Governance

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 currently serves on the Board of the Ontario Financing Authority and the Advisory Board of Ardenton Capital, a global private equity corporation. He is the Chair of the Capital Sector Audit Committee for the Province of Ontario and is a member of the Independent Review Committee of SEI Investments Canada. He is also 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.

Bruce Chapple ’87 is a partner with McMillan LLP, a national business law firm. He has over 20 years experience, specializing in business law with a focus on mergers and acquisitions. Bruce has held several leadership positions at McMillan LLP. He is currently the firm’s Chief Financial Partner and a co-chair of its private equity group.  He was previously the firm’s Chief Firm (Engagement) Partner, sat on the firm’s Professional Services Committee and chair of its United Way Campaign. Bruce is regularly a member of the board of directors on portfolio companies for private equity investors and Canadian subsidiary companies. Bruce has a B.Sc. Econ. from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and an LL.B. from U of T. He is an alumni interviewer for prospective U Penn students. Bruce joined the RSGC Board in 2012. His two sons attend RSGC: Spencer (Class of 2019) and Devin (Class of 2021).

Brad has been Special Advisor to the TVM Group, an integrated real estate company, since February 2019. From 2014 to 2018 Brad was Special Advisor at George Weston Limited and prior to this spent 20 years as Senior Vice President, Taxation for George Weston Limited, Loblaw Companies Limited and their subsidiaries providing advice on Canadian and international tax planning and structuring, M&A, divestitures and financing, and was a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Brad is also s former Investment Committee member for District Ventures Capital. Brad graduated with a BA and MAcc from the University of Waterloo and is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA, CMA). Brad’s sons Ryan and Owen graduated from RSGC in the Class of 2014 and 2017 respectively.

Peter is the Co-Chief Executive Officer of Grayhawk Wealth. Since 2011, he was the Executive Vice-President, Co-Chief Investment Officer and Head of Equities at Gluskin Sheff, and also acted as a Portfolio Manager focusing on US equities. He also has experience as a US Analyst and Portfolio Manager and as the manager of a private investment partnership focusing on long/short US equities. Peter joined the RSGC board in 2018 and has three boys at the College: Hutton, Class of 2023; Elliott, Class of 2025; and Tillson, Class of 2028.

Alyssa Pei is a Partner at Bain & Company, a global management consulting firm. She has over 20 years’ experience with a focus on serving clients in the Financial Services across a range of topics including strategy and organization. She is also currently on the College’s Strategic Planning Committee. She brings prior board experience in the educational arena, and most recently serving as Vice-Chair for The Chewonki Foundation. Chewonki is a place-based educational learning organization in Wisscasset, Maine and a US 501(c) non-profit organization. Alyssa holds an A.B. and an A.M from Harvard University and an MBA from the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business. She has two boys at the College: Alexander, Class of 2024 and Henry, Class of 2025.

Dr. Leanne Foster is Head of School at Trafalgar Castle School, an all-girls’ day and boarding school in Whitby, Ont. A dedicated and experienced educator, Leanne’s career in teaching and consulting has taken her from kindergarten classrooms to university lecture halls to government ministries, working in both public and independent schools, as well as the private sector. Leanne earned a B.A. from the University of Toronto, as well as a B.Ed. and M.Ed. from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE/UT).  She completed her Ph.D. in Educational Administration at U of T, where her doctoral research focused on school improvement and educational change management. Leanne is a member of the board of the Canadian Accredited Independent Schools, Hearth Place Cancer Support Centre, and Station Gallery. 

Sharon has been nominated for over six Canadian Screen Awards  that range from Best Director to Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Host.  Her career in the arts is successful across multiple platforms. She has directed over 100 hours of popular television, appearing on HBO,CRAVE, TMN, HGTV, CBC, DISCOVERY and I.D. She began her acting career in the title role of Rude, an official Cannes selection. Sharon co-wrote and directed the Dora nominated, smash hit play, Sistahs which ran in the US, Canada and internationally. She hosted CBC’s live political talk show, counterSpin, and their interactive tv show Zed, nominated for several CSA awards. Sharon directed the award winning short film, Chains airing on HBO and internationally.  Sharon recently directed her double CSA-nominated feature film; Brown Girl Begins. Most recently Sharon helmed an episode of CBC’s hour drama, Diggstown and Murdoch Mysteries. She joined the RSGC Board in 2019. Her son Pi is in the Class of 2022.

Richard Talbot is a corporate director with more than 25 years experience as a senior executive in financial services. He was most recently Chief Operating Officer of RBC Capital Markets, a top-10 global investment bank. Prior to this role, Richard was Co-Head of Global Research and a top-ranked telecom services research analyst with RBC CM. He is a past director of RBC subsidiary companies, the CFA Society Toronto and currently chairs CFAST’s Advisory Council. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and a Chartered Financial Analyst. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in business administration from the Ivey Business School. His son David is in the Class of 2024.

Amanda is CEO of Smak Impact Agency, specializing in community, consumer and employee engagement. Prior to Smak, she held executive positions for several organization in Toronto, New York and Chicago, including Shaw, MediaCom, Pelmorex and the Interpublic Group of Cos. Amanda holds a B.S. in Journalism from the William Allen White School at the University of Kansas and completed the executive leadership program at INSEAD. She is the mother of Nicholas (class of 2019), Cate (Branksome 2021) and Christopher (class of 2023).

Eddie Beqaj '08 is a senior sales executive with seven years experience in B2B SaaS sales. Eddie’s focus has been on developing strategic relationships with enterprise clients. He graduated from RSGC in 2008 as a prefect and holds a Bachelor of Sports Management from Brock University. Eddie has been on the RSGC Alumni Executive Committee since 2013, becoming President in 2020 after four years as Vice President. Eddie played an instrumental role in building out the RSGCAA's five-year Strategic Plan and is excited to connect the RSGCAA with the Board of Governors over his time as President. 

Stephen Beatty became the 6th RSGC Headmaster in 2011. Steve’s association with the College began in 1976 as a Grade 4 student. A Lifer graduate of 1986, Steve was the President of the Alumni Association from 2000-2002 and a Governor on the RSGC Board from 2003-2010. Before returning to RSGC as Headmaster, Steve was the Head of School at Montcrest from 2006-2011. Steve is also a proud RSGC parent to sons Jack '22 and Finn '25.