The New ESG imperative and the role of the board

Gitane De Silva

Ms. De Silva became the CEO of the CER in August 2020. Prior to joining the CER, she was a Special Advisor at TransAlta Corporation. She previously served as Alberta's Senior Representative to the United States and as Deputy Minister for Alberta International and Intergovernmental Relations.

Before joining the Alberta Public Service, Ms. De Silva spent 12 years in Canada's Foreign Service as a specialist in Canada-U.S. relations, serving in a variety of roles, including as Consul General of Canada in Chicago and as Counsellor (Environment & Fisheries) at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. Ms. De Silva also served as Deputy Head of Agency at Status of Women Canada.

She holds a BA in International Relations from the University of British Columbia and is a 2013 recipient of The International Alliance for Women (TIAW) World of Difference Award.

Leah Lawrence

Leah is a lifelong advocate for engineering, entrepreneurship and the environment. As the President and CEO at SDTC, Leah oversees the $150 million a year that the organization invests in entrepreneurs developing new environmental technologies.

Over the years, Leah has served on many corporate and non-profit boards, including serving as President of the Ottawa chapter of the International Women’s Forum, Chair of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, and President of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA). In 2018, she was honoured to receive the Centennial Leadership Award, APEGA’s highest distinction for a member who has achieved exemplary achievements in their career.

Charles-Antoine St-Jean

CPA Canada’s Board of Directors appointed Charles-Antoine St-Jean, FCPA, FCA, as President and CEO, effective July 20, 2020.

In this role, Charles-Antoine leads one of the largest professional accounting bodies in the world with more than 220,000 members. Prior to taking this role, Charles-Antoine was appointed Chair of the Public Sector Accounting Board in 2017 and served as a member from 2006 to 2009. From 2004 to 2007, he served as the Comptroller General of Canada. He earned his accounting designation and served as partner and managing partner at EY. He worked with many public sector clients in Canada and internationally, at all levels of governments, including many state-owned entities. Charles-Antoine also worked in Europe for few years at KPMG.

Charles-Antoine has served on multiple not-for-profit organization boards over the years. In recognition of his professional and charitable work, he received the Trudeau Medal from the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management.

Richard Threlfall

Richard has over 20 years’ experience in infrastructure policy, governance, strategy and financing, advising both public and private sector clients in the U.K. and overseas.

Richard began his career as a civil servant at the U.K. Department for Transport where he held positions in the road, rail and aviation directorates. Between 1996 and 1998, he was Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Transport and the Deputy Prime Minister. He subsequently moved to the Infrastructure Advisory team at Citigroup before joining KPMG, where he led the U.K. Infrastructure, Building and Construction sector until 2018.

In his global role, he brings together expertise from across the globe focused on the issues that go to the heart of our planet's sustainability and our quality of life: Environment, Social and Governance (ESG), economic and social development, sustainable finance, climate change and decarbonisation, and the associated measurement, reporting and assurance.

Susan St. Amand

Founder and President

Susan St. Amand is Founder and President of The Sirius Group Inc., and Sirius Financial Services in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She specializes in continuity and governance planning for business and philanthropic families with wealth. Susan collaborates with client families and their professional teams to develop and build strategic pathways and governance structures to meet goals focused on integrating the clients’ unique systems. Susan has a passion for family and maintaining continuity through generations.

Susan is the current Chair of Family Enterprise Canada, Co-Chair IWF (International Women’s Forum) Ottawa, an executive member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) Ottawa Chapter, immediate Past Chair of the Ottawa Community Foundation, Past Chair of the Ottawa International Airport Authority, and a member of the Society for Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), The Purposeful Planning Institute, ADVOCIS, and the Conference for Advanced Life Underwriting (CALU).