Board of Directors

Meet the Team

The Team The Board of Directors The Board of Governors

Neil Crawford

Practice Leader, Strategic Human Resources Consulting
Stratford Managers Corporation

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Dr. Hugh Drouin

Past – Commissioner of Social Services, Regional Municipality of Durham

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Allan N. Ebedes

President & CEO, Excellence Canada

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Laura Nashman

CEO, British Columbia Pension Corporation

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Richard Perri

Senior Vice President, Finance
Spark Power Corp.

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Shirlee Sharkey

Chair, Excellence Canada

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John Wilson

Founder & CEO, CEO Global Network Inc.

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Practice Leader, Strategic Human Resources Consulting
Stratford Managers Corporation

Neil Crawford is currently Practice Leader of HR Strategic Consulting at Stratford Managers Corporation responsible for the financial performance and growth of the practice across a wide range of content areas including Human Capital Strategy, Change Management, Culture, Engagement, HR Effectiveness and Talent Management.

Prior to joining Stratford Managers, Neil was a partner of Aon Hewitt and led its Canadian Talent, Rewards and Performance Practice. For fifteen years, he also led the annual Best Employers in Canada study, conducted by Aon Hewitt and published nationally in Canadian Business Magazine.

Neil has worked extensively with many national and international organizations to define business-aligned people and rewards strategies, measure and improve employee engagement, track cultural change and improve the effectiveness of their HR functions. He is a frequent speaker on employee engagement, leadership, aligning people and reward strategies with business strategy, and creating great workplaces.

Neil is a mathematics graduate of the University of Waterloo and is a qualified actuary. He is also a Chartered Professional in Human Resources.

Dr. Hugh A. Drouin

Past - Commissioner of Social Services
Regional Municipality of Durham

Dr. Hugh Drouin retired as Commissioner of Social Services Durham Region in 2019.
He is currently a consultant for Barnes Management Group.

As a leader within the social work profession, Dr. Hugh Drouin has a varied and rich background having served as a clinician, college and university professor, administrator, consultant and seminar leader. He has conducted extensive research in the area of nurturing workplaces and their impact on the stress and morale of employees, and has presented to such diverse organizations as General Electric, Canada Post, Royal Bank, Ministry of Health, school boards, District Health Councils, churches, hospitals, social agencies and a variety of professional groups.

As Commissioner, Dr. Drouin oversaw the Social Services Department which is the largest department in the Regional Municipality of Durham, with over 2000 staff across six divisions. Developing into a world-class organization, the department received the Order of Excellence in 2015, and the Gold trophy for Excellence, Innovation and Wellness in 2018.

Dr. Drouin has been on part-time faculty at the School of Social Work McMaster University and received the McMaster teaching award for his exceptional contributions. He holds a Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Windsor, and a Ph.D. in Social Work Administration from Laval University in Quebec City.

Allan N. Ebedes

President and CEO
Excellence Canada

Since 2005, Allan Ebedes has led Excellence Canada, formerly known as the National Quality Institute. Working with the Board of Directors, he is responsible for setting the strategic direction of Excellence Canada and delivering on its business plan and mission.

Allan began his business career as a Chartered Accountant (CA) at Coopers & Lybrand, now PWC. He then became a partner at a small furniture and appliance chain, which grew significantly during his ownership, and was subsequently sold to The Brick. In 1979, he started a private career college called the Toronto School of Business, a division of International Business Schools, which grew to become the largest career college in Canada, with 50 locations coast to coast. Allan took the company public on the NASDAQ exchange.

In 2002, Allan founded Management Mentors International, a company dedicated to corporate training and development, coaching and mentoring. He was also appointed as President of the Academy of Learning, a chain of 100 computer learning centres across Canada.

Allan is a CA, CPA and earned an MBA from the University of Toronto (now Rotman School of Management) and an LLM law degree in Global Business through an evening program at the Faculty of Law. Allan is an ICD.D with the Institute of Corporate Directors and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and a group leader with the CEO Global Business Network.

Laura Nashman

CEO
British Columbia Pension Corporation

Laura Nashman is the chief executive officer of the British Columbia Pension Corporation and has been in the role since December 2008.

Under Laura’s leadership Pension Corporation received “Gold” recognition from Excellence Canada, which demonstrates it is one of the best-managed organizations in Canada.

In 2018 Business in Vancouver magazine, Deloitte and TEC Canada recognized Laura as the public sector BC CEO of the Year and in 2017 Laura was named one of the Influential Women in Business. She was also called out as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network and recognized on Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 list. Laura also has the designation of Director with the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D), and serves on several boards including Excellence Canada, the Conference Board of Canada and the Gustavson School of Business International Advisory Board. Laura is an active mentor for women leaders and emerging leaders who look to her for guidance and direction on their leadership practice and career development.

Laura is a high-performing senior executive who brings a fresh leadership style to her role. She has clear vision and her expertise as a strategic leader that gives her the ability to deliver results. Laura creates the right space for everyone in her organization to thrive. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining strong relationships with staff and all key stakeholders.

In 2012, she spearheaded the creation of a new strategic plan for Pension Corporation called 12 to 21 Our Way Forward. This nine-year strategy is an ambitious plan for business transformation that ensures Pension Corporation meets the changing needs and expectations of plan members, employers, trustees and staff. Above all Laura has reshaped the culture at the Corporation creating the organization-wide engagement and resiliency needed to bring the strategic plan to life.

Richard Perri

Senior Vice President, Finance
Spark Power Corp.

Richard is Spark Power’s Senior Vice President, Finance, with over 20 years of financial and leadership experience across various industries, including mergers and acquisitions. He oversees the organization’s financial reporting and accounting and has extensive experience in growth strategy development, along with finance, operations, and IT.

Prior to joining Spark, Richard served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at ADP Canada, Senior Vice President & CFO at Ricoh Canada Inc., and Vice President, Finance, at Pitney Bowes Canada. He is a team-oriented leader, focused on operational excellence and execution, who strives to ensure consistent, high-quality financial services within Spark. Richard serves as Director on the Board of Excellence Canada and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto.

Shirlee Sharkey

President & CEO, Saint Elizabeth
Chair of Excellence Canada

Shirlee Sharkey is recognized as one of Canada’s foremost experts on home care and healthy aging. As a registered nurse and the longtime CEO of SE Health, a unique not-for-profit social enterprise, she has dedicated her career to empowering people, championing compassion, and advancing social innovation to forever impact how people live and age at home. In May 2022, Shirlee stepped down from SE Health following 30 years of breakthrough leadership.

Shirlee shares her passion and expertise as a thought leader, speaker, author, and mentor. In 2020, she collaborated with a range of experts to co-author The Future of Aging, a book that has been described as “a brilliant and powerful challenge to locked-in ageist mindsets, policies and service models.” Naturally curious and committed to lifelong learning, Shirlee regularly engages with students, entrepreneurs, and business leaders from other industries. Academically, she is cross appointed to the University of Toronto’s Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation as an adjunct professor.

Shirlee’s commitment to public service is evident in her leadership and involvement on many boards, including University Health Network, the Centre for Aging and Brain Health Innovation, and BAYADA Home Health Care. She also serves as senior fellow of Canada’s top think tank, the CD Howe Institute. Internationally, Shirlee is a Healthcare DENMARK ambassador. Committed to global influence, she has gained and shared health system insights through her experiences in the Middle East, Australia and northern Europe.

John Wilson

Founder & CEO
CEO Global Network Inc.

John Wilson leads an exclusive CEO peer group organization that creates opportunities for learning and development through monthly group meetings, targeted one-to-one mentoring, and focused learning events. Over the years, John has coached hundreds of high-performing CEOs to greater success and is dedicated to fulfilling the mission of CEO Global Network: “To significantly improve the success and lives of CEOs and executives, their families, and their companies.” He also wrote the acclaimed business book GREAT CEOs and How They Are Made.

John began his career with Ultramar Canada where he worked for 18 years, initially as VP of Sales and Marketing, and then as CEO of Ultramar Ontario Ltd., before moving to California to run a billion-dollar business as part of the Ultramar team in the United States. In 1993, John started his own business that developed a network of fleet fueling sites across the southwestern United States. He and his partners built the business up from zero into a multimillion-dollar company before selling it in 1998.

John has an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.