Canadian Chapter of the CFO Leadership Network

Chief Financial Officer and General Manager of Finance, Risk, and Supply Chain Management, City of Vancouver

Patrice oversees all aspects of finance, accounting, treasury, risk, and supply chain management for the City.

Patrice holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s in Business Administration degree, and has over 20 years’ experience in senior financial and operational management positions in the private and public sectors.

Chief Financial and Strategy Officer, OMERS

Jonathan joined OMERS in January 2014 as CFO, with responsibility for operating planning, financial reporting, investment valuations, actuarial matters, financing and tax, adding responsibility for strategic planning and asset-liability management in 2021. Founded in 1962, OMERS is one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans, with $105 billion in net assets and more than half a million members as at December 31, 2020.  Prior to joining OMERS, Jonathan was a Partner at PwC for more than a decade, where he led PwC Canada’s insurance practice. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom and is a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. 

Jonathan is a director of Economic Investment Trust, a TSX-listed investment company and a founding member of the Canadian Chapter of A4S.

Chief Financial Officer, Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.

Claude Tessier, CPA, CA, joined Alimentation Couche-Tard as Chief Financial Officer on January 28, 2016. Prior to joining Couche-Tard, Mr. Tessier held the position of President of the IGA Operations Business Unit at Sobeys Inc. from 2012 to 2016 and was a member of Sobeys Inc. Executive Committee. Mr. Tessier joined the management team of Sobeys Quebec Inc. in 2003 as Senior Vice President, Finance & Strategic Planning. Mr. Tessier has spent most of his professional career in the Food industry after serving in several finance positions. Prior to his position with Sobeys Inc., Mr. Tessier gained more than 15 years of experience in senior financial leadership positions with Fly Furniture, Provigo and Costco, including in CFO and Vice President roles. He has also held management positions with Mallette International and PricewaterhouseCoopers (formerly Coopers & Lybrand).

Mr. Tessier is a member of the Board or Directors of the TMX Group Limited since September 2020. He is also a member of its Finance and Audit Committee, as well as its Derivates Committee.

Mr. Tessier is Chairman of the Circle K AS Board of Directors, the European division operating Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA, the retail gasoline filling stations. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Maison de la Sérénité de Laval which provides free of charge quality palliative care and he participates, on a yearly basis, in its fundraising campaign,

Mr. Tessier holds a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal (1986) and has been a member of the Ordre des comptables professionnels agrées du Québec since 1987.

Managing Partner, Chief Financial Officer, Brookfield Asset Management

Nicholas Goodman is a Managing Partner and Chief Financial Officer of Brookfield Asset Management, responsible for Brookfield's global finance, treasury, risk management and technology functions. 

Mr. Goodman joined Brookfield in London in 2010 and has held several finance roles across the organization. Most recently he served as Treasurer of Brookfield Asset Management and prior to that was Chief Financial Officer of Brookfield Renewable Partners. Prior to joining Brookfield, Mr. Goodman worked for several large financial institutions in London and New York.

Mr. Goodman holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Accounting and Finance from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, and is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited

Gregory Craig was appointed Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) in March 2020. In this role, Gregory will help advance CTC’s One Company, One Customer strategy and lead the Company’s efforts to achieve its stated financial aspirations.

Prior to his current position, Gregory was President, Canadian Tire Financial Services (CTFS) and President and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Tire Bank, responsible for the overall strategic direction and growth for the Financial Services division. During his tenure at CTFS, he achieved double digit receivables growth and led the successful launch of the Triangle credit card program.

Since joining CTC in 1994, Gregory has held several progressively senior finance roles, including serving as CFO of SportChek and Mark’s following his integral role in the acquisition of SportChek in 2012, and as CFO of Canadian Tire’s Retail segment. Prior to that, Gregory was Vice-President, Finance at CTC where he was accountable for the external reporting and accounting/finance operations across the Company.

Gregory also previously served as Senior Vice-President of Financial Planning and Analysis, where he was responsible for overseeing all aspects of financial planning, analysis and performance management, and for providing financial and business counsel to divisional and functional leadership teams across the Company.

Gregory is a CPA and CMA and holds an MBA from York University and a BBA from Brock University. In 2019, Gregory received the Brock University Distinguished Alumni Award.

Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

Maarika is responsible for monitoring financial performance, completing treasury operations, applying best practices in financial governance, and managing business services. She also oversees HR and talent management activities. She is a member of the Executive Committee, in addition to being a member of the Board of Ivanhoé Cambridge, the institution’s global real estate subsidiary.

Maarika is a Fellow Chartered Accountant (FCPA, FCA) and a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) with more than 30 years of experience in financial management. She initially spent 10 years with KPMG. In 1994, she joined BCE, where she worked until 2011. Her responsibilities included, in particular, performance evaluation of BCE subsidiaries, financial planning, mergers and acquisitions and investor relations. She was also Senior Vice-President, Corporate Communications and, subsequently, Senior Vice-President, Corporate Services.  She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Accounting) from McGill University.
 

Senior Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, CIBC

Hratch Panossian has overall responsibility for strategy and corporate development, financial planning and analysis, financial, management and regulatory reporting, maintenance of accounting records, tax planning and compliance, treasury and balance sheet management and investor relations.

Hratch was most recently Global Controller. Before that, he held leadership roles in areas including Strategy and Corporate Development and Treasury where he oversaw balance sheet management activities across capital management, asset liability management and the bank’s investment portfolios.

Before joining CIBC, Hratch held strategy and corporate development roles at a large North American bank. He was also a management consultant with Oliver Wyman’s Finance practice where he focused on corporate finance, strategy, treasury, capital markets and risk management. He began his career in Silicon Valley, holding technical and business roles in a successful fintech venture.

Hratch serves on the Board of NPower Canada, as well as the Board and Finance Committee of the Writers’ Trust of Canada. He holds a master’s degree from Stanford University and an undergraduate engineering degree from McGill University.

Executive Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, The Co-operators Group

Karen is responsible for the financial management, strategic planning, and corporate development for the group of companies.

Karen brings almost two decades of leadership and management experience in the financial field, holding previous roles with Clarica, Sun Life Financial and Seniors Money Limited, before joining The Co-operators Group in 2008, as Vice-President, Corporate Finance. In 2011 she took on the role of Vice-President Finance, Property and Casualty Operations (CGIC, COSECO, CUMIS General), and in 2017 she led the finance team within the Life operations (CLIC and CUMIS Life) where she oversaw the financial analysis and actuarial valuation of the organizations in support of business strategies, initiatives and operations.

Karen earned her Chartered Director designation through The Directors College in 2016 and her Chartered Professional Accountant designation in 1990. In addition to her Honours BA and Business diploma from Wilfrid Laurier University, she completed Harvard Business School’s Leadership program and the Change Management program from Wharton Business School.

She is actively involved in her community as the Chairperson of St. Joseph's Health Centre Foundation.

Chief Financial Officer, Manulife

Phil became Chief Financial Officer in January 2018. In this role, he is responsible for the global financial affairs of the Company including, Capital Management, Treasury, Controllership, Taxation, Investor Relations and Reinsurance activities. He is a member of the Company’s Executive Leadership Team and is based in the Company’s headquarters in Toronto, Canada.

Phil joined Manulife in 2014 and has 20 years of experience in insurance and financial services, in both developed and emerging markets within Asia. Prior to joining Manulife, Phil led finance in Asia Pacific for the Retail Banking and Wealth Management business of a major international bank having earlier served as the Deputy Regional Chief Financial Officer for its Asian insurance businesses. Previously, Phil was Vice President Finance at a major international insurer, based in Hong Kong. He also spent a decade with one of the big four professional services networks, based in London and Hong Kong, specializing in financial services audit and advisory services, with a particular focus on life insurance clients.

Phil holds a Bachelor of Science in Geography with first class honors from the University of Durham (United Kingdom), an Executive MBA jointly awarded by the University of Edinburgh Management School (United Kingdom) and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (Paris, France). He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (FCA) and the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FCPA).
 

Chief Financial Officer, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Tim Deacon is the Chief Financial Officer at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, responsible for financial and management reporting; taxation; valuation, risk analytics and model valuation; financial operations; investor relations and strategic initiatives.

Tim has more than 20 years of senior management experience in financial management and global investments. He was most recently Group Controller and Global Chief Accounting Officer at Manulife Financial. Previously he was CFO of Manulife's Global Wealth and Asset Management businesses and held other senior executive roles across Finance, Risk, Strategy and Operations. Prior to Manulife, Tim was a director at PwC LLP in the Global Capital Markets Group based in Toronto and London.

Tim is an Ontario Chartered Professional Accountant and a U.S. Certified Public Accountant. In 2013, he was awarded the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario ‘Award of Distinction’. He is currently a board member of CPA Canada’s Canadian Performance Reporting Board and a board member and treasurer of Business / Arts.  He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University.