CHERYL BARKER

PUBLIC SECTOR PENSION INVESTMENT BOARD (PSP INVESTMENTS)

Prior to becoming chair of one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers, with $82 billion of assets under management, Cheryl Barker built an extensive career in telecommunications. She spent 19 years with Manitoba Telecom Services, serving as president from 2004 to 2006, when she retired from the company and joined PSP Investments.

“Being prime on the successful launch of MTS; taking it from a provincial Crown corporation to a publicly traded entity.”

“One barrier is the ‘comfort issue’ and the tendency for ‘like to hire like.’ Secondly, the form-over-substance issue exists: In order to show progress, some entities have created the illusion of female leadership with statistics that belie the distribution of power and influence. To improve representation at the senior levels, (i) at least one strong female candidate should be on the short list; and (ii) if necessary, targets may be required and tied to compensation. However, hiring and promoting should always be based on merit.”

Julia Foster has achieved many career highs, including driving the financial turnaround of The Stratford Festival as its first female board chair, rallying corporate funding for Canadian Olympic Athletes as president of the Olympic Trust of Canada and serving as chair of the National Arts Centre Board of Governors.

“Serving as the first female Chair of York University’s Board of Governors. The university is at an inflection point with the opening of our new Lassonde School of Engineering, and a new campus for Schulich’s School of Business MBA program in Hyderabad, India.”

“I used to believe that there needed to be quotas. But now I think promoting the great number of capable women who could be directors, making gender one of the annual measures of successful board governance and increasing the number of female shareholders at annual meetings is the path forward.”

In addition to serving as COO of a global investment firm with approximately $36 billion of assets under management, Judy Goldring is also a member of its board of directors and serves on several key committees, helping set strategic direction.

“I am most proud of being appointed to the board of AGF Management and as chair of governing council for the University of Toronto.”

“My father always demonstrated to me a compassion for dealing with people and a willingness to help people. He acted as a mentor to so many that he was an inspiration to me.”

“Energetic — because I am always on the go, by choice. I am blessed with high energy, a curiosity and an openness to explore, which has afforded me great opportunities and challenges in life.”

“In the short run, all companies should be ensuring they have a fair representation of women candidates in all board member searches. In the midterm, the ‘comply or explain’ approach should improve women’s opportunities, and in the longer term, we need to be prepared to accept quotas if required to attain that objective.”

Catherine Karakatsanis brings extensive engineering and management experience to her role as COO, member of the board and secretary at Morrison Hershfield, an employee-owned (Top 100 North American Engineering firm) consulting engineering and management firm.

“I am very grateful that I chose a profession that I truly find rewarding and that makes a difference. I amproud that I have found acceptance and success in this male-dominated field, both within my firm as the first female partner, the first female executive and first female board member, and the profession at large, having been elected the chair of three regulatory and advocacy engineering organizations in Ontario and Canada.”

“Increased awareness and recognition of the value of women on boards will help. Many recent studies have shown that companies with female

A chartered professional accountant, Kathleen O’Neill was one of the first female partners at PwC, a role she held until 1994 when she joined BMO Financial Group, where she became an executive vice-president. A certified director, she teaches the Institute of CorporateDirectors’ Audit CommitteeEffectivenesscourseandservesonitsOntarioAdvisoryCouncil.

Interim Chair of the Board