Dr. Ian Austin
Retired Dean of the Centre for Business, George Brown College
Lead Director, PwC Canada Board of Directors
Dr. Ian Austin is a governance scholar, senior academic executive, and an independent corporate director with three decades of academic experience across Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. He co-authored Governance of Higher Education (Routledge, 2ed., 2025), a leading international text.
He is Lead Director of the PwC Canada Partnership Board and previously served on the Board of Governors of Excellence Canada. A retired business school dean and a college president/principal, he promotes a governance model grounded in trust, rigorous inquiry, collective discovery, and shared judgment. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies specializing in Governance and an MBA in Finance from Virginia Tech; as well as a BSc. in Accounting and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the University of the West Indies.
Nora Duke
Corporate Director
Nora Duke is an accomplished corporate director and former C-suite executive with Fortis Inc. Her leadership experience spans acquisitions, operations, stakeholder and customer engagement, communications, executive succession and talent management, sustainability, and energy transition across the utilities, real estate, and hospitality sectors. Nora serves on the national board of the Institute of Corporate Directors, the board of a private real estate investment company, and the advisory board of the Economic Club of Canada. She has also served on the boards of Parkland Corporation, Slate Office REIT, and several industry and not-for-profit organizations. Nora holds a BCom (Honours), MBA, and ICD.D designation.
Nathalie Gingras
Senior Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Normandin Beaudry
Nathalie is an Actuary and Certified Human Resources Professional who serves as Senior Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Normandin Beaudry, a leading Canadian professional services firm specializing in Total Rewards consulting. She oversees the firm's operations and growth strategy while helping shape its long-term strategic direction. Her work focuses on the impact of artificial intelligence on professional services, the transformation of professional work and value creation, and the evolving role of highly skilled professionals.
Tim Jackson
President and CEO, Shad Canada
Tim Jackson is President and CEO of Shad Canada, a live-in STEAM and entrepreneurship program for high school students. He has an extensive background as a board member, entrepreneur and not-for-profit leader, having served as CEO of the Accelerator Centre, Vice President at the University of Waterloo, and Executive Vice-President at MaRS Discovery District. He co-founded venture capital firm Tech Capital Partners and was CFO and CEO of PixStream (sold to Cisco Systems). An active volunteer, he has chaired the boards of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, Waterloo Public Library and the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. Tim has served as a corporate director for multiple public and private companies.
Scott Patles-Richardson
Founder & Senior Advisor, Indigenous Financial Solutions
Scott Patles-Richardson is a citizen of the Pabineau Mi’gmaq Nation and a business leader, investor and advisor with extensive experience in private equity, M&A, corporate finance and Indigenous economic development. Through his family office, he holds interests in language services, construction, commercial real estate, industrial supply, and technology. Scott advises Indigenous and private-sector organizations on negotiations, economic development, governance, partnerships, investment structures, and national and regional Indigenous engagement strategies. He has helped structure and negotiate more than $1.6 billion in Indigenous energy projects and recently helped raise institutional capital for an Indigenous private equity fund he founded.
