Brian Hayward
CDir, ICD.D
Author of ‘The Great Chair’
Brian Hayward is President of Aldare Resources, advising clients on governance, strategy, and business development. He has engaged with public companies, private firms, family businesses, Crown Corporations, start-ups, and not-for-profits. Before Aldare Resources, Brian was CEO of Agricore United—a $5 billion publicly traded agri-business that had returns above the TSX benchmark, and won awards for enterprise risk, IT innovation, and HR management.
As Board Chair, Brian led the process that saw publicly traded Ridley Australia sell its control to Fairfax; Brian chaired the Independent Committee when Fairfax sold that stake. He chaired privately owned Wellington West's Independent Committee strategic review—ending with a sale to National Bank in 2011. He crafted the governance of family owned Princess Auto's Advisory Board as it transitioned to professional leadership—overseeing its doubling of sales, entry into new markets, and tripling of cash flow. He chaired the Independent Committee of publicly traded Gendis as it went private. He chaired FarmersEdge for 8 years, from its first injection of venture capital, to world leader as a "software as a service" agri-enterprise. Brian invested eight years as a director of the BDC, including two years as Audit Committee chair.
Brian recently published the critically acclaimed and internationally awarded book: The Great Chair, “A Window on Effective Board Leadership”. It brings to life the lessons and insights gained from attending over 500 board meetings, and provides practical advice and take home tools for Board Chairs.