Executive and board of directors

Our executive management team is accountable to the Canadian Blood Services board of directors and responsible for ensuring we operate within the policy and strategy framework approved by the board.

Members of our board of directors are appointed by the provincial and territorial ministers of health. The board is responsible for the organization’s governance, overall affairs, strategic plan, budget and reporting on Canadian Blood Services’ performance to the corporate members.

All topics in governance

Our Executive Management Team

Our executive management team has 11 senior members: 10 vice-presidents and our CEO. The CEO is the most senior executive—accountable to our board of directors and responsible for ensuring we operate within the policy and strategy framework approved by the board.

Our Board Members

Our board of directors consists of 13 directors who are elected by Canada’s provincial and territorial Ministers of Health, except Québec. The role of the board is to broadly oversee Canadian Blood Services’ management and direction.

Dr. Brian Postl

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Chair
Dean, College of Medicine, University of Manitoba
Dean and Vice-Provost, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
Chair, Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada
Executive Board Member, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba
Board Member, Manitoba Blue Cross
Member, Alberta Health Services Quality & Safety Committee
Member, Council of Deputy Ministers Physician Resource Planning Task Force
Member, Harkness Fellowship Selection Committee
Member, Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Selection Committee
Former President and CEO, Winnipeg Regional Health Authority
Recipient, Order of Manitoba
Recipient, 2017 McNaught Taillon Leadership Award
Recipient of the Order of Canada

Robert (Bob) Adkins

Winnipeg, Manitoba

Corporate Director
Partner, Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP
Former Lecturer in Municipal and Planning Law, University of Manitoba
Former Chair of the Board, Winnipeg Blood Transfusion Service Centre Inc.
Former Chair, Criminal Code Review Board of Manitoba
Former Cabinet Co-Chair, Specialized Services for Children and Youth
Former Vice-Chair, Amadeus Steen Foundation
Named a leading lawyer in the 2008-2018 Canadian Legal Expert Directory, Property Development
Named a leading lawyer in the 2012-2018 Canadian Legal Expert Directory, Aboriginal Law

Marilyn Barrett

Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

Corporate director
Director, Health and Wellness Centre, University of Prince Edward Island
Chair of the board of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of Atlantic Canada
Treasurer/Secretary, Prince Edward Island Funeral Services and Professions Board
Member, Patient and Community Advisory Committee at CADTH
Member, Granting Committee of the Community Foundation of Prince Edward Island
Former Director of Primary Care and Chronic Disease Prevention and Management for Health PEI
Former Manager, Implementation and Change Management for the CIS Project (implementing electronic health records in Prince Edward Island)
Former Chief Nursing Officer in community hospitals and continuing care,
Former Director, Acute & Continuing Care in rural community hospital, home care and long-term care settings
Former clinical instructor and coordinator, School of Nursing, University of Prince Edward Island
Surveyor with Accreditation Canada

Kelly Butt

London, Ontario

Corporate Director
Former Member, Empire Life Investments Inc., Independent Review Committee
Former Volunteer Trustee, Hazel Cryderman-Wees Foundation
Former Chair of the Board, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan
Former Chair of the Board, London Health Sciences Centre
Former Chair of the Board, Lawson Health Research Institute
Former Board Member, The CUMIS Group, Renasant Financial
Former Senior Vice-President, Information Services, London Life Insurance Company

Bobby Kwon

Toronto, Ontario

Corporate Director
President & CEO, Canadian Commercial Corporation
Former Chief Financial Officer Medipharm Labs Corp.
Former Senior Vice President, Office of Executive Chairman, George Weston Ltd.
Former Vice President, Finance, North America Customer Development, Unilever PLC and NV (USA)
Former Chief Financial Officer, Unilever PLC and NV (UK)
Former Vice President & Chief of Staff, Office of CEO & Global Foods Director, Unilever PLC and NV (UK & Netherlands)
Board Member, Canadian Commercial Corporation
Former Board (Council) Member, Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario
Former Board member, GS1 – Retail Sector

David Lehberg

Toronto, Ontario

Corporate Director
Founder & Chairman, Knightstone Capital Management Inc.
Chair, McGill University Faculty of Arts, Advisory Council
Former Member, Board of Directors of the Writers Trust of Canada
2007-2008 Co-Chair of the National Advisory Committee for Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Awareness at Canadian Blood Services, One Match
2012-2014 National Co Chair of For All Canadians public Cord Blood Bank Campaign at Canadian Blood Services

Gertie Mai Muise

Toronto, ON and St. George’s NL

Corporate Director
Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
Vice Chair, Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services
Atlantic Representative, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit+ (MMIWG 2S+) National Action Plan, Urban Working Group
Atlantic Representative, National Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Advisory Circle
Former Medical Services Director, Western Health Authority NL
Former Executive Director, Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw First Nation Health Authority, Ulnooweg Development
Former CEO, Indigenous Primary Health Care Council
Former Associate Director, Southern Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre
Former Senior Health Planner, Weeneebayko Health Authority
Former Community Lead, Our Health Counts Ontario Governance Committee and Knowledge Exchange
Former Co-Chair, Indigenous Primary Health Care Engagement Table with Ontario Ministry of Health
Former Co-Chair, Indigenous

Anne McFarlane

Saanichton, British Columbia

Corporate Director
Board Member Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada
Former Member, Providence Healthcare Board
Former Member, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Services Research
Deputy Chair, Medical Services Commission of British Columbia
Member, Canadian Heart Health Strategy
Former Assistant Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health British Columbia
Former Vice-President (Western Canada), Canadian Institute for Health Information

David Morhart

North Saanich, British Columbia

Corporate Director
Executive Vice President, Corporate & Investor Relations, BC Investment Management Corporation
Former Deputy Minister, Service Alberta
Former Deputy Minister, Alberta Human Services and Community & Social Services
Former Deputy Minister, Alberta Enterprise & Advanced Education
Former Deputy Minister, Alberta Infrastructure
Former Chief, Oil Sands Strategy and Operations, Alberta Energy
Former Deputy Minister, B.C. Ministry of Social Development
Former Public Security Commissioner and Deputy Solicitor General, B.C. Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
Former CEO, B.C. Ambulance Service
Chair, FamilySmart
Former Chair and Board Member, Institute of Public Administration of Canada

Judy Steele

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Corporate Director
President and chief operating officer, Emera Energy Inc.
Director, The Halifax Port Authority and chair of its audit committee
Director, Film Nova Scotia and chair of its audit committee
Governor of St. Francis Xavier University
National chair, board of directors, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation
Director, 2011 Canada Winter Games
Director, Pier 21 Society, Canada’s Immigration Museum
Treasurer, Metro United Way
Member, Nova Scotia Special Olympics Summer Games
Recipient, CA of the Year Award, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nova Scotia, for outstanding community leadership

Donnie Wing

Victoria, British Columbia

Corporate Director
Vice Chair, Victoria Hospitals Foundation
Board member, S.U.C.C.E.S.S. (one of the largest social services agencies in B.C.)
Board member, B.C. Financial Services Authority
Former board member, Healthcare Benefit Trust
Former President & CEO, Healthcare Benefit Trust
Former Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs, Insurance Corporation of B.C.
Former Chief Financial Officer, Insurance Corporation of B.C.
Former Senior Vice President Insurance, Marketing and Underwriting, Insurance Corporation of B.C.
Former, Vice President Investment and Corporate Development, Insurance Corporation of B.C.
Former Vice President Strategy and Planning, Insurance Corporation of B.C.
Former Vice President Corporate Planning and Change Services, Insurance Corporation of B.C.
Acting Director & Senior Policy Advisor, Province of B.C. Crown Corporations Secretariat

Glenda Yeates

Ottawa, Ontario

Vice Chair
Corporate Director
Former Deputy Minister of Health Canada
Former President and CEO of the Canadian Institute for Health Information
Former Deputy Minister of Health for Saskatchewan
Current Board member, Alberta Health Services
Recipient of the Order of Canada

Board appointments

Appointed by the provincial and territorial ministers of health, the board includes:

a chair of the board
four regional nominees
six nominees from the medical, scientific, technical, business and public health sectors
two nominees with relevant consumer experience

The board meets at least six times per year; two of those meetings are open to the public.

Each board director serves for a term of four years.

The CEO provides advice and counsel to the board of directors on all organizational matters and leads our management, staff and volunteer teams.