OUR PEOPLE

Leadership

Patrick Brennan

Special Advisor

Patrick Brennan is an education advisor and executive who has guided students from around the world to admission at top universities in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. His practice is anchored in ethics and a client-centred approach – prioritizing each learner’s goals, wellbeing, and informed decision-making. Beyond admissions, he has supported hundreds of students in successfully transitioning from post-secondary studies into full-time employment, providing tailored coaching on career strategy, professional skills, and workplace readiness.

Patrick currently serves as Manager of the Indigenous Intern Leadership Program and Special Advisor to the President of Vancouver Island University. He is also Chief Executive Office of the Advanced Professional Training Centre, where he applies decades of leadership experience in diplomacy, program and policy development, mentorship, and Indigenous affairs to help students and early-career professionals thrive.

From 2014 to 2018, Patrick was Executive Director of McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development, where he led executive training programs and built strategic partnerships with government departments, UN agencies, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, while supporting collaborative research with global think tanks, universities, foundations, NGOs, and the private sector.

Previously, he served as Manager of Multilateral Relations in the Intergovernmental and International Relations Directorate at the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, contributing to Canada’s endorsement of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, research on comparative Indigenous policy, Canada’s work on the Post 2015 UN Development Agenda, and the Strategy for Engagement in the Americas.

Patrick has also held roles at Canadian Heritage (multiculturalism, citizen engagement, public service renewal) and at Foreign Affairs, including Deputy Director of the Haiti Program and work on international Indigenous issues. Earlier, he served as a program specialist with the UN World Food Programme and the Canadian International Development Agency and was posted with the United Nations in Haiti (1997–1998).

He holds an M. A in International Relations from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (Carleton University) and a B.A. from Concordia University.

Adel Guitouni

Director of Programs

Adel Guitouni is an award-winning associate professor of management sciences, operations research and decision support systems at the Gustavson School of Business. His PhD and master-level students benefit from his multi-disciplinary approach to teaching and professional activities, which includes his work with the Canadian government where he directed large scientific teams involved with major events and strategic initiatives such as the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and G8/G20 summits, and a variety of projects with the Canadian Forces.

Since 2011, Adel has actively engaged in several educational activities that support the democratic transition and socio-economic development in the MENA region (i.e., Tunisia and Libya) from providing coaching sessions to senior government officials to obtaining grant funding to develop the country’s leadership capacity. In 2014 in partnership with Tunisian higher education institutions, he established a not-for-profit non-governmental organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship development and innovation.

Adel has published numerous refereed papers and book chapters, and is the recipient of several multi-million dollar research grants. On the research side, he has made several contributions to multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA), supply chain management, information systems, resource management and cloud computing. His research interests include the automation of planning and scheduling, net-enabled dynamic resource management and supply chain management, classification and machine learning, multiple criteria decision analysis, multi-objective optimization, collaborative decision making and decision support systems.

Through his research Adel’s goal is to help improve the decision-making process at the individual and corporate level. Through his entrepreneurship and leadership project work, he hopes to empower youth and leaders by giving them the tools to change their world.

Chris Graham

Treasurer

Chris Graham, MBA, CPA, is a long-time manger and professor in the fields of finance and accounting.  With extensive experience in First Nations communities and not-for profits, he has taught thousands of graduate and undergraduate students at four post-secondary institutions across Canada.  Recently retired, he lives in Victoria BC with his partner, Joan Yates. 

Ava Hill

Director of Indigenous Engagement

Ava Hill, whose traditional name is Iohahatie, was born on the Six Nations Reserve and is a Mohawk, Wolf Clan.  Ava was the Elected Chief of the 56th and 57th Six Nations Elected Council. Prior to holding the Office of the Elected Chief, Ava was a Councillor for District Two for three terms, a total of nine years.   After serving for fifteen years as a member of the Six Nations Elected Council, Ava did not seek re-election in 2019.

During her tenure as Chief, Ava represented the Chiefs in Ontario on the Ontario Provincial Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion up until June 2018.

In the 80s and 90s, Ava spent time working with the Chiefs in Ontario as the Executive Director of the Chiefs in Ontario Office and also at the Assembly of First Nations as the Executive Assistant to the National Chief.  Subsequent to her work at the AFN, Ava was the Executive Assistant to the Co-Chair of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

Ava is a former member of the Board of Governors at the University of Waterloo.  She is currently a member of the National Consortium for Indigenous Economic Development at the University of Victoria and a member of the Advisory Council for Victoria Forum 2020.  She is also the Co-Chair, along with the President of the International Commonwealth Games Federation, for a Working Group that is working on a Declaration on Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples Through Sports.

Ava is a Board Director for Commonwealth Sport Canada.  As well, she is a member of the Canadian Advisory Board for Right to Play.

Ava is currently one of the Co-Chairs for the Capital Campaign Committee which is raising funds for a New Museum and Art Gallery at the Woodland Cultural Centre.

She is also a member of the Amethyst Selection Committee for the Ontario Public Service and was invited to be a Witness Ambassador for the Four Host First Nations/Canadian Olympic Committee Bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler.

She was awarded with the YMCA Peacemaker Medal for 2020, which was presented by the YMCA of Hamilton, Burlington and Brantford, and also received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Brock University in October 2021.

Stephen Huddart

Director of Regenerative Economy Programs

Stephen’s early career included work as a documentary filmmaker in Latin America; co-owner of a jazz cafe in Vancouver, executive positions with the BC SPCA, and work with a children’s troubadour and advocate.

In 2003 he joined the McConnell Foundation, serving as CEO from 2011 to 2020. Under his stewardship the foundation applied social innovation and solutions finance to regenerative partnerships with Indigenous organizations, governments, financial and academic institutions, and civil society. He was involved in creating Canada’s $755 million Social Finance Fund, and co-founded the Transition Accelerator.

In 2022, McGill University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. He lives in Victoria and is an adjunct professor at the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business.

Saul Klein

Executive Director

 

Saul Klein is a Professor of International Business in the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria (Canada), where he served as Dean from 2012 to 2023.

Born in Zimbabwe, Saul has had a broad-ranging career spanning developing, developed and transition countries. He holds a BA in Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) and MBA and PhD degrees from the University of Toronto (Canada). From 1996 to 2001, before joining the Gustavson School, he was the SA Breweries Professor of Marketing and International Business at the Wits Business School (South Africa).  Previously, he was a Senior Fellow in Marketing at the National University of Singapore.  He has also held full-time appointments at Wake Forest University and Northeastern University in the United States, and has been a visiting professor at Melbourne Business School (Australia).

Before taking on the role of Dean, he was Head of International Business, and Director of Executive Programs at the Gustavson School. He is also an Extraordinary Professor of Marketing and International Business at the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria (South Africa).

Saul specializes in the areas of Marketing Strategy, Global Business and International Marketing.  He has provided consulting assistance to over 60 different organizations, in these areas, in Canada, the USA, Singapore and South Africa.  He has also led strategic planning workshops for a wide variety of organizations in different sectors.

As Dean, Saul launched the Gustavson School’s Brand Trust Index, to measure the extent to which Canadians trust over 400 different brands, and he drove the business school’s commitment to responsible management education.

He currently serves on the Board of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). He was previously a member of the Boards of Mediterranean Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation (Tunisia), and Primeserv Group Ltd (South Africa). the National Consortium for Indigenous Economic Development (Canada), the Centre for Asia Pacific Initiatives (Canada), and on the international business school advisory committees of UIBE (China), Beijing Jiaotong University (China), NSYSU (Taiwan) and the University of Pecs (Hungary).

Robin McLay

Special Advisor

Robin McLay has had a long history of supporting Indigenous access to higher education through his association with Fulbright and Harvard University’s Native American Program. Before taking on the role with Fulbright Canada, Robin was the Senior Advisor to the President of Vancouver Island University. Before returning home to British Columbia, Robin served as the Head of Research and Strategy at The MasterCard Foundation – a foundation that continues to support Indigenous access to higher education in partnership with many Canadian universities. Prior to that role, Robin was the Executive Director of McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development. He also worked for more than a decade at Canada’s International Development Agency (CIDA) as its Director of Research and Director of Democratic Institutions and Conflict. As part of his responsibilities at CIDA he represented the Agency’s participation at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples and managed its Indigenous Peoples Partnership Program. Robin also worked at Harvard University as the Executive Director of the Harvard University Native American and still works closely with the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development as a Research Associate. 

Robin pursued his graduate studies at Harvard’s Kennedy School as a Fulbright Scholar. He also holds a Master’s of Science degree from the London School of Economics and a BA from McGill University. He remains actively involved in his family’s Indigenous art business and is proud member of the Metis community in British Columbia with strong Metis roots in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Zoey Wells

Manager

Zoey Wells was born and raised in Victoria BC. She attended school in Montreal and Seattle, graduating in 1996 with a degree in Marketing.

Zoey has had a career that has spanned many focuses including retail management to fundraising. After spending the first 16 years of her career managing a family business and as an event and wedding planner she transitioned over to nonprofit and spend several years as a Fundraising Manager for the Heart & Stroke Foundation.

As well as working with the Victoria Forum, Zoey also works with a local nonprofit providing clothing and personal items to all self-identified women that require assistance.

Zoey specializes in event planning, fundraising, leadership, grant writing, volunteer coordination and community engagement.

The Board

Adel Guitouni

Director of Programs

 

Adel Guitouni is an award-winning associate professor of management sciences, operations research and decision support systems at the Gustavson School of Business. His PhD and master-level students benefit from his multi-disciplinary approach to teaching and professional activities, which includes his work with the Canadian government where he directed large scientific teams involved with major events and strategic initiatives such as the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and G8/G20 summits, and a variety of projects with the Canadian Forces.

Since 2011, Adel has actively engaged in several educational activities that support the democratic transition and socio-economic development in the MENA region (i.e., Tunisia and Libya) from providing coaching sessions to senior government officials to obtaining grant funding to develop the country’s leadership capacity. In 2014 in partnership with Tunisian higher education institutions, he established a not-for-profit non-governmental organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship development and innovation.

Adel has published numerous refereed papers and book chapters, and is the recipient of several multi-million dollar research grants. On the research side, he has made several contributions to multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA), supply chain management, information systems, resource management and cloud computing. His research interests include the automation of planning and scheduling, net-enabled dynamic resource management and supply chain management, classification and machine learning, multiple criteria decision analysis, multi-objective optimization, collaborative decision making and decision support systems.

Through his research Adel’s goal is to help improve the decision-making process at the individual and corporate level. Through his entrepreneurship and leadership project work, he hopes to empower youth and leaders by giving them the tools to change their world.

Chris Graham

Treasurer

 

Chris Graham, MBA, CPA, is a long-time manger and professor in the fields of finance and accounting.  With extensive experience in First Nations communities and not-for profits, he has taught thousands of graduate and undergraduate students at four post-secondary institutions across Canada.  Recently retired, he lives in Victoria BC with his partner, Joan Yates. 

Ava Hill

Director of Indigenous Engagement

Ava Hill, whose traditional name is Iohahatie, was born on the Six Nations Reserve and is a Mohawk, Wolf Clan.  Ava was the Elected Chief of the 56th and 57th Six Nations Elected Council. Prior to holding the Office of the Elected Chief, Ava was a Councillor for District Two for three terms, a total of nine years.   After serving for fifteen years as a member of the Six Nations Elected Council, Ava did not seek re-election in 2019.

During her tenure as Chief, Ava represented the Chiefs in Ontario on the Ontario Provincial Cabinet Committee on Poverty Reduction and Social Inclusion up until June 2018.

In the 80s and 90s, Ava spent time working with the Chiefs in Ontario as the Executive Director of the Chiefs in Ontario Office and also at the Assembly of First Nations as the Executive Assistant to the National Chief.  Subsequent to her work at the AFN, Ava was the Executive Assistant to the Co-Chair of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

Ava is a former member of the Board of Governors at the University of Waterloo.  She is currently a member of the National Consortium for Indigenous Economic Development at the University of Victoria and a member of the Advisory Council for Victoria Forum 2020.  She is also the Co-Chair, along with the President of the International Commonwealth Games Federation, for a Working Group that is working on a Declaration on Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples Through Sports.

Ava is a Board Director for Commonwealth Sport Canada.  As well, she is a member of the Canadian Advisory Board for Right to Play.

Ava is currently one of the Co-Chairs for the Capital Campaign Committee which is raising funds for a New Museum and Art Gallery at the Woodland Cultural Centre.

She is also a member of the Amethyst Selection Committee for the Ontario Public Service and was invited to be a Witness Ambassador for the Four Host First Nations/Canadian Olympic Committee Bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler.

She was awarded with the YMCA Peacemaker Medal for 2020, which was presented by the YMCA of Hamilton, Burlington and Brantford, and also received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Brock University in October 2021.

Chris Horbachewski

 
 

Chris Horbachewski joined the University of Victoria as Vice-President External Relations on February 1, 2020.  The external relations portfolio includes alumni relations, fundraising, community and government relations, university communications and marketing, ceremonies and events, the Farquhar Auditorium and the Legacy Art Galleries.

Before joining UVic, Chris served as Vice-President, Advancement at the University of Lethbridge since August 2005. In that role, Chris provided leadership and direction to Alumni Relations, Development, Strategic Marketing and Communications, and Public Affairs and Government Relations.  He was also Chair of the Art Gallery Advisory Committee. Prior to that, he held a variety of fundraising and advancement leadership positions at the University of Manitoba between 1997 and 2005 including Campaign Director and Director of Advancement Services.

Chris has held a variety of professional and community engagement roles over the course of his career such as: Chair; and Treasurer, with the Council for Support and Advancement of Education (CASE), District VIII. He has also served as a member of the Board for the Alberta Science and Technology Foundation as well as the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce.

In 1996, Chris received a Bachelor of Arts in history and political science from the University of Calgary.

Saul Klein

Executive Director

Saul Klein is a Professor of International Business in the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria (Canada), where he served as Dean from 2012 to 2023.

Born in Zimbabwe, Saul has had a broad-ranging career spanning developing, developed and transition countries. He holds a BA in Economics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel) and MBA and PhD degrees from the University of Toronto (Canada). From 1996 to 2001, before joining the Gustavson School, he was the SA Breweries Professor of Marketing and International Business at the Wits Business School (South Africa).  Previously, he was a Senior Fellow in Marketing at the National University of Singapore.  He has also held full-time appointments at Wake Forest University and Northeastern University in the United States, and has been a visiting professor at Melbourne Business School (Australia).

Before taking on the role of Dean, he was Head of International Business, and Director of Executive Programs at the Gustavson School. He is also an Extraordinary Professor of Marketing and International Business at the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria (South Africa).

Saul specializes in the areas of Marketing Strategy, Global Business and International Marketing.  He has provided consulting assistance to over 60 different organizations, in these areas, in Canada, the USA, Singapore and South Africa.  He has also led strategic planning workshops for a wide variety of organizations in different sectors.

As Dean, Saul launched the Gustavson School’s Brand Trust Index, to measure the extent to which Canadians trust over 400 different brands, and he drove the business school’s commitment to responsible management education.

He currently serves on the Board of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD). He was previously a member of the Boards of Mediterranean Entrepreneurship Development and Innovation (Tunisia), and Primeserv Group Ltd (South Africa). the National Consortium for Indigenous Economic Development (Canada), the Centre for Asia Pacific Initiatives (Canada), and on the international business school advisory committees of UIBE (China), Beijing Jiaotong University (China), NSYSU (Taiwan) and the University of Pecs (Hungary).

Jim Munson

Chair

Former Senator Jim Munson is best known to Canadians as a trusted journalist and communications advisor. He reported on current affairs for more than thirty years, most notably as a bureau chief and foreign correspondent for CTV News. His reporting touched upon events around the globe – from Belfast to Beijing – including the First Gulf War, the assassination of Indira Gandhi and the Tiananmen Square Massacre. At home, he covered the FLQ crisis in Quebec and later, in Ottawa, every Canadian government and federal election from 1974 onwards. Senator Munson was twice nominated for a Gemini Award in recognition of excellence in journalism.

In 2001, following his career as a reporter, Senator Munson joined the Prime Minister’s Office as a communications advisor and was made Director of Communications the following year. He was called to the Senate on December 10, 2003, to represent the province of Ontario and served as Whip of the Senate Liberal Caucus from 2008 to 2016.

Senator Munson is Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights and a vocal advocate for individuals with an autism spectrum disorder. His leadership in Parliament led to the adoption of An Act respecting World Autism Awareness Day and the landmark Senate report Pay Now or Pay Later: Autism Families in Crisis.

Andrew Parkin

Andrew Parkin is the Executive Director of the Environics Institute for Survey Research, a not-for-profit agency created in 2006 to conduct in-depth public opinion and social research on the issues shaping Canada’s future. 

Prior to joining the Institute, Andrew served as the Director of the Mowat Centre and Associate Professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (2017-19), Director General of the Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC) (2010-14), Associate Executive Director and Director of Research and Program Development at the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation (2004-10), and Co-Director of the Centre for Research and Information on Canada (2000-04).  He has also worked as an independent public policy analyst and consultant, providing strategic advice, issue analysis, and policy research to a variety of national and international clients in the areas of education and skills development, social and economic policy, and public opinion research. 

Andrew has convened, informed, and led national and international discussions on a wide range of public policy issues and acted as an authoritative public spokesperson on education, federalism, and the Canadian political community in both official languages.

A political sociologist by background, he completed his post-doctorate at Dalhousie University, his Ph.D. at the University of Bradford (U.K.), and his B.A. (Honours) at Queen’s University. He has received several academic honours, including a Commonwealth Scholarship and a Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship, and has authored or co-authored numerous publications on Canadian public policy.

Leslie Varley

Leslie, a member of the Killer Whale clan of the Nisga’a Nation, is a committed social justice advocate working for Indigenous peoples.

She is the Executive Director of British Columbia Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres, an umbrella agency supporting 25 Friendship Centres. Previously Leslie held the Indigenous health portfolio for 9 years at Provincial Health Services Authority where she led the development of San’yas Indigenous Cultural Safety, a cutting edge decolonizing anti-racism training program offered to the health, social and justice sectors in Canada.

Leslie’s community work focuses on ending racism and violence against Indigenous people, particularly towards women and girls. She is a proud board member of Central City Foundation, which invests in social impact real estate in Vancouver. Leslie holds an MBA from Simon Fraser University. She resides as a guest at Musqueam nation in Vancouver.

Leslee White-Eye

Leslee White-Eye is a committed champion of Indigenous education. As a former teacher at her home community school at Chippewas of the Thames First Nation she has seen first hand the challenges faced by First Nation schools and their successes when a culture-based education program is implemented. She is also the former Chief of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and understands the difficult road that is nation-to-nation relations in Canada for those in pursuit of UNDRIP Article 14. Prior to being Chief, Leslee was an Education Officer for the Ontario Ministry of Education writing curriculum, supporting school boards in Indigenous education and coordinating the development of the first two Native Studies textbooks to be added to the Trillium List, Ontario’s approved textbook list. Leslee was honoured to receive an Honourary Doctorate of Laws from Western University. She earned her Political Science and Master of Education degrees at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and her teaching degree at Nipissing University in North Bay. She currently sits as an Independent Trustee on Wasauksing First Nation’s M’tigo Min Trust. And is a board member of Kings’ University College in London, Ontario and board member of the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE). She is Anishinaabe Ojibwe Kwe, mother, wife and community advocate for all things resulting in collaborative problem-solving.

Maureen Young

As Coast Capital’s Vice President, Social Purpose, Maureen plays a key role in defining the credit union’s social purpose vision: Building Better Futures Together by Unlocking Financial Opportunities that Positively Impact People and Communities. Maureen leads the development and implementation of Coast Capital’s long-term social purpose impact plan and the integration of social purpose across company operations.  Maureen also oversees Coast Capital’s sustainability initiatives, including its net zero commitments, B Corp certification and annual disclosures, and leads Coast Capital’s philanthropic and purpose investments, which see 10% of Coast Capital’s budgeted bottom line reinvested into the community.

Maureen is a member and co-founder of the Canadian Purpose Economy Project which seeks to accelerate the transition to the purpose economy. Maureen is also Past Chair of the Youth Futures Education Fund, an initiative she helped found, focused on ensuring youth from the foster care system have the opportunity to achieve their post-secondary education, and she also serves on the Board of the BC Co-op Association. Prior to joining the credit union, Maureen held senior positions with the Fraser Basin Council, Nelson & District Economic Development Commission, and Tourism Action Society in the Kootenays.

Global Advisory Board (External Members)

Eric Corneul

 
 

Prof. Eric Cornuel is the President of EFMD Global since 2000.

He holds a degree in Sciences Po from IEP Paris, an MBA from HEC Graduate School of Management in Paris, and a DEA in strategy and management from Paris Nanterre University, together with a Doctoral Certificate in Strategy from HEC Paris and a PhD in management, written on international network organisations, from Paris Dauphine University.

Prof. Cornuel started his career as an entrepreneur by setting up a hydroelectric power plant in France while he was still a student. He was also the Coordinator of the HEC Institute for Central and Eastern Europe. From 1997 to 1999, he served as Dean of KIMEP, at the time the leading business and economics school in Central Asia, where he was awarded an honorary professorship.

He has taught for over 20 years at various management schools in Europe and Asia, holding the positions of Affiliate Professor at HEC Paris and Professor at the Catholic University of Louvain.

Prof. Cornuel received several awards, including, in 2018, the Magnolia Award from the city of Shanghai and the French National Order of the “Légion d’honneur.” He also received awards from PRME and CEIBS, as well as the John Fernandes Prize for entrepreneurship in management education and the Koźmiński University personality of the year award.

In 2023, Prof. Cornuel was honoured with a Doctorate Honoris Causa from Koźmiński University, followed by another prestigious recognition from ESCP Business School in 2024.

His recent publications include Business School Leadership and Crisis Exit Planning, published by Cambridge University Press in 2022; Leading Business Schools, published by Routledge in 2023; and the forthcoming Management Education and the Rise of Uncertainty of Global Business, to be published by Oxford University Press in January 2026.

Rumina Dhalla

 

 

Dr. Rumina Dhalla is an Associate Professor in the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics and the Founding Director of the Institute for Sustainable Commerce at the University of Guelph. She was also Director of the Guelph East Africa Project.  Dr. Dhalla has held a number of leadership roles with the United Nations including being the current Chair of the Board for the UN Global Compact Network Canada and past Vice-Chair of the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) NA Chapter. She was also a Special Consultant with the United Nations Institute for Teaching and Research (UNITAR).  She has recently joined the Global Advisory Board of Victoria.  She has been on the Canadian Delegation to the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development and the World Sustainable Development Summit.

 

In addition to her academic career, Dr. Dhalla has accumulated over 20 years of industry leadership experience, much of it in the Canadian banking industry.  Her research interests include sustainable innovations, sustainability rankings and ratings, public policy, organizational identity, corporate reputation and corporate strategies for sustainability, responsibility and SDGs. She has served as the Winspear Visiting Scholar, Gustavson School of Business, University of Victoria in 2025. Her research has been published in highly ranked journals such as the Journal of Service Research and Organization Studies. An accomplished teacher in both the undergraduate and graduate programs, she was awarded the MBA Distinguished Professor Award and received the 2019 United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education NA Excellence in Service Award.

Arti Freeman

Chair

Arti Freeman President and CEO of Definity Foundation, a national philanthropic organization that works with charitable partners across Canada to advance community led solutions that further climate, health, and socio-economic justice. Arti has over 20 years’ experience in the philanthropic and nonprofit sector. Her ability to lead and bring diverse players and sectors together to address systemic challenges speaks to her passion of driving positive social change. Her innovative approaches to high-impact philanthropy have been featured by The Philanthropist and the Grantmakers for Effective Organizations. Arti has lived and worked in several countries, including India, the Philippines, Belgium, South Africa, and ultimately made her home in Canada.

Thami Ghorfi

Thami Ghorfi is Dean of ESCA Ecole de Management, a leading African business school based in Casablanca, Morocco. 
Prof. Thami Ghorfi has developed expertise in management practices related to entrepreneurship and change management in Morocco and the region.

Thami Ghorfi was appointed in 2011 as an expert member of the Economic, Social, and Environmental Council (CESE), a constitutional institution of the Kingdom of Morocco. He is also a member of the Higher Council for Education, Training and Scientific Research (CSEFRS) since November 2022, a constitutional institution of the Kingdom of Morocco. 
Through his position as Vice President of the AL AMANA Foundation–a leading microfinance organization in the MENA region–Thami Ghorfi is intensely involved in charity and the fight against financial exclusion. 

Since July 2024, Thami Ghorfi has joined the AACSB’s Board of Directors, the world’s largest business education alliance.
Thami co-authored the book Femmes au cœur des entreprises familiales in La Croisée des Chemins, February 2021. He also co-authored “Women in Entrepreneurship and Social Entrepreneurship in the Arab World” and “Entrepreneurship and Education: Between Trendy and Usefulness” in Entrepreneurship and Social Entrepreneurship in the MENA Region – Palgrave Macmillan 2022. He edited Entreprises familiales, des paradoxes aux opportunités — a book in La Croisée des Chemins, 2016. Thami is author of L’enseignement du management, au service de l’influence en Méditerranée ” in La Méditerranée, terrain de la géopolitique mondiale? L’Harmattan 2019. 

Thami Ghorfi has been a member of the AACSB Initial Accreditation Committee. He co-chairs the MENA Network Group. He also contributes to several committees within EFMD and GBSN (Global Business Schools Network). Thami is, among other things, a member of the jury for the Young Academic Award (YAA) organized by the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC). He is also an Editorial Board member of the Case Focus, the Journal of Business & Management Teaching Cases.

Thami’s numerous distinctions include France’s Order of Academic Palms Chevalier (2017) and the Prize of Africa Economy Builders (2016 Cote d’Ivoire). He was granted Doctor Honoris Causa of Grenoble Ecole de Management.

Arif Lalani

Ambassador Arif Lalani is one of Canada’s most distinguished diplomats, with over three decades of leadership in international diplomacy, commerce, security, and development.  He has served as Canada’s Ambassador to Jordan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates, and was the country’s first Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.   As ambassador, he led strategy for business development, reputation management, and engagement in some of the world’s most important markets.  As former Head of Diplomatic Affairs for His Highness the Aga Khan, he represented global institutional interests across economic, development, and cultural issues. Currently a Senior Advisor at StrategyCorp, Ambassador Lalani provides strategic counsel on geopolitics and international business.  His current engagements also include:  Distinguished Fellow, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (University of Toronto), Distinguished Fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation, Senior Fellow, New America.  He volunteers in an advisory capacity for the King’s Trust International, and on the Mediation Advisory Board, at the Canadian foreign ministry.  Ambassador Lalani appears regularly in media where his expert commentary is sought on international geopolitical issues.  He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, Afghanistan’s Medal of Honour, and an Honorary Doctorate from Canadian University Dubai.   He is a graduate of the London School of Economics (MSc – Management, Organisations and Governance). 

Nurjehan Mawani

Nurjehan Mawani C.M, LL.D. (hon) is a lawyer, public servant, diplomat and global Canadian. She is a trailblazer and champion of justice, gender equity, and inclusive development who has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees in Canada, and to advance rights and educational opportunities for women and girls internationally.

Under her leadership as the Chairperson and Chief Executive of the Immigration Refugee Board, Canada became the first country internationally to recognize gender-related persecution as a ground for refugee status under the Geneva Convention. As Commissioner of the Public Service Commission of Canada she championed equity, inclusion, and representation in the Public Service. From 2005-2019, she went on to serve as Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network to the Kyrgyz Republic and Afghanistan. In both countries, she partnered with multiple stakeholders to improve quality of life, ensuring that women’s voices were included to advance equitable development as a path to peace, progress, and stability.

Nurjehan has received many prestigious honours for her contributions to public service, international development and the advancement of women including the Order of Canada and the Public Service of Canada Outstanding Achievement Award, as well as several honorary doctorates. Among her many recognitions, she received the Human Rights Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the UNIFEM Canada Award for “an innovative ability to bridge law and policy and for far-reaching effects of the guidelines impacting the lives of thousands of refugee women and girls”. Most recently, Nurjehan was presented the 2024 WILL Rosalie Silberman Abella Award.

Nurjehan currently serves on a number of boards, including as Governor of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). She is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Canadian International Council (CIC), Academics Without Borders (AWB), and sits on Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Environment’s External Advisory Committee.

She is a founding member of the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges and a Senior Fellow at Massey College – where she serves on the Anti-Black Racism Advisory Council, the Senior Advisory Board of the Afghan Women’s Fellowship Program, and is the inaugural Chair in Global Engagement. In this role, she mentors Junior Fellows – connecting them to changemakers in Canada and around the world to build leadership and foster a deeper understanding of global issues.

Charles McIvor

Charles McIvor is a policy analyst at the OECD’s Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) where he conducts research on STI policies – with a particular focus on how to govern, coordinate, implement, and monitor and evaluate mission-oriented policies. He has over a decade of experience working in this space, joining the OECD from the Government of Canada where he conducted research, established new STI policies, and implemented innovation programs.

Louise Pulford

Coming Soon

Esther Pan Sloane

Esther is responsible for ESC’s fundraising, ESG due diligence, and impact reporting. Previously, she was a Managing Director on the Avenue Sustainable Solutions Fund from 2022-2025. Prior to joining Avenue, she was a senior executive at the United Nations Capital Development Fund. From 2006-2016, she was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer serving in bilateral and multilateral posts, including at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, where she helped to negotiate the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Esther received a BA from Stanford University with honors in both English and International Relations (1997) and an MA in Theatre and Performance from the University of Cape Town in South Africa (2002).

Karen Spens

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Peter Taylor

Peter Taylor is a Professorial Research Fellow at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), United Kingdom. Previously he was Director, and Director of Research, at IDS. Prior to this he was Director, Strategic Development, at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada where he was responsible for leading IDRC’s strategic planning processes. During his ten years with IDRC, he also served as Acting Director of IDRC’s Inclusive Economies Program Area, and led the Think Tank Initiative, a ten-year, multi-partner programme that supports strengthening of policy research organizations in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Peter has 40 years of experience in international development. He also worked at IDS as a Research Fellow, Head of Graduate Studies, and Leader of the Participation, Power and Social Change Team; as Education Technical Advisor with the Swiss NGO Helvetas in Vietnam; as Lecturer in Agricultural Education at the Agricultural Extension and Rural Development Department at the University of Reading, UK; and as Head of the agriculture department in a rural secondary school in northern Botswana. Peter holds a PhD and MSc in agricultural education, and a BSc degree in animal sciences. He has research, teaching and writing interests in the theory and practice of global development cooperation, enabling inclusive and equitable research ecosystems, organizational development and capacity strengthening, evaluation and learning, and facilitation of participatory and social change processes in a diverse range of international contexts.

Alba Tiley

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