Governance

Cathy Cranston is an independent public company board Director for Toromont Industries Ltd. and sits on Toromont’s Audit, and Nominating and Governance Committees. Cathy recently retired as Treasurer of BMO Financial Group (BMO), where she was a senior executive with 32 years of experience. Prior business experience includes executive roles as Head of Investor Relations, CFO of the Bank’s Wealth Management business, VP of Integrated Risk Management, as well as senior roles in capital markets and corporate banking. Prior Board experience includes Bank of Montreal (Barbados) Limited, Bank of Montreal Mortgage Corporation, BMO Trust Company, BMO InvestorLine, BMO Harris Investment Management Inc., and BMO Nesbitt Burns Financial Services Inc. Her son Charlie is in the Class of 2022.

Steve Geist is a corporate director with more than 30 years experience as a senior executive in wealth and asset management. He retired from CIBC in 2017, where he last held the position of Senior Executive Vice President and Group Head of CIBC Wealth Management which included the asset management, retail brokerage, private banking and trust businesses. Prior to this role, Steve was President and CEO of CIBC Asset Management. He was also previously with Price Waterhouse, Fidelity Investments and TD Wealth Management. He is a past director of the Mutual Funds Dealer Association and the Investment Funds Institute of Canada. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Fellow of the Institute and also holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. His son Nicholas is Class of 2018.

James Crossland is Senior Managing Director of Teneo Strategy and Chairman of Teneo Canada, a global CEO strategy advisory firm. He is a former Director of Cancer Care Ontario, the Canada-Eurasia Russia Business Association, and the Canadian Council of the Americas. James was appointed to the RSGC Board of Governors in 2011. He holds a BA from York University and an MA from McGill University, both in political science. His son James is in the Class of 2019.

Dorothy Byers is an educator with 40 years of experience in Ontario schools. In her most recent role as Head of School at St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School (SMLS), a not-for-profit independent school for girls in Oakville, Ont., Dorothy found her passion: nurturing and supporting diversity in STEM. Prior to SMLS, she was a teacher and administrator in the Peel District School Board. Recently retired, Dorothy now has the time to fiercely promote opportunities for diversity in STEM fields through her role as Chair, Board of Directors, FIRST Robotics Canada. She is the first woman internationally to assume such a position. With a Masters in Education in Curriculum Development, she is keenly aware of the impact on learning of real world application of theory. She and her husband Ted live in Toronto’s Beaches neighbourhood and are the parents of three adult children. Dorothy joined the RSGC Board in 2012.

Roma Dubczak is a marketing and brand strategy consultant with experience in both packaged goods as well as in the non-for-profit sector. She is currently Chair of the Canadian Red Cross’ (CRC) Marketing Advisory Committee, co-chair of the CRC’s Behind the Red Vest Campaign and member of the CRC’s Tiffany Circle Steering Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Governors at Royal St. George’s College and Chair of the RSGC Strategic Planning Committee. For the past 10 years, Roma was involved with Kingsway College School as a member of the Board of Governors, Chair of the Communications Committee and a member of the Strategic Planning Committee.   Previously, she served as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Ukrainian Cooperative Nursery School. Roma spent most of her professional life at Procter and Gamble Inc. and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto, an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and has completed the NFP Program through the Institute of Corporate Directors at the Rotman School of Management. Roma’s two sons attended RSGC: Maxym, Class of 2017 and Mattay, Class of 2015.

As the VP Marketing at WW Canada, Ali leads a team whose mission is to inspire healthy habits for real life, with as many Canadians as possible. Prior to joining WW in August 2018, Ali held senior leadership roles at Facebook, where she was the Head of Consumer Packaged Goods and Government, and at Unilever, where she was a Senior Marketing Director leading the growth on purpose-driven brands like Dove, Hellmann’s and Becel. Ali holds an HBA from Ivey Business School at Western, and an MBA from Schulich School of Business at York. She also sits on the board of Canada Learning Code. She joined the RSGC board in 2018. Her son Russell is Class of 2019. 

The Reverend Jesse Parker is the Incumbent of the parish of St. John the Evangelist in Port Hope, Ontario and Regional Dean of Durham-Northumberland Deanery. Jesse is an RSGC Old Boy (’01) and former member of the faculty (2007-2008). He completed both his undergraduate and divinity degrees at Trinity College, Toronto. Jesse serves in a number of volunteer capacities in the Diocese of Toronto. In addition to the RSGC Board of Governors, he currently serves on the Boards of Trinity College, the Anglican Diocese of Toronto Foundation and the St. Paul’s L’Amoreaux Seniors Centre. He is also the Diocese of Toronto’s representative to the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund, member of Diocesan Council, and member of the Housing Subcommittee of the Diocesan Social Justice and Advocacy Committee.

Gordon Raman is a partner at the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.  Gord practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and corporate finance. He is involved in several professional development programs for lawyers and students, has chaired the Toronto office’s Student Recruitment Committee and has been a past adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School. Gord currently serves as the Chair of the Board of the Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada and as the Secretary of the Law Alumni Association of the Faculty of Law at U of T. He is also a Past-President of the Canadian Club of Toronto. His son Sebastian is in the Class of 2021.

Alex served the RSGC Alumni Association as Vice President from 2012-14 and as President from 2014-16. His mission as President was to develop the alumni mentoring programs, enhance communication and increase engagement and attendance at both school and Alumni activities. Alex serves the Board of Governors as Alumni Representative and ensures communication in both directions between the Alumni Executive and the Governors. Alex graduated RSGC in 2002, received a Bachelor of Commerce Degree at Queens University and is currently a Vice President specializing in Urban Retail and Development at CBRE Limited.

Jane Nyman joined RSGC as Chief Financial Officer in January 2013. She brings many years of senior leadership experience in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. Jane began her career at Ernst & Young, followed by increasingly senior positions at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Union Bank of Switzerland (Canada) and the CPP Investment Board. From 2006 to 2015 Jane served on the Board of Directors for Pathways to Education Canada and is a Past Chair of the Finance and Audit and Investment Committees of Pathways. She is a CPA, CA and a CFA.