Our board of directors

Charlene Ripley was appointed Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Teck in January 2023.  

Prior to joining Teck, Charlene was Executive Vice President and General Counsel at SNC-Lavalin. Her previous roles include Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Goldcorp, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Linn Energy and Vice President General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer at Anadarko Petroleum Corp. 

Charlene currently serves as an independent director of Keyera Corp. and on the National Board of the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie Law School. Her professional memberships include the Law Societies of British Columbia and Alberta and the Texas State Bar.

Clayton Norris is the vice president of MNP's Indigenous Services. He leads the team across Canada, which provides services in consulting, accounting and tax in over 225 Indigenous Nations. 

Based in Calgary, Clayton works closely with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in an advisory capacity, assisting clients in the areas of business and strategic planning, human resource issues, corporate finance, training and economic development consulting. With his extensive experience working with Indigenous business and communities Clayton understands the unique requirements. He takes great pride in being a close professional advisor to the individuals and organizations that support development within the Indigenous community.  

Clayton played a key role in the development of MNPs EASE cloud accounting services and Aboriginal self-employment and management training programs. As a member of the AFOA Alberta board in 2005, Clayton was awarded the Deputy Minister’s Pride and Recognition award for excellence in leadership. He was a member of the 2008 Governor General’s Leadership Conference. He is a current member of the MNP board, and former treasurer of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and several First Nation economic development boards. Clayton is a member of the Cold Lake First Nations. He currently serves as past chair of the Heart & Stroke provincial advisory board for Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

Dr. Sonia Anand is a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at McMaster University, is the Director of the Chanchlani Research Centre focussed on Health Equity Research, and is a Senior Scientist at the Population Health Research Institute. Sonia received a Doctor of Medicine from McMaster in 1992, internal medicine training at McMaster and a fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1996. 

After additional clinical training in thrombosis and in vascular medicine at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Sonia works as a vascular medicine specialist at Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University. Sonia further received her master’s in clinical epidemiology at McMaster in 1996 and Ph.D. in health research methodology at McMaster in 2002. She holds the Canada Research Chair in Ethnic Diversity and Cardiovascular Disease and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario/Michael G. DeGroote Chair in Population Health Research. 

Her present research focuses upon the environmental and genetic determinants of vascular disease in populations of varying ancestral origin, women and cardiovascular disease. Sonia has been awarded more than 30 million dollars in research funding in the last 10 years including two recent COVID-19 observational studies. Sonia’s work is widely published amongst academic journals with over 380 scientific publications, and in 2019 she was inducted as a Fellow to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

Stephen is a senior business leader with over 35 years of experience in areas of strategy, governance, audit, investment management and risk.

He is currently a member of the Board of Directors and President of Granite Golf Club, Stouffville, Ont.  He is also a member of the Executive Committee and past chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.

For over a decade Stephen was President and Director of the KBSH Spirit Foundation, a charitable foundation focused on raising funding and awareness for numerous children's health and educational needs in his local community.

Stephen retired as Chief Investment Officer, Global Equities from CIBC Asset Management where he led a team of investment professionals responsible for researching, investing and managing publicly traded equity investments.  He was a member of the firm's senior management team, investment committee, risk management and socially responsible investment committees.

Stephen is a graduate of Western University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, is Charterholder from the CFA Institute and a member of Institute for Corporate Directors. 

A senior investment executive with over 25 years in the investment and portfolio management industry, Jason was formerly the Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada.  He led the team responsible for the overall fund’s exposures to these global asset classes and the related active investment programs.  Previously, Jason held various other portfolio management and investment-related responsibilities spanning global credit products, debt issuance, counterparty credit management and liquidity management. 

Jason has been active in many professional associations including the Canadian Fixed-Income Forum which was established by the Bank of Canada, and the Fixed Income Advisory Committee for the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).  He has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company as well as having acted as chair of their Investment Committee, and served on the Board and Executive Committee for the Investor Leadership Network.  In 2019, Jason was a recipient of Women in Capital Markets’ Champion of Change Award which recognizes excellence in leadership, commitment and creativity in advancing equality in the Canadian finance industry. 

Jason is a graduate of the Ivey School of Business and has received the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and he is a graduate of the ICD-Rotman Director Education Program and achieved his ICD.D designation.

Kyle Hickey is a Managing Director at SAF Group, an alternative investment management firm based in Western Canada, where he is responsible for deal origination, structuring, and execution, as well as ongoing portfolio and risk management for select structured credit and equity investments. Kyle is also a Co-Founder and the President of Low Carbon Royalties, a private company which provides funding to low carbon emitting energy production and technologies, transition metals and minerals required for energy storage and electrification, and the evolving environmental markets. He is also an advisor to and corporate director of multiple public and private companies. 

Kyle has been a professional advisor to boards of directors, executive management teams, and private and public capital on a wide range of capital structure solutions including equity, debt, and hybrid financial instruments, as well as merger and acquisition transactions. He has extensive experience in Metals, Mining, and Critical Minerals and Diversified Industrials in Canada, the US, and EMEA, with prior investment banking positions at BMO and J.P. Morgan. Kyle holds a B.Com. (Finance) from McGill University and an M.A. (Jurisprudence) from the University of Oxford.

Derek Lothian is a nationally recognized business advocate, strategist, and public affairs executive, with 14 years of senior leadership experience guiding organizations through complex change. 

He currently serves as CEO of the Insurance Brokers Association of Saskatchewan, and as a director on the board of Innovation Saskatchewan and the Heart & Stroke national board. He is often tapped as an advisor to private, publicly traded, and not-for-profit entities spanning advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defence, agriculture, bio-sciences, and construction. 

Derek previously held posts as vice president and national director of communications for Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters — the country’s largest trade and industry association; as co-founder and editor of Prairie Manufacturer Magazine; and as founding chair of the Saskatchewan Manufacturing Centre of Excellence — a three-year joint training initiative focused on lean process improvement, leadership development, Indigenous engagement, technology adoption, and commercialization. 

He spearheaded the creation of the Manufacturing Management program at Athabasca University, and has been recognized for his contributions to the sector with several awards and distinctions, including being named to CBC’s Future 40, PR in Canada’s Top 30 Under 30, and as a Premier’s Award nominee in Ontario. 

Derek holds a diploma in public relations from Ottawa’s Algonquin College, and is in the process of obtaining his ICD.D designation in corporate governance through the Institute of Corporate Directors and the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management.

"I have had many opportunities afforded to me during my career and have benefitted from exceptional mentoring and support from the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Being a member of the board of directors allows me to give back and to support, and guide future generations. I am deeply honoured to serve an organization committed to improving the lives of so many Canadians."

Dr. Gavin Oudit is Professor of Medicine and Clinician-Scientist at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, University of Alberta. He completed the Clinician-Investigator Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, followed by training in adult cardiology at the University of Toronto. He completed a four-year post-doctoral fellowship in the molecular biology of heart failure. 

Gavin was part of the team that discovered ACE2, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2, leading to the development of recombinant human ACE2. This discovery has created a unique opportunity to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular disease and health. He designed and led the biomarker component of the Alberta HEART prospective cohort to study HF with preserved ejection fraction. He has created a unique and extensive tissue database of human explanted heart samples which have led to the creation of the first “Spatial Cell Atlas of the Adult Human Heart” including efforts to support diversity.

Gavin is currently a Canada Research Chair in Heart Failure, Director of the Heart Function Clinic at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. His clinical activities with a primary emphasis on heart failure and cardiomyopathies. He introduced the use of supportive care, genetic counselling and testing, and created a virtual care pathway for patients. He is the primary cardiologist in the Neuromuscular Multidisciplinary Clinic that provides care to vulnerable patients with muscular dystrophy.

“Heart disease and stroke do not discriminate; they affect Canadian families regardless of race, age or gender. I am proud to be part of an organization that saves lives through research, education and awareness.”

Kostia Pantazis joined the Heart & Stroke Québec advisory board in 2013 and was vice-chair of the national volunteer engagement committee.  She has been chair of the provincial advisory board since December 2018. 

With more than 35 years of experience in the insurance industry, Kostia has been president of Pantazis & Associés, Courtiers d’Assurances Inc. since 2000.  In addition to managing and growing her own business, she has actively participated in several professional and philanthropic organizations. She was a member of the board of directors of the SAAQ (Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec) as well as president of the Hellenic Board of Trade of Montreal.  She has been a member of the board of directors of the YWCA-Montréal since 2012, having previously served on the board of its foundation as vice-president. 

In 2019 Kostia was named Businesswoman of the Year by the Hellenic Board of Trade to recognize her success in the business community as well as her commitment to philanthropy.  

Dr. Ratika Parkash obtained her medical degree in 1996 from Dalhousie University. She completed her residency in internal medicine/cardiology in Ottawa from 1996-2002, followed by a fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital from 2002-2004. Ratika obtained a master’s of science in epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health in 2004. She has been a professor of medicine at Dalhousie University since 2004. She has two major areas of research:  atrial fibrillation (AF) and cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). 

Currently, Ratika is involved in a number of clinical trial initiatives in atrial fibrillation focused on mechanisms of disease and management strategies, as well as a large trial in catheter ablation and heart failure. She continues to investigate prevention of recurrent atrial fibrillation in patients with a high symptom burden to prevent future cardiovascular events and improve quality of life. In addition, she investigates cardiac implantable electronic devices in the areas of device recalls, management, outcomes, complications, heart failure, and virtual care strategies, as well as prevention of sudden death. She is the past chair of the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society Device Committee and has been lead investigator in initiatives to improve outcomes in patients with cardiac implantable devices.

Ratika is the associate scientific director of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Network, dedicated to reducing sudden cardiac death, atrial fibrillation and syncope in Canada and holds a University Research Professorship at Dalhousie University. 

Chris Tambakis is the CEO, North America, Adgar Investments & Development. Adgar is an active, long term owner of office investments with holdings in North America, Israel and Europe.

A graduate of the Ivey School of Business, Chris has over 30 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. He brings significant knowledge and transaction experience in the acquisition, sale, leasing, financing and operating of real estate throughout North America.

Chris is an active and passionate community volunteer with charities and organizations in the arts education, community, and healthcare areas. He received the Community Service Award from the Real Estate Excellence (REX) Awards.

He is a member of the Ivey Business School Advisory Board at Western University, and the boards of the Ontario Science Centre and the Toronto Santa Claus Parade. Previously, he has served on several boards including the North York General Hospital Foundation where he served as vice chair and campaign chair.