GPC Consolidated Biographies – Co-op and Credit Union Governance Summit

Sharon Alford

President/Chair of the Board, Federated Co-operatives Limited

Sharon Alford was first elected to the Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL) Board in 2013 and was elected President/Chair of the Board in 2019. FCL is a wholesaling, manufacturing, marketing and administrative co-operative owned by more than 160 independent local co-operative associations. Sharon is one of the directors elected by District 5 and has primary responsibility for ten Retail members located in the northwestern part of Manitoba.

Sharon is a member of the Governance Committee and serves as ex-officio on all other Board Committees. In addition, Sharon is the Board’s representative to Manitoba Cooperative Association, The Co-operators, and the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives.

Sharon was first elected to the Board of Directors of Swan Valley Co-op in 2002, where she served on various committees and as President from 2004 to 2013. Sharon began her career in the financial services industry and later farming and agribusiness.

Sharon holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the , where she majored in Economics, and a Diploma in Agriculture from Nova Scotia Agricultural College. In 2017, Sharon received her Professional Director designation following the successful completion of Governance Solutions’ Professional Director Certification Program.

L. Robin Cardozo, FCPA, ICD.D

Former CEO, Trillium Foundation; Former Chair, Ontario Non- Profit Network

L. Robin Cardozo, FCPA, ICD.D, recently retired after 30 years in executive positions with leading not-for-profit and charitable organizations in Ontario. He is currently engaged as an executive-in-residence at the Rotman School of Management, as an executive mentor, and as a training consultant at the Institute of Corporate Directors. Mr. Cardozo currently serves on the Boards of the Ontario Nonprofit Network (past chair), Soulpepper Theatre and the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund. In the recent past, he served on the Boards of Centennial College and Bridgepoint Active Health. Prior to his retirement, Mr. Cardozo served as Chief Operating Officer at SickKids Foundation. In this position, Robin’s responsibilities included Finance, Legal, Human Resources, and support to the Board on governance and strategic issues.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Robin served for twelve years as Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), one of Canada’s largest grant-making foundations with a mission to help build healthy and vibrant communities in Ontario. OTF is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and during Robin’s tenure more than $1 billion in grants were made to deserving not-for-profit organizations across the province.

For a decade before that, Mr. Cardozo served as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of United Way Greater Toronto. During those years, Mr. Cardozo’s leadership earned him the United Way movement’s highest national honour, the André Mailhot Award.

Mr. Cardozo was born in Pakistan and was educated in Pakistan and in Britain. He was trained as a Chartered Accountant in the 1970’s and was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario (FCPA) in 2000. He is also a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D).

In 2013, he was awarded the Ontario Lieutenant Governor’s Medal of Distinction in Public Administration.

Karen Farbridge

Board Chair, Meridian Credit Union and Motus Bank

Karen Farbridge has served on boards in Canada’s public, private, co- operative, and non-profit sectors. She served for 17 years in municipal politics including eleven years as the mayor of Guelph, Ontario.

She currently serves as the Chair of Meridian Credit Union and its subsidiary, motusbank. During her 6- year tenure on the Meridian Board she has served on the Audit & Finance, Risk, Human Resources and Governance Committees. She is currently completing her third year as Chair. Additionally, she serves as Vice-Chair of QUEST, a national energy-related non-profit, and Silence, a small performing arts space in her community.

Karen Farbridge leads a consultancy based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. She advises federal, provincial, and municipal policy makers and industry leaders on sustainability and resiliency. Her key area of expertise is managing complex, multi-stakeholder policy and decision-making environments. She has also taught several undergraduate, graduate, and professional development courses in urban sustainability at both the University of Guelph and York University.

She has a PhD in zoology from the University of Guelph and is a Chartered Director from the Directors’ College, McMaster University. She is the recipient of several awards for her contributions in the public interest.

Matt Fullbrook Manager, David and Sharon Johnston Centre for Corporate Governance Innovation, Rotman School of Management

Matt Fullbrook is a board effectiveness researcher and consultant and is the manager of the David & Sharon Johnston Centre for Corporate Governance Innovation at the Rotman School of Management. Under his direction, the Rotman School has evolved into the central hub of governance research in Canada. Matt oversaw the development and execution of all of the Centre’s projects, including the Globe & Mail's Board Games governance ratings, various Pay/Performance studies, credit union board research, and an ongoing study of the governance of family firms. As an independent consultant, Matt has advised dozens of boards of directors as an educator, facilitator and researcher, helping them to maximize their effectiveness through the development and implementation of valuable governance processes, policies and structures.

Kevin Harding

National Spokesperson of the Save MEC campaign, Policy Analyst and Advisor to co-ops and social enterprises

Kevin Harding is a policy analyst, co-op advocate, and advisor to co-ops and credit unions across Canada. With experience building and growing co-ops ranging from worker co-ops to community investment co-ops, he’s passionate about an economic model that can democratize and build on the strength of community. A member of MEC since the early 2000s, he worked alongside thousands of other member- owners to campaign for the idea of the co-op.

John Harvie

Chairperson, Board of Directors, The Co-operators

John Harvie joined The Co-operators board in April 2011. He became chairperson of the board in 2014 and is a member of the Risk and Compensation Committee. He is the former chairperson of the CEO Search and Audit committees. John served in the capacities of alternate delegate or delegate to The Co-operators representing former member Co-op Atlantic from November 2006 to April 2011.

John serves on the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council board of directors as an appointed representative of The Co-operators. He retired from Co-op Atlantic in 2011, where he held the position of CEO. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from Macdonald College of McGill University. John is a recipient of the Global Co-operator Award from the Co-operative Development Foundation of Canada.

George Hofheimer

Founder, Hofheimer Strategy Advisors

George Hofheimer has 20+ years experience advising the consumer finance industry. He was the head of research and development at Filene Research Institute, the credit union industry's think tank, for 15 years. Previously he was the chief learning officer at CUES, the credit union industry’s leading executive education association for 8 years.

George has conducted nearly 400 advisory and speaking engagements with consumer finance organizations across the globe and authored dozens of research reports. He began his career in international business development, including as a member of the first group of Peace Corps Volunteers in the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan. George obtained his MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Frank Lowery

Former SVP and General Counsel, The Co-operators

Frank Lowery joined The Co-operators Group Limited as counsel in 1986. Prior to this he had worked for five years at two different Life Insurance Companies, one Canadian and one American. When he retired as Senior VP, General Counsel and Associate Secretary at the end of 2017, he had worked for The Co-operators for 31 years and had been the longest serving Corporate Secretary (25 years). He has his honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the (University College), his law degree (Juris Doctor) from the same university and his Master of Laws degree from the University of Leicester.

Frank became quite engaged with the co-operative movement through the Ontario Co-operative Association (Chairperson of the Government Relations Committee), the Canadian Cooperative Association (member of the policy committee), and his work on behalf of the sector and The Co-operators in lobbying for legislative change to promote the co-operative form of enterprise. He is currently the North American representative (pro bono) for the International Co-operative Association. Frank has advocated for co- operatives, but more specifically for legislation which recognize the unique characteristics of co- operatives which differentiate them from investor-owned companies.

Karen Miner

Managing Director, International Centre for Co-operative Management (Saint Mary’s University); Board Vice-President, Co- operatives and Mutuals Canada

Karen Miner’s focus in on values-based businesses, with an emphasis on co- operative and credit unions. She is all about building networks, combined with sharing and exchanging knowledge. Karen has expertise in a wide range of areas - governance, strategy, business management, systems thinking, and even the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Her work experience has spanned co-operatives, non-profits, profit-oriented organizations, and government.

She is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), certified director (ICD.D - Institute of Corporate Directors; ACCUD - credit union system (Canada)), and Adjunct Professor teaching co-operative enterprises at Saint Mary’s University. Since 2012, Karen’s day job is as Managing Director and Governance Researcher for the International Centre for Co-operative Management which involves local to global relationship and partnership building; online teaching (co-op innovation, management, governance); traveling to co-operative hot spots; and leading within and beyond the industry.

Karen has also served on a number of Boards including Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (since 2017), Ecology Action Centre, Credit Union Atlantic (since 2014 and currently Board Chair), Mountain Equipment Co-op (2006 to 2012), and the Canadian Co-operative Association (2010 to 2013). She organized an International Symposium on Governance (2013, again in 2021), co-edited a global governance report for the International Co-operative Alliance (2015), and is presently work on an international co-operative governance project (2019-2022).

Marc-André Pigeon

Assistant Professor Managing Director, International Centre for Co- operative Management (Saint Mary’s University); Board Vice- President, Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada

Marc-André Pigeon is an assistant professor in the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy and director of the Canadian Centre for the Study of Co-operatives. His research interests center around the study of co- operatives, banking, and fiscal and monetary policy. Prior to joining Johnson Shoyama, Marc-Andre worked as assistant vice president of financial sector policy at the Canadian Credit Union Association, where he was responsible for monitoring, researching and advocating on behalf of credit unions.

He has also served as an advisor at the federal Department of Finance, a lead analyst for the Senate Banking and House of Commons Finance Committees, an economist at the Levy Economics Institute, and a business reporter for Bloomberg Business News. Marc-André holds a PhD from in Mass Communications, a Master’s Degree in economics from the University of , and a journalism degree from Carleton University. He has helped form a daycare co-operative and served served on a number of co-operative boards, including the Co-operative Development Foundation (CDF), Saskatchewan Co-operative Association (SCA), the Ottawa Renewable Energy Co-operative (OREC), the Canadian Association for Studies in Cooperation (CASC), the Centre for Excellence in Accounting and Reporting on Co-operatives (CEARC), and the advisory board to the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives (before taking over as director).

Sheldon Stener, QC

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Federated Co-operatives Limited (FCL)

Sheldon Stener is General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Federated Co- operatives Limited (FCL), overseeing the Legal, Compliance and Governance Department. He is also FCL’s Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Privacy Officer. As General Counsel, Sheldon provides legal and strategic advice to the CEO and the Board of Directors. As Corporate Secretary, a role he has held since 2013, Sheldon is responsible for overseeing and providing guidance and direction with respect to the governance of FCL and its subsidiaries.

Sheldon graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies in 1987 and obtained his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Saskatchewan in 1990. He was called to the Saskatchewan Bar in 1991.Sheldon has served on a number of boards and currently sits on the Board of Co-operatives First and GPC. He is a former member of the National Executive of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association and is a member of the Governance Professionals of Canada. He served for three years as a shortlisting judge for the Governance Professionals of Canada’s Excellence in Governance Awards.

Rita Trichur

Staff, Senior Business Writer and Columnist, The Globe and Mail Inc.

Rita Trichur is an award-winning journalist. She is a Senior Business Writer and Columnist in the Report on Business. Her previous roles at The Globe and Mail include Senior Editor, Financial Services Editor, and Canadian business columnist for the Report on Business Magazine. Rita returned to Globe in July 2016 after spending about 2 ½ years as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal’s Canada bureau. She primarily covered domestic banks and insurance companies from Toronto, but also wrote a variety of other stories about Canada for the U.S. newspaper.

Prior to WSJ, Rita spent more than three years at the Globe, initially working as a general assignment reporter in the Report on Business before covering the telecom beat. Rita has also covered financial services and economics for the Toronto Star, and has held various roles at the Canadian Press and the Ottawa Sun. She got her first byline at age 6 when the Toronto Star published her short story about a fish- stealing cat and paid her $10. Rita, who also speaks French, was born in Toronto. She has a Bachelor of Journalism and Political Science and a M.A. in Canadian Studies – both from Carleton University in Ottawa.