Leadership

Nora Aufreiter was a senior partner and director of McKinsey & Company where she worked for 27 years until she retired in June 2014. She was Managing Partner of the Toronto office of McKinsey’s Canadian Practice from 2008 until 2012. She then led the Firm’s North American Consumer Digital practice until her retirement. She served on a number of the Firm’s global Personnel Committees to elect and evaluate partners. Throughout her career she worked extensively in Canada, the United States and internationally.

Nora is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Nova Scotia, the Kroger Company and the Cadillac Fairview Corporation Board of Directors. She is also Chair of MyTheresa.com, a digital luxury retailer. Nora serves on the Dean’s Advisory Committee for the Ivey Business School, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Opera Company.

Nora has an HBA in Business Administration from Ivey Business School at Western University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

As group head, RBC Wealth Management, RBC Insurance and RBC Investor & Treasury Services, Doug Guzman leads RBC’s businesses that serve the wealth management needs of affluent and high net worth clients globally, and teams that provide asset management and trust products. He also oversees RBC Insurance, which provides a wide range of insurance, wealth and reinsurance solutions to individual, business and group clients. In addition, along with other members of Group Executive, Mr. Guzman is responsible for setting the overall strategic direction of RBC.

Prior to this appointment, Guzman was managing director and head of global investment banking, RBC Capital Markets, responsible for the firm’s investment banking teams globally, as well as U.S. municipal finance. He had senior client coverage responsibility for a number of RBC capital markets’ most important clients and was a member of the firm’s operating committee and loan commitments committee.

Before joining RBC in 2005, he was a managing director at Goldman Sachs in New York and Toronto, where he had co-head responsibility for each of the global metals and mining and the Canadian investment banking businesses. He is a member of the advisory board of Ivey Business School at Western University. Guzman has an HBA from Ivey and an MBA with high distinction (Baker Scholar) from Harvard Business School. He is married with two children and lives in Toronto.

Dany Assaf is a globally recognized lawyer with deep and broad international business experience including opening the first offices for a major Canadian law firm in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. He specializes in competition and foreign investment law and policy having worked on some of the largest and most complex global and Canadian mergers and investigations over the last 25 years.

Dany teaches and lectures on competition and foreign investment law at major Canadian universities.

He is the former President of the Canadian Club of Toronto and an advocate for the No Fly List Kids project. He has proudly co-founded the annual Fast in the 6 event, bringing Canadians of all backgrounds together to celebrate its motto: Diversity. Unity. Prosperity. Dany is also the author of the book, “Say Please and Thank You & Stand In Line: One man’s story of what makes Canada special, and how to keep it that way.”

Wayne Barwise has three decades of experience in real estate development and asset management, both as a successful entrepreneur and as a corporate executive. At Cadillac Fairview Corporation, he is executive vice-president of Development, and oversees the strategic planning and execution of the office, retail and mixed-use development platform. Over his career, Wayne has successfully developed several billion dollars’ worth of commercial properties in Canada and the United States.

Wayne serves on a number of charitable boards and is chair of the Board of Governors of Branksome Hall, an independent girls’ school in Toronto. He holds a M. Arch. in Urban Design from Harvard University and a B.Arch. from the University of Toronto.

Derek Chum is a member of the Moose Cree First Nation (MCFN).  Derek provides consulting services to Indigenous organizations related to education and economic development. Derek was the Vice-President, Indigenous Relations at Hydro One, the largest transmission and distribution utility in Ontario, from 2017 to 2020. While there he lead engagement with Indigenous communities on the company’s capital projects.

Prior to Hydro One, Derek was the Chief Executive Officer and President of the board of directors for Amisk Kodim Corporation, which was created to assist businesses from MCFN with contracts on the Lower Mattagami Extension Project (LMEP).  The LMEP is a $2.5 billion hydro redevelopment project owned by a partnership between Ontario Power Generation and MCFN.

Derek is a director of the Moose Cree Group of Companies LP, the business arm of MCFN.  It is involved in a number of enterprises including forestry, real estate, mining services, fly-in outpost camps and a remote fishing lodge. He is also a director for the Miziwe Biik Development Corporation, an organization focused on affordable housing for the Indigenous community in Toronto. He has also served as a director and chair for Five Nations Energy Inc., an energy transmission company servicing three remote First Nation communities along the coast of James Bay.

Derek practiced corporate/commercial law for eleven years in Toronto.  He specialized in corporate and commercial law focusing on small to medium sized businesses and also advised First Nations individuals and organizations in commercial matters.

Hazel Claxton retired from Morneau Shepell (now LifeWorks) in 2018 where she served as Executive Vice-President and Chief Human Resources Officer. Prior to joining Morneau Shepell in 2013, Hazel spent 29 years at PwC Canada where she held several leadership roles, including Canadian Leadership Group member, Human Capital Leader, and Partner within the Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Group, an area she practiced in for 20 years.

Hazel serves on the boards of Allied Properties Real Estate Investment Trust, TELUS Corporation, and University Pension Plan Ontario. She previously served on the Boards of Queen’s University, St. Michael’s Hospital, and the Shaw Festival Theatre. Hazel earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Queen’s University and is a CPA, CA. She also holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Yves Denommé is Executive Vice President, Operations at Laurentian Bank Financial Group. In this capacity, Yves is responsible for driving efficiencies across the organization, reducing complexities and improving and streamlining end-to-end processes to improve the customer experience.

Before joining the Bank, Yves served as Senior Vice President of Registries at an international leader and pioneer in electronic land registration systems and commerce. In that role, he oversaw partnerships with government to deliver essential services, while pursuing a growth and innovation mandate in the real estate and property markets. Previously, he spent 16 years with a global Fintech leader where he held several executive positions including leadership of global operations. Yves’ experience spans financial services, operations, strategy, procurement, real estate, enterprise project management and technology.

Yves holds a bachelor’s in Engineering and Management from McMaster University, and an Executive Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto. Additionally, he holds the Chartered Director certification.

Kamala Jean Gopie is a committed educator and community volunteer. After retiring as an Education Officer from Ontario’s Ministry of Education, she was appointed to the Immigration and Refugee Board. She also served as an Ontario Human Rights commissioner. Her extensive volunteering includes time as president of the Jamaican Canadian Association, chair of the Urban Alliance Race Relations and vice-chair of the United Way of Toronto.

Kamala Jean is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Queen Elizabeth Golden and Diamond Jubilee medals, the Order of Ontario, the city of Toronto William P. Hubbard Award for Race Relations, the Gardiner Award from Metropolitan Toronto, and the Harry Jerome Award.

Kamala Jean is a graduate of the University of Toronto. She holds a BA and an M.Ed.

Dr. Denise O’Neil Green is a visionary and internationally recognized expert in equity, diversity and inclusion, organizational change and transformational leadership. She is the President and Principal Consultant of Denise O’Neil Green Consulting.

Dr. Green is a global thought leader having worked across various sectors, including postsecondary, government, business and nonprofit, as a keynote speaker, innovative strategist, educator and changemaker.

As Vice-President, she founded the Division of Equity and Community Inclusion at Toronto Metropolitan University (2017-2022) and was the inaugural Assistant Vice President/Vice Provost, EDI at TMU (formerly Ryerson) in 2012, the year she immigrated to Canada from the USA. Prior to TMU, Denise served as the Associate Vice President, Institutional Diversity, at Central Michigan University for five years.

Dr. Green is currently an Associate Professor, Graduate Faculty, in the Department of Social Justice Education, OISE (Status-Only Professor). She was an Associate Professor in the School of Child and Youth Care in the Faculty of Community Services at TMU, as well as faculty at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her scholarship has focused on race conscious policies in higher education, access for under-represented students and qualitative research methodologies and diverse populations.

Dr. Green earned her PhD in higher education and public policy from the University of Michigan; Masters in Public Affairs from Princeton University; and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Chicago.

Elio Luongo is the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner of KPMG in Canada. He is a member of KPMG’s Global Board and the Global Council of KPMG International Cooperative.

Elio is responsible for setting the strategic direction for KPMG in Canada and leading a team of more than 820 partners and over 8,500 employees. Prior to being appointed to the role of CEO, Elio held senior roles in the executive of the firm. He has a passion for innovation, technology and ESG.

Elio is a member of the Board of Directors of the Conference Board of Canada, a member of the Catalyst Canada Advisory Board and is a champion of inclusion and diversity as part of KPMG’s talent strategy.

Kate Stevenson is a seasoned board director and business executive, currently Chair of the Board for CIBC. She is a former executive in the telecommunications and financial services industries.

Kate was named one of the 2018 Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada.

She serves as a board member on a variety of corporate and not-for-profit boards, including Open Text Corporation and Capital Power Corporation. She brings learnings from years of experience in corporate boardrooms across a number of industries, including the pharmaceutical and health-care sectors. Kate also was Vice-Chair of University of Guelph, Board Chair of Bishop Strachan School, and has served on the board and executive committee of St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation.

Dr. Tim Rutledge is the first President and CEO of Unity Health Toronto. He joined the network in 2018, leading the integration of St. Joseph’s Health Centre, St. Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare to create one of Canada’s largest academic health science organizations.

Under his leadership, Unity Health launched its first strategic plan in 2019, centred on the pursuit of the best care experiences. The visionary plan imagines new ways of understanding, delivering and improving care. The network is focused on advancing and leading in areas such as health equity; world-class specialty care for trauma, critical care, multiple sclerosis and brain and heart care; and use of advance analytics and artificial intelligence to transform health care.

Previously, Dr. Rutledge served as the President and CEO of North York General Hospital from 2010 to 2018. He has a background in emergency medicine, and held a number of leadership positions at the hospital, including Medical Director of the Emergency Services Program, Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee, and Vice President of Medical and Academic Affairs.

Dr. Rutledge is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. He has been recognized for his work in education and received a prestigious W. T. Aikins Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from the university.

Bev Bulmer became St. Michael’s VP of Education in 2016 and the first person with a health discipline background to hold the role at a Toronto academic institution. Bev is a Physical Therapist with a B.Sc. in Physical Therapy and a M.Sc. in Community Health, both from the University of Toronto. Bev started her clinical career at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, moving to St. Michael’s Hospital Mobility program in 2006. She held the role of Director of Health Disciplines Practice and Education prior to this role.  In the director role, she gained a strong understanding of the practice and education issues that affect health-care providers.

She is a lecturer in the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Toronto. Bev is committed to a collaborative and scholarly approach to education for all learners that supports excellent patient care and outcomes.

A Registered Nurse, Sonya Canzian joined St. Michael’s Hospital in 1989. Since then, she has held progressively senior positions in critical care, education and administration. Sonya is a proven leader and was most recently Program Director of the Trauma/Neurosurgery and Mobility programs.

Sonya is responsible for operational management of the Trauma/Neurosurgery, Mobility, Heart and Vascular, Critical Care, Specialized Complex Care and Cancer Services programs, and is also accountable for Nursing and Health Disciplines professional practice, education and research.

Sonya is cross-appointed to the University of Toronto, is a Lecturer in the Critical Care Program at George Brown College, Canadian Nurses Association mentor for neuroscience nursing certification, National Director and Instructor for the Advanced Trauma Care for Nurses course for the Society of Trauma Nurses. Sonya holds a master’s in Health Science from Charles Sturt University in Australia.

Dr. Rob Cirone is the Chief of Anesthesia at St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Co-Medical Director of the Peri-Operative and Surgical Services Program at Unity Health.

With more than 25 years of experience in combined anesthesia and critical care practice, he previously served as the Medical Director of the Intensive Care Unit at St. Joseph’s. Dr. Cirone was also the Program Lead and Hospital Organ Donation Physician for Trillium Gift of Life Network at St. Joseph’s from 2015 to 2020.

Dr. Cirone has been the site Principal Investigator for St. Joseph’s for several published critical care trials and helped lead the expansion of scholarship in both the hospital’s intensive care and anesthesia programs.

He completed his undergraduate training at the University of Toronto, and his medical degree at the University of Ottawa. He is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto.

Christopher De Bono is a highly regarded Catholic senior leader, ethicist and practical theologian with more than 20 years’ experience in progressive and strategic health-care roles in secular and Catholic sponsored health-care in both British Columbia and Ontario.

Prior to joining Unity Health in November 2021, Christopher was with Providence Health Care, a Catholic health-care network in British Columbia, where he was most recently the VP of Mission, Organizational Development and Ethics. Previous roles at Providence include VP of Mission, Ethics and Spirituality, VP Mission, People and Ethics, and Executive Sponsor for Indigenous Wellness and Reconciliation. Before joining Providence in 2016, Christopher held a number of progressive roles in Ontario, including as a clinical ethicist at Unity Health’s Centre for Clinical Ethics.

In a dual role, Christopher also serves as Executive Director Mission Integration for the Catholic Health Sponsors of Ontario.

Christopher holds a PhD in Practical Theology, a post-doctorate in Catholic Bioethics, and a Master of Divinity. Christopher is also certified as a specialist in spiritual care through the Canadian Association of Spiritual Care.

For the past eight years, Melanie has held various positions in Toronto academic hospitals leading legal, risk management, patient safety, privacy, ethics, governance, procurement and operational readiness functions. Prior to this, she was a lawyer for healthcare organizations and care providers within the Health Law Group of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Melanie earned her Juris Doctor at the University of Toronto and her Master’s in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. For the past seven years she has taught Health Law & Risk Management for Quality Improvement in the M.Sc. Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Program, and more recently Health Law and Ethics in the Masters of Health Administration program, at the University of Toronto. She has a particular interest in quality improvement and responsible innovation in health care.

Dr. Irfan Dhalla has a dual role at Unity Health: helping drive our network’s quality agenda with a special focus on engaging our physicians; and leading our Care Experience Institute, shaping its future to be a first-in-Canada centre of excellence.

Irfan began his career at St. Michael’s Hospital in the Division of General Internal Medicine, eventually becoming the hospital’s inaugural Medical Director, Quality and Research. From 2013 to 2019, Irfan was a VP at Health Quality Ontario. In 2020, he returned to Unity Health to assume these two newly created positions.

Irfan continues to practice general internal medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital, where he is an award-winning teacher. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Institute for Health Policy and Management at the University of Toronto. He has been recognized with national awards, from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine, and the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health.

As Vice President of Stakeholder Relations and Chief Communications Officer, Sabrina Divell works to enhance Unity Health Toronto’s reputation and awareness within the provincial health-care system and across the diverse communities we serve.

Sabrina began her career as a journalist, covering health and business for a variety of Torstar publications. She later joined the communications team at St. Joseph’s Health Centre where she held several progressively senior leadership roles over the span of 12 years. Since Unity Health’s integration in 2017, she has been working to combine communications efforts across the sites as well as leading the design and implementation of our network’s overall brand communications strategy, overseeing crisis and issues management, and stakeholder relations. She is a graduate of the Humber College Journalism program as well as the Cornell University Change Leadership and Executive Leadership Certificate Program, the Strategic Marketing Skills for Managers at York University’s Executive Education Centre Schulich School of Business, and has completed the Advanced Health Leadership Program at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Throughout her career, Sabrina has been the recipient of several honours and awards, including the Gold Quill Award of Excellence from the International Association of Business Communicators, APEX Grand Award and AVA Digital Gold Award.

Maria joined St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation in 2010, following senior positions at St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation, the University of Toronto, Cystic Fibrosis Canada and the Office of the Premier of Ontario. Under her leadership, the foundation has become one of the top community hospital foundations in Canada.

Maria has worked in Canada, the United States and Australia and has more than 25 years of experience in fundraising, consulting, alumni and government relations, marketing and communications.

Maria has an honours BA in History from Western University and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University. She is an active volunteer and sits on advisory committees for Humber and Seneca Colleges. She is also the co-founder of D3: Debate, Debunk, Delight, Canada’s leading conference for fundraising leaders.

Kevin Goldthorp joined St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation in April 2023 as President and Chief Executive Officer. As the fundraising affiliate of Unity Health Toronto and under Kevin’s leadership, St. Michael’s Foundation manages fundraising, fund management and donor stewardship for St. Michael’s Hospital and Providence Healthcare.

Prior to this role, Kevin served as President & Chief Development Officer at SickKids Foundation for seven years, where he played a key role in the $1.7-billion No Limits Campaign. His previous executive roles include Chief Executive Officer, Sinai Health Foundation and Executive Vice-President, Advancement & Marketing, Sinai Health System; Vice-President, External Relations, at Western University; and Chief Executive Officer of Sunnybrook Foundation in Toronto.

Kevin is a leader in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work and an active volunteer in the community, participating on the board of Jörgen Dance, the Advisory Committee of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors Canada and as a campaign advisor to St. Felix House, Toronto.

Mike Keen provides corporate leadership in redevelopment, facilities management and corporate services, and the development and implementation of strategic capital plans. In this capacity, he currently leads over $750 million in redevelopment as well as a significant renewal of inpatient, outpatient and surgical programs.

As a member of the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Standards Development Council, Mike leads national health standards development in the role of Chair of the Strategic Steering Committee for Health & Well-Being.  He is also a faculty member in the education of Healthcare Facility Planning & Design and has overseen research projects to inform evidence-based decision-making, in essence supporting his commitment to system learning.

Mike Keen began his career with St. Michael’s in 1993, eventually assuming his current role with Unity Health in 2018. He is a recognized leader in health-care infrastructure and development of the built environment of care. Internationally, he was past chair of the Healthcare Technical Committee at the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers and the inaugural Chair of the Infectious Diseases Committee.

Manson joined Unity Health in 2019 as the Senior Director of Human Resources. In 2022, he became the VP of People and Chief Human Resources Officer. In his role as Senior Director, Manson co-led the development of Unity’s inaugural People Strategy, re-designed the human resources service delivery model and made significant contributions to the organization’s strategic priority of anti-racism, equity and social accountability.

Prior to joining Unity Health, he worked as the executive lead for human resources at Ontario Health and supported standing-up the new agency. Prior to this, Manson was the VP of Human Resources and Corporate Administration at the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network (TC-LHIN). He also held the role of Executive Director at Baycrest Health Sciences.

Manson holds a Master’s of Industrial Relations and Human Resources from the University of Toronto, as well as an Honours BA with a specialty in Employment Relations and a certificate in Human Resource Management. Manson became credentialed as a Certified Human Resources Executive from the Human Resources Professional Association in 2019.

Dr. Muhammad Mamdani is working to expand our advanced analytical capabilities, including the application of artificial intelligence, using our own hospital data as well as other data sources to improve quality and operational excellence. In his previous role as the inaugural Director of the Li Ka Shing Centre for Healthcare Analytics Research and Training (CHART), Muhammad brought together hospital staff and physicians with data science researchers to solve real world problems by applying advanced analytics to health-care data. He now works to transform care by applying data science and advanced analytics on a much larger scale, across Unity Health.

Prior to joining the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute and St. Michael’s Hospital in 2006, Muhammad was a Director of Outcomes Research at Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals in New York. Muhammad’s research interests include pharmacoepidemiology, drug policy, and the application of advanced analytics to clinical practice. He has published approximately 500 research studies in peer-reviewed medical journals. Muhammad is a professor at the University of Toronto, and in 2010 was named one of Canada’s top 40 under 40.

Dean Martin joined the network in October 2018 from Trillium Health Partners where he had been the senior VP of Corporate Services, CFO and Queensway site lead since January 2014. His career in health-care financial leadership has also included positions at North York General Hospital, CAMH and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Dean holds a bachelor’s of Business Administration from Brock University, a master’s in Health Administration from the University of Ottawa, and is a Certified Healthcare Executive and a Certified Management Accountant.

Dr. Parker oversees the Unity Health Toronto clinical programs of Primary Care and Community Health, Kidney and Metabolism, Medical Imaging, and Laboratory Medicine, as well as the Emergency and Medicine program at the St. Michael’s site.

Dr. Parker was recruited to St. Michael’s Hospital in 2003 to head up the Division of Cardiology and as the inaugural recipient of the Brazilian Ball Chair in Cardiology Research – positions he held until 2010. Since 2010, he has also served as the Medical Lead of the hospital’s Elder Care Strategy, Co-Lead of the Urban Community Patient Priority, Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee, and was a member of the Joint Board Steering Committee during the integration of Providence Healthcare, St. Joseph’s Health Centre and St. Michael’s Hospital.  Prior to being appointed VP and CMO, Dr. Parker was Physician-in-Chief and Squires-Chalmers professor in the Department of Medicine at St. Michael’s Hospital.  He is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

He received his medical degree from the University of Western Ontario and undertook postgraduate clinical training in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the University of Toronto followed by a Research Fellowship in Molecular Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

A surgeon, scientist and administrator, Dr. Ori D.Rotstein joined St. Michael’s in 2004 as Surgeon-in-Chief. In 2005, he became the Director of the Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science. Since May 1, 2019, he has been the VP of Research and Innovation for Unity Health Toronto.

Dr. Rotstein has made numerous and significant contributions to the organization and health care sector. He has almost 350 publications; given more than 300 presentations worldwide; been awarded multiple grants from various funding agencies, including the CIHR, CFI and NIH; and is the recipient of many honours and awards, including the inaugural Keenan Chair in Research Leadership.

He received his MD and a M.Sc. from the University of Toronto. He completed postgraduate specialty training in General Surgery at U of T, followed by a research fellowship at the University of Minnesota. An expert in the management of intra-abdominal infection and inflammation, Dr. Rotstein’s research interests are in understanding how traumatic injury leads to alterations in the immune response of patients.

Dr. Ashley Verduyn is the Vice-President of Medical Affairs and Chief of Providence Healthcare. On the clinical side, she currently works as a hospitalist specializing in geriatric and medical rehabilitation.

Dr. Verduyn began her career at Providence as a long term care physician working in the Cardinal Ambrozic Houses of Providence in 2008. Later in 2017, she became the Medical Director of the long term care home.

Having completed her undergraduate medical training at McMaster University and her residency training in family medicine at the University of Toronto, Dr. Verduyn is now also a lecturer within the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the University of Toronto. In 2018, she was the recipient of Providence’s Living our Values Award for Sanctity of Life.