Karen has held progressive management roles within the Operations and Strategic Planning functions, most recently leading the Sales Enablement team at Ricoh Canada. In this role, she is responsible for supporting the sales organization from a data analytics, strategic planning/sales methodology and process improvement perspective. Karen is a graduate of McMaster University, with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration.
Being involved in her work and home communities has always been a passion for Karen. Work endeavours include participation in the Emergency Response Team, mentor program development and Shoreline Cleanup initiatives. She has also actively participated with her children’s dance and hockey activities over the years.
Karen and her husband Gary have lived in Burlington since 1996 and have 3 children. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cycling, traveling and spending time with friends and family.
Rembert de Villa is a Strategic Advisor and Board Member of CareSpan Holdings, where he served as Chairman and CEOP until his retirement in December 2023. During his tenure, he led the execution of the company’s strategy of Integrated Digital Care. Currently, he is also on the Board of Smartcare in Germany and, until recently, of CareSpan Asia. He also serves as senior advisor to data analytics and process management companies.
Prior to CareSpan, Rembert was Global Business Leader of EXL Healthcare (NASDAQ: EXLS), which focused on healthcare analytics and operations management in the areas of care management, payment integrity, and customer engagement. Before his tenure at EXL, Rembert had a long professional career in global management consulting, holding senior leadership/partner roles at Mastercard Advisors, Capgemini Ernst & Young, A.T. Kearney and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). He is Senior Advisor to the Philippine-American Chamber of Commerce in New York City, where he served as Chairman of the Board for three years.
Rembert holds an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management and a B.Sc. from De La Salle University. He also completed Columbia University’s Senior Executive Program and attended the postgraduate program in Business Economics at the University of Bonn, Germany as a Konrad Adenauer Foundation scholar.
R. Mark Fletcher is a Partner with Grosman Gale Fletcher Hopkins LLP, located on Bay Street, in Toronto, Ontario. Mark is an experienced trial lawyer who is recognized by his peers and ranked by BEST LAWYERS and LEXPERT as one of the top employment lawyers in Canada. He advises and provides representation to both employers and employees in wrongful dismissal actions, executive compensation disputes, and human rights applications. Mark is the co-Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Cases on Employment Law (CCEL) and he is the Editor for the Employment Bulletin publications. He is regularly invited to speak on employment and human rights law issues by the Law Society of Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association, and Osgoode Hall Law School. In 1998, Mark graduated Summa Cum Laude from McMaster University ‘s Political Science and Theme School on International Justice and Human Rights Programs. In 2002, Mark received his law degree (LL.B.) from Western University, and in 2011, he received his Master of Laws in Constitutional Law (LL.M) from Osgoode Hall Law School.
Mark was called to the Ontario Bar in 2002 and has practiced employment and human rights law for the past 21 years. Mark was born and raised in Burlington, Ontario. Mark lives in Burlington with his wife Doris, their two daughters, Naomi and Sophia, and their dog T.J.
Michael Hatcher is currently the Michael Lee-Chin & Family Industry Professor at DeGroote School of Business. Prior to this, he was the Head of Global Equity at Invesco Canada and lead manager of the Trimark Fund. While at Trimark Investments, he was in the role of Co-CIO and Director of Research. Michael has extensive experience managing concentrated portfolios in Global, European, US and Canadian equities and developing equity research teams. His investment philosophy is rooted in identifying and understanding high-quality global businesses and evaluating the attributes of successful management teams.
Michael graduated with a M.Sc. in Econometrics from the London School of Economics, Master of Mathematical Finance from the University of Toronto, B.A.(Hons) Economics from Carleton and B.A. Statistics from Carleton. He is a CFA Charterholder.
Michael and his wife Linda have lived in Burlington since 2002. Their three children were raised in Burlington and are now either at university or just starting their careers.
Deepa is a registered physiotherapist with over 28 years’ experience treating athletes of all ages. She is currently self-employed as a physiotherapist, and a Learning Facilitator for Sport for Life Physical Literacy programs.
A life long resident of Hamilton -Burlington, Deepa is very involved in her community as an active member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority (a women’s organization serving the community) Beta Xi Chapter, and BSP Burlington City Council Executive. For over 15 years, she energetically participated on Parent Councils at Fairview Glen Montessori School and John T. Tuck Public School, and acted as team trainer and assistant coach for G01Y competitive soccer team (BYSC).
This is Deepa’s fourth year serving on the Board, and first year as Chair. She has participated on the JBH DEI Action Table for the last two years and is Chair of the JBHF Diwali Community Garba event committee. Deepa is honoured to have the opportunity to serve her community as a JBHF Board member. Deepa and her husband of 26 years have raised their four children in Hamilton/Burlington since 2001.
David graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with an Honours Bachelors of Arts in English.
He received his law degree from Dalhousie Law School, including a Certification in Business
Law. David was subsequently called to the Ontario bar in 2008.
He is a partner of Agro Zaffiro LLP in Hamilton, Ontario. Since his call to the bar, David’s legal
practice has focused on the areas of trusts & estate and corporate law. David has extensive
experience with succession planning for family businesses, as well as complex estate and trust
planning and administration.
David places a high value on community involvement. He is a member of the Hamilton Law
Association (HLA), the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, Hamilton Estate Planner’s Council
and HLA Estates and Trusts subcommittee and is a co-organizer of the HLA Trusts & Estates
Conference. He resides in Burlington with his spouse and three children.
Dr. Harrison obtained his Medical Doctorate at McMaster University and completed his post-graduate residency training at the University of Western Ontario. As a hospitalist, Dr. Harrison works with patients who have been admitted to the hospital for general medical concerns. In addition to his clinical duties, Dr. Harrison was the hospitalist lead for the development of Joseph Brant Hospital’s integrated stroke unit and also previously was the lead hospitalist on a working group to improve care processes for patients who are admitted to Joseph Brant Hospital following a hip fracture.
Dr. Harrison remains actively involved at McMaster University as a Clinical Adjunct Professor for the Michael G DeGroote School of Medicine. He enjoys teaching medical students and residents. He has previously been awarded Preceptor of the Year for the Halton Regional Site of the Family Medicine Residency Program.
Dr. Harrison grew up in Burlington and always planned to return to Burlington after his medical training to practice medicine. Dr. Harrison enjoys volunteering and giving back to the community. When not working, Dr. Harrison enjoys running, skiing, and playing soccer.
Luisa’s long-time engagement with the local communities of Hamilton and Burlington are evident in both education and volunteerism. Upon graduating with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University, Luisa articled with Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants in Hamilton, achieving her CA designation. During her varied career path, Luisa held positions in finance, marketing, and sales, and is a retired member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.
Luisa has co-chaired fundraising events for local schools, always with a focus on enhancing the students’ experience. She has Board level experience on the professional side, as well as cultural and community. Luisa feels most fortunate to have spent several years in the academic environment. She served as the Director of Budgeting and then as a Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University. She has also had the pleasure of lecturing in Business Administration and Small Business Management at Mohawk College.
Luisa, her husband and their three grown sons all call Burlington home. They enjoy the outdoors and spending time as a family.
Nigel is the CEO of Taylor Leibow LLP, a 78-year-old regional independent professional accounting firm located in Hamilton and Burlington. Nigel is an FCPA, FCMA through his membership of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario.
Nigel is an acknowledged expert in the leadership and practice management of professional service firms and continues to be involved in speaking engagements including leading benchmarking sessions, practice management seminars and international management panels. He also has extensive governance and board experience of professional associations and bodies and also community organizations. Nigel’s has served as Vice President of the Americas and on the Executive Board of DFK International. He has also served as Chair of the Carpenter Hospice and Director of Finance/Executive Committee member of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce. Other board service includes the Public Accountants Council of Ontario and President of the
CPAFMA (a US Based association of professionals that manage accounting firms).
Nigel is passionate about giving back through service in a professional and community capacity, as evidenced above. Nigel and his wife Wendy, who have been married for 40 years, emigrated from Cape Town, South Africa, in 1994 and landed in Burlington and never left. They presently live in Aldershot with their son, while their daughter lives in Arizona with their two grandsons.
Shaheryar Mian is the Managing Director of Landsdale Investment Holding Corporation, an investment firm specializing in real estate and public equities. He began his career at Lloyds Bank in London, England, after graduating from McGill University in 2005. Following five years in financial services, he transitioned into management consulting with Gallup in New York before founding his own investment firm.
Shaheryar is actively involved in his community, serving on the boards of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, and CrimeStoppers Halton. He also sits on the advisory board of LJM Group, a Burlington-based real estate development firm. As part of his philanthropic work, Shaheryar has played a key role in raising millions of dollars for hospitals across Ontario and has supported fundraising efforts for Habitat for Humanity. In 2023, he helped pledge $2 million toward the construction of the Niagara South Hospital.
In addition to his professional and philanthropic pursuits, Shaheryar is a published author of a fiction novel. He holds an MBA from the University of Oxford, a Master’s in Liberal Arts from Harvard University, and is a CFA charterholder