wide range of careers available in the IT industry.

Currently,  Bernie serves as a Trustee on the Melcor Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT TSE:  MR.UN),  as Director of Edmonton Global, an Advisory Board Member of Arrkann Trailer & RV Centre and volunteers as the Vice Chair, Edmonton Chapter, Institute of Corporate Directors.   She is currently Chair of a peer mentoring forum for CEOs and executives.  Formerly, she was Board Chair of Travel Alberta, Chair of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and a former Board Director of Alcanna (TSE: CLIQ), Compute Canada and the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region.

Bernie received her B.Admin from the University of Regina where she was also recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award, Humanitarian and Community Service.  She has been recognized with a Citation Award, Salute to Excellence, City of Edmonton and as a Fellow, Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS), for commitment to advancing the IT profession particularly for young women.  Bernie has received a Global TV Women of Vision award and Top 50 Most Influential Albertans by Alberta Venture Magazine.