Co-Chairs

JP Gladu
ICD.D
Chair, Mikisew Group of Companies;
Director, Noront Resources and Suncor Energy Inc.;
President, A2A Rail Canada

Mr. Jean Paul (JP) Gladu is currently the President of A2A Rail Canada and previously served as the President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) from September 2012 until April 2020. Anishinaabe from Thunder Bay, JP is a member of Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek located on the eastern shores of Lake Nipigon, Ontario. Currently, JP is the Chair of Mikisew Group of Companies and also serves on the boards of Noront Resources and Suncor Energy Inc.. He previously served on the board of Ontario Power Generation. He was appointed as the Chancellor of St. Paul’s University College Waterloo in 2017. His previous appointments include Canadian Electricity Association Public Advisory Panel, Colleges and Institutes Canada (previously ACCC), the Northern Policy Institute, Canadian Foundation for Economic Education. He has also advisory member to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and a committee member to the Ontario Provincial Forest Policy Committee.

Indira Samarasekera
O.C.
Director, Magna International Inc., TC Energy Corporation, Stelco Holdings Inc.;
Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones LLP


Dr. Indira V. Samarasekera served as the 12th President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Alberta, from 2005 to 2015. She also served as Vice-President Research at the University of British Columbia from 2000 to 2005.
 
She is currently a Senior Advisor for Bennett Jones LLP and serves on the boards of directors of Magna International, TC Energy and Stelco. She serves on the selection panel for Canada’s outstanding CEO of the Year sponsored by Caldwell Partners and Bennett Jones, and is a member of the Tri-Lateral Commission. Dr. Samarasekera is a past Director of Scotiabank (2008 to 2021). She is co-author with Dr. Martha Piper of the forthcoming book, Nerve - lessons from two women leaders who went first.
 
As a Hays Fulbright Scholar, she earned an MSc from the University of California in 1976. In 1980, she was granted a PhD in metallurgical engineering from the University of British Columbia. She has a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Ceylon.
 
Dr. Samarasekera is internationally recognized as one of Canada’s leading metallurgical engineers for her groundbreaking work on process engineering of materials, especially steel processing. She held the Dofasco Chair in Advanced Steel Processing at the University of British Columbia. She has consulted widely for industry worldwide leading to the implementation of her research discoveries.
 
Dr. Samarasekera is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Engineering in the US. She has received honorary degrees from the University of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Toronto,  University Waterloo, Université de Montréal, Western University and Queen’s University in Canada as well as Queen’s University in Belfast, Ireland.

Barbara G. Stymiest
FCPA, FCA
Vice Chair, University Health Network and Age-Well Inc.;
Director, Blackberry, Sun Life Financial Inc., George Weston Ltd., President’s Choice Bank and CIFAR

Ms. Barbara Stymiest, a corporate director, is a former member of the Group Executive for the Royal Bank of Canada, a former CEO of TMX Group Inc., Executive Vice-President and CFO at BMO Capital Markets and Partner of Ernst & Young LLP.  She currently serves on the boards of Blackberry Limited, George Weston Limited, President’s Choice Bank and Sun Life Financial Inc. She is Chair of the Audit Committee of George Weston Limited and Blackberry Limited, and is Chair of the Risk Committee of Sun Life.

Ms. Stymiest also contributes to non-profit organizations as Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of University Health Network and Vice-Chair of AGE-WELL, an organization dedicated to providing technology to aging Canadians. She also serves as a Director of CIFAR, an organization which convenes leading scientists from across the globe to address the most important questions facing science and humanity, and as a member of the Advisory Board of the Ivey Institute for Leadership. 

Ms. Stymiest obtained her bachelor's degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University. She is a Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant and received the 2011 award of Outstanding Merit from the Council of CPA Ontario. She also received honorary degrees from Western University, University of New Brunswick, University of Guelph and the Canadian University of Dubai.