Chairing Boards

Description

Who Should Participate?

• This course is for current board chairs, or near-term board chairs beginning their term in the next six to twelve months, of for-profit, large not-for-profit and Crown organizations who want to build, expand, or refine their abilities to successfully guide a robust, agile, and resilient board. This program is not intended for committee chairs, unless they meet the above criteria.

Key Benefits

• After completing all components of the course, participants will:

  • Enhance board leadership effectiveness with new skills for building and cultivating productive relationships with the CEO, directors, and other stakeholders.
  • Influence strategy-setting and optimize organizational performance using proven value-added decision-making approaches.
  • Improve your ability to prepare for and facilitate highly engaging and effective board meetings with strategic agendas and future-focused presentations.
  • Build a better board with proactive plans for succession, composition, renewal and evaluation.
  • Engage with other board chairs in an interactive classroom environment to foster enhanced peer-to-peer learning.
  • Qualify for 14 CEUs toward the annual requirement to retain their ICD.D designation

  Participants will obtain the necessary skills, insights and competencies to effectively chair a board. Participants will also develop their capacity to effectively lead discussions to boost board effectiveness.

Format

• It is comprised of four modules, the structure of each includes:
   
  1. Independent online learning (four to six hours per module)
  This is a critical component of the course (and includes an e-learning module, videos, readings, polls, discussion forums and more). It introduces key concepts and will prepare participants for effective participation in the live session and ensure they are ready to apply learnings from the course to their board work. The required independent learning should be completed prior to each live session. It is meant to be completed at a pace that works best for each participant.
   
  Participants will receive access to independent learning materials for Module 1 approximately two weeks prior to the instructor-led session. Access to independent learning materials for Modules 2, 3 and 4 will become available following the conclusion of the instructor-led session for the preceding Module.
   
  *Note: completion of some independent learning components may require a live internet connection.
   
  2. Live, instructor-led session (approximately three hours each)
  The four instructor-led online sessions, delivered 3-4 weeks apart, will focus on the application of concepts covered through independent learning.
  
  Attendance at the live sessions is required for successful course completion. The live session includes class discussions, breakout group discussions and exercises, Q & A with instructors and other experts, live interactive panel discussions and more.
   
  3. Supplemental resources and tools
  Participants will receive supplemental resources to augment the required components of their independent learning packages.
   
  4. Learning sustainment and engagement opportunities
  Following course completion, participants will be invited to join an Alumni Portal, becoming part of a community where they gain access to tools and resources to help apply course learnings in real-life settings. They will also have opportunities to engage in discussion forums with course peers to exchange questions, ideas and experiences and apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills.

Modules

• Module 1: BOOSTING YOUR BOARD LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS: RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO GALVANIZE YOUR DIRECTORS AND CEO
  
  Participation in this module will equip chairs with the knowledge and frameworks to:

  • Optimize existing leadership skills and ability to successfully guide the board in fulfillment of its mandate.
  • Utilize their passion and commitment for the organization to set the distinctive vision and board culture.
  • Incorporate their own personality, values and unique voice to provide respectful leadership and to create positive collaborations.
  • Foster and maintain a constructive relationship with the CEO with appropriate information flows so they never catch each other off guard.
  • Build productive and constructive relationships, delineate responsibilities and establish trust with board directors, stakeholders, the corporate secretary and management teams.
  • Understand how rapid global developments are impacting the expectations of board chairs in Canada.

  Module 2: PREPARE FOR AND FACILITATE HIGHLY ENGAGING AND EFFECTIVE BOARD MEETINGS
  
  Participation in this module will equip chairs with the knowledge and frameworks to:

  • Set a strategic agenda: Determine priorities and where the board should be spending its time.
  • Create the board package: Manage the appropriate flow of information to the board to enable it to make good decisions and to enable the organization to succeed.
  • Work with the CEO and committees to produce valuable, analytical and future-focused presentations with proposals and alternatives for board consideration.
  • Convene, conduct and facilitate meetings, including establishing meeting procedures and managing time to complete all items on the agenda.
  • Set up a fulsome, engaging conversation: what to do between board meetings.
  • Ensure all voices are heard at the boardroom table by motivating participants to provide their differing opinions, while making sure no one dominates the discussion.
  • Steer the conversation, provoke hard discussions and resolve disputes to reach decisions on key issues.

  Module 3: USE VALUE ADDED DECISION MAKING TO SET FORWARD-LOOKING STRATEGIES
  
  Participation in this module will equip chairs with the knowledge and frameworks to:

  • Create processes and rules to assist the board in developing well-considered strategies such as scenario planning, strategic roadmaps.
  • Develop appropriate education for the board when embarking on new initiatives.
  • Mold an inclusive and positive culture to ensure effective collaboration and communication, engaging participants in ways that capitalizes on their strengths.
  • Oversee the formation of committees and their mandates, participate in meetings to gain insight into the board’s detailed operations.
  • Evaluate and comprehend the implications of each decision for stakeholders.
  • Know how to identify when is the right time to call for a decision.
  • Make the right decision in a crisis: strategies for “when things go wrong.”

  
  Module 4: BUILD A BETTER BOARD: SUCCESSION, COMPOSITION, RENEWAL &
  ASSESSMENTS
  
  Participation in this module will equip chairs with the knowledge and frameworks to:

  • Ensure that the board has the right composition including diversity, human capital, competencies, independence, skills and collective knowledge.
  • Conduct director evaluations and providing constructive feedback to board members.
  • Hold directors accountable for their actions, manage underperforming directors and board dysfunction.
  • Take the board to the next level by continuously assessing needs and areas of improvement for the board and creating action plans to address these results.
  • Develop relevant education programs for the board collectively and for individual directors, working towards the pursuit of excellence.
  • Design proactive and comprehensive board succession and board renewal plans.
  • Solicit consistent evaluation of your performance as the board chair, to help you avoid complacency and mediocrity.

Course Offerings

• City	Course	Application Deadline	Module I	Module II	Module III	Module IV
  Online	CHR 008	January 16, 2024	February 6, 2024	March 5, 2024	April 9, 2024	May 7, 2024

Faculty

Catherine R. Gryba, ICD.D

National Academic Director and Lead Instructor

 

Catherine R. Gryba, ICD.D

National Academic Director and Lead Instructor

 

Catherine Gryba is the Co-Chair of the Saskatchewan Chapter of the Institute of Corporate Directors. She is the owner of CRG Strategies, specializing in governance, strategy, and CEO/Board relationships. CRG Strategies provides independent advice and supports businesses, organizations and communities to sustain and grow through strategic and effective planning.
 
Catherine is committed to a high level of quality and service excellence. She has unparalleled expertise in strategic planning, governance, community engagement and government relations. In addition, she acts as a catalyst to provide strategic leadership for long-term planning, effective communications and issues management, and effective ways of engaging stakeholders. Prior to joining private sector consulting, she worked for the City of Saskatoon for 34 years, culminating her career as General Manager for Corporate Performance.

Catherine is the Past Chair of Saskatchewan Blue Cross and the United Way of Saskatoon & area, and the Nutrien Wonderhub, and served on the Board for eHealth Saskatchewan. She is currently Chair of the Saskatchewan Mutual Insurance Board, on the Board of Trustees for the University of Saskatchewan Huskie Athletics, and Chair of the 1989 Canada Games Foundation.

Ed Barrett

F.ICD, O.NB

Director-in-Residence

Ed Barrett

F.ICD, O.NB

Director-in-Residence

Mr. Barrett is Chair and co-CEO of Barrett Corporation, a private investment and management company with current and past operations throughout Canada and the United States. He is Chair of Wajax Corporation and was co-founder and former chair of Xplornet Communications, the leading broadband provider in rural Canada. Xplornet was sold in 2020.
 
Mr. Barrett also currently serves on the Boards of Nav Canada, Medavie Blue Cross, Blue Cross Life, Medavie Foundation, Apex Industries, and Atlantic Industries. He was Chair of NB Power from 2010 to 2020. He is past Chair of the New Brunswick Business Council, was inducted into the NB Business Hall of Fame in 2010 and was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors in 2016. In 2021 he was inducted into the Order of New Brunswick.
 
Mr. Barrett is a graduate of Acadia University (BA) in 1975 and Dalhousie University (MPA) in 1977. He resides in Woodstock NB.

Anita Braha, B.A., M.A., LL.B, ICD.D

Director-in-Residence

Chair, Vancity Credit Union; Chair, Vancity Community Investment Bank; Director, Stabilization Central Credit Union; Past Vice-Chair, Stabilization Central Credit Union; Past Vice-Chair, C1 Credit Union President, Galiano Loan Fund Society

Anita Braha, B.A., M.A., LL.B, ICD.D

Director-in-Residence

Chair, Vancity Credit Union; Chair, Vancity Community Investment Bank; Director, Stabilization Central Credit Union; Past Vice-Chair, Stabilization Central Credit Union; Past Vice-Chair, C1 Credit Union President, Galiano Loan Fund Society

Anita Braha is an experienced Chair and Director with large entities in complex and regulated sectors.

Called to the Ontario bar in 1988 and the BC bar in 1990, Anita has practiced law through her own firm for over 20 years, with a special focus on human rights, labour, freedom of information and protection of privacy. Through her work with trade unions, public sector employers and not-for-profit organizations, she displays passion about acting for and addressing social justice issues.

First elected in 2011, Anita is currently serving her third term. A member for over two decades, Anita is thrilled at the opportunity to lend her expertise and participate in our financial co-operative. As an advocate for the disadvantaged, she embraces Vancity's steadfastness to its values and commitment in how Vancity conducts business, which makes a difference to our members and communities.

Anita is one of the founding members and president of the Galiano Loan Fund Society, a not-for-profit organization that addresses access to capital and affordable housing, and provides loan guarantees for community-based initiatives. Additionally Anita is an active volunteer in the community, having served as the national co-ordinator for the National Association of Women and the Law, and co-chair of the Human Rights Section of the BC Canadian Bar Association. She is currently an executive member of the BC Industrial Relations Association.

Anita received her MA in political science from the University of Toronto and studied law at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. She was the interim director of human resources and labour relations at Vancouver Community College and has taught in the labour, political science and women's studies departments at Capilano College. She offers educational services through her practice, including advice and training on respectful workplace issues, policy revisions and mediation.

She was an appointed advisor to the Employment Standards Commission, Galiano Parks and Recreation Commission, and City of Vancouver Women's Task Force.

Brenda J. Eprile

Director-in-Residence

Brenda J. Eprile

Director-in-Residence

Brenda Eprile is a seasoned corporate director with experience serving on various board committees, having chaired both Audit and Human Resources and Compensation committees and being board chair of two publicly listed companies (TSX and NASDAQ). She led mortgage lender Home Capital Group’s board of directors in responding to a severe liquidity crisis in the spring of 2017. She was involved in securing the support of Berkshire Hathaway as a strategic sponsor, through a major equity investment and provision of a $2 billion liquidity backstop. Brenda also played a key role in the settlement of major regulatory and class action proceedings.

During 2017 Brenda led Westport Fuel Systems Inc.’s board through a restructuring of the business including the sale of one third of the company’s assets and completing the final phase of R&D for Westport’s breakthrough technology, HPDI 2.0.

Brenda’s business background includes running the national risk consulting practice for PwC Canada. Prior to her extensive consulting career, Brenda was a senior member of the Ontario Securities Commission as Chief of Staff (Executive Director), capping twelve years as a securities regulator including six years in the Office of the Chief Accountant (as Chief Accountant and Associate Chief Accountant) and two years in the Enforcement Branch. Brenda is a financial expert (Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant) and has received the Institute of Corporate Director’s designation (ICD.D).

Currently Brenda chairs the board of Global Container Terminals Inc., and chairs the Audit Committees of Atlantica Sustainable Infrastructure plc, Canary Medical Inc. and Westport Fuels Systems Inc. She is a director of Assuris, the protection fund for the life insurance industry in Canada and on the board of One Queen Capital Inc., a portfolio company of CPP Investments, which provides services to institutional investors.

Jean Paul (JP) Gladu, ICD.D

Director-in-Residence

Jean Paul (JP) Gladu, ICD.D

Director-in-Residence

Jean Paul (JP) Gladu is currently Principal of Mokwateh and dedicated to creating innovative partnerships and solutions to reveal equitable opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous business communities.

JP previously served as the President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) from September 2012 until April 2020. Being Anishinaabe from Thunder Bay, he is a member of Sand Pont First Nation located on the eastern shores of Lake Nipigon, Ontario. In 1993, JP completed a forestry technician diploma and then pursued an undergraduate degree in forestry from Northern Arizona University in 2000. He currently holds an Executive MBA designation from Queens University as well as an ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management University of Toronto. With 30+ years of experience in the natural resource sector JP’s career path encompasses working with Indigenous communities, organizations, environmental
non-governmental organizations, industry, and governments from across Canada.

Presently, JP serves on the board of Suncor, Institute for Corporate Directors, Broden Mining, First Nations Major Projects Coalition Advisory Centre and is Chair of Canada’s Forest Trust and Boreal Leadership Champions. He’s a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and past Chancellor of St. Paul’s University College Waterloo from 2017 to 2020. Earlier JP served on the Board of Ontario Power Generation, Noront Resources, as Chair of Mikisew Group of Companies. Several previous appointments include Canadian Electricity Association Public Advisory Panel, Colleges and Institutes Canada (previously ACCC), Northern Policy Institute, Canadian Foundation for Economic Education, Advisory member to Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Committee member to Ontario Provincial Forest Policy.

Recognized as a distinguished public speaker with numerous engagements in Canada and abroad, JP shares the challenges and achievements of Indigenous businesses and the growing Indigenous economy in Canada today. Dedicated to his community, his culture, and traditions, JP brings the past, present, and future to the table, moving non-Indigenous and Indigenous business toward sustainable partnerships and shared economic prosperity.

Catherine McLeod-Seltzer

Director-in-Residence

Catherine McLeod-Seltzer

Director-in-Residence

Catherine is a serial company builder and a recognized leader in the minerals industry for her ability to create growth-focused companies that generate significant shareholder value. Catherine has successfully partnered with numerous geological teams in the past 20 years with major successes including Arequipa Resources, Francisco Gold, Miramar Mining, Lucara Diamond, Bear Creek Mining and Peru Copper. Catherine was named “Mining Man of the Year” by The Northern Miner in 1999; given the "Award for Performance" by the Association of Women in Finance in 1997; positioned on the Financial Post's "Power 50"; has received Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100 Award and in 2013 and 2016, and the WIM UKs 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining.

Catherine is currently the Chair of the Board for Kinross Gold Corporation and Bear Creek Mining Corporation and a board member for Lucara Diamond Corporation and Flow Capital Corporation.

Catherine has raised more than $700 million in working capital for mining exploration in the past 25 years and has been directly involved in more than $4 billion in corporate transactions. Her leadership and financial expertise, access to capital and respect in building companies have been invaluable assets to the companies she is involved in and have created significant wealth for shareholders.

Darren Rawson, P.Eng., ICD.D

Director-in-Residence

Darren Rawson, P.Eng., ICD.D

Director-in-Residence

Darren Rawson graduated from the University of Alberta in computer engineering, starting his career in data science and applied technology with Imperial Oil. His diverse career has spanned a variety of industries, including upstream/downstream oil & gas, industrial chemicals, specialty metals, manufacturing, distribution, and construction. He has applied experience in leadership, data science, innovation, product management, business development, supply chain management and manufacturing operations.

Darren is a proven executive with 17 years experience as CEO of three mid-sized private businesses: Vallen Canada, Shanahan’s, and Cougar Drilling Solutions. He has experience with publicly traded, family-owned and private equity backed enterprises and has participated in numerous acquisitions both as buyer and seller. He has been doing business internationally for over 22 years throughout the Americas, Asia and Europe.

Darren is an active Corporate Director and Board Chair, sitting on seven private company boards, including six as Chair, spanning the engineering, construction, artificial intelligence, environmental, and oil & gas sectors.

His active boards include:
Chandos Construction (Chair Governance, Chair Audit)
AltaML (Chair)
ONEC Construction (Chair)
Forbes Bros. (Chair, Advisory Board)
BGE Indoor Air Quality (Chair, Advisory Board)
Hi-Kalibre Equipment (Chair, Advisory Board)
Innovative Fuel Systems (Chair, Advisory Board)

He is a Principal at Ozone Advisory Group, an advisory services firm helping companies enhance enterprise value through high-performance governance and strategy. He is the current Chair for the ICD Edmonton chapter and is an instructor and examiner for the Director Education Program. He teaches and facilitates in the areas of governance, strategy, risk and growth and is passionate about leadership and culture. As chair, Darren is a fierce advocate for high-performing boards and believes that all boards need to be continually adding value and not just a cost of doing business, with their primary focus in the areas of strategy, risk and talent.

Susan St. Amand, TEP, FEA, ICD.D

Director-in-Residence

Susan St. Amand, TEP, FEA, ICD.D

Director-in-Residence

Susan St. Amand is an experienced director and board chair, a recognized leader with a strong emphasis on strategy, governance, succession/continuity planning and risk management. She is a strong facilitator, consensus builder and creative collaborator where interconnected systems intersect. As Past Chair of more than a half dozen national, professional, regional, and local boards, not for profit, charitable and private for-profit corporations and professional associations, Susan has a broad, cross sectoral network throughout Canada.

Susan has also chaired more than a half dozen CEO search committees, provided oversight on financing for complex infrastructure projects, and chaired several committees including nominating, governance, infrastructure and HR committees. She is a strong contributor on audit and finance, risk, policy, investment and impact investment committees.

In addition to Susan’s extensive board work, she is a third-generation entrepreneur. Susan’s entrepreneurial endeavors include: President and CEO of The Sirius Group Inc., specializing in continuity planning for family enterprise; operating Sirius Financial Services, specializing in life and disability insurance; and the President and CEO of the James A. Burton and Family Foundation.

Susan is the inaugural executive in residence for the Family Enterprise Legacy Institute at the University of Ottawa.