McMichael Canadian Art
Foundation Board
The McMichael Canadian Art Foundation is a registered charity established in 1995 to raise funds and to invest endowment capital to support the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
The Foundation works collaboratively with the Board of Trustees in setting and achieving fundraising goals to ensure that the McMichael thrives as the only Gallery devoted to the art of Canada. The Foundation executes its mandate through regular meetings and is currently supported by three standing committees: Governance and Nominating, Investment, and Development.
Foundation Board Members
Andrew W. Dunn
Chair
Andrew Dunn, Chair
Andrew W. Dunn is the Founder and Managing Partner of Canadian Shield Capital, a private equity investment and advisory firm focused on building great Canadian businesses with strong management teams.
Andrew began his career at Deloitte, where he spent 27 years, ultimately serving as Vice Chair of Deloitte Canada and Chair of its Client Cabinet, responsible for the firm’s largest client and government relationships. He played numerous roles on the firm’s Canadian and global executive teams, including Managing Partner of Tax in Canada. Andrew co-authored The Future of Productivity, research aimed at improving business productivity. Andrew has delivered expert testimony before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance and the Senate Standing Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. His love for business and entrepreneurial spirit lead him to co-found Altas Partners in 2012, serving initially as Chief Operating Officer and Co-Managing Partner.
Andrew serves on the boards of the Children’s Aid Foundation, the Upper Canada College Foundation, and a number of public and private companies, including Hatch, Canada’s largest private engineering company. He is a Chartered Accountant (FCPA, FCA) and holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Accounting from the University of Waterloo. Andrew and his wife, Christine, live in Toronto with their two sons, Charlie and Liam.
Mark Bursey
Vice Chair
Mark Bursey, Vice Chair
Mark Bursey is a partner in the Halifax office of Stewart McKelvey, one of the 16 largest law firms in Canada with more than 220 lawyers. Mark’s law practice is primarily focused on corporate reorganization and acquisitions with an emphasis on corporate income tax. Mark is currently the Past Chair of the Board of Governors of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and is a former Board Chair of one of Canada’s oldest independent schools. Mark is a member of The Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and has completed the Directors Education Program. Newfoundland-born, Mark resides in Halifax with his wife, Jane, and two teenage children.
Chris Bredt
Treasurer
Chris Bredt
Chris Bredt is a senior litigation partner practising in the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. Chris practises civil litigation, with an emphasis on commercial disputes, corporate governance and other corporate disputes, class actions, constitutional, Indigenous, and administrative law issues. He is the Chair of BLG’s National Public Law Group, and was selected by peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in Canada and recognized in Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada. He has appeared as counsel before all levels of the courts in Ontario, and before the Federal Court of Appeal, British Columbia Court of Appeal, and on numerous cases before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Chris has a B.A. and LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario, an LL.M. from Yale, and a D.S.U. (Droit Administratif) from the Université de Paris II. Chris joined BLG in 1984, and became a partner 1988; he was seconded to the Government of Ontario from 1989-93, where he served as Assistant Deputy Minister, Office of Federal Provincial Relations and as Assistant Deputy Minister, Constitutional Policy and Special Counsel. Prior to joining BLG, Chris was law clerk to Mr. Justice McIntyre of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1979-80, and was a stagiaire with the Conseil d’État (Council of State) in Paris, France, in 1983. Since 2008, Chris has served as an elected Bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada, where he Chairs the Audit and Finance Committee and is Vice-Chair of the Law Society Tribunal. He has served as a member of the Ontario Judicial Council since 2016.
Laura Barclay
Laura Barclay
As Vice President & Senior Portfolio Manager, Laura provides discretionary investment management to high net worth individuals, families, corporations, trusts, and charitable foundations. She has over 20 years of investment management experience. She holds TD Bank’s award of Distinction Vision in Action award.
Active in her professional and personal communities, Laura has earned two professional designations: Chartered Accountant (CPA, CA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Laura spent several years serving on the Board of Directors for BALANCE for Blind Adults as well as the Estate Planning Counsel of Toronto (EPCT) Executive Board.
Rudy Bianchi
Rudy Bianchi
Rudy Bianchi is a founding partner of Bianchi Presta LLP and has been providing corporate services to clients since his call to the Bar as a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1985.
Rudy obtained his Bachelor of Business Administration from York University, Schulich, in 1980 and received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Windsor in 1984.
When not in the office, Rudy is an avid golfer, skier, and is a member of the National Golf Club of Canada, the Lora Bay Golf & Country Club, the Craigleith Ski Club, and the Vasari Golf and Country Club.
Andrea Boyd
Andrea Boyd
Andrea Boyd is the Director of Sponsorships and Partnerships at The Walrus. An energetic, creative, and strategic thinker, Andrea has worked in cultural sector fundraising, sponsorship, government relations, communications, and project management in the UK, Ireland, and Canada across a variety of cultural industries, including television and radio, music, and museums. Immediately prior to her role at The Walrus, Andrea was head of corporate advancement at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa and, prior to that role, development officer at The National Piping Centre, the international centre of excellence for the bagpipes and its music in Glasgow, Scotland. She serves on the boards of Ontario Culture Days and on the music committee of the Pipers’ and Pipe Band Society of Ontario. She holds an MSc of Political Communication from the University of Glasgow and a BA in Political Science from St. Francis Xavier University.
Robert Dunigan
Robert Dunigan
Robert is responsible for the overall Finance Operations for 108 Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts worldwide, stretching across 47 countries. Areas in Robert’s scope include Accounting, Financial Planning and Analysis, Shared Services and Outsourcing, Operational Financial Reporting, Insurance and Risk Management, as well as Property Strategic Planning. He has been with Four Seasons for many years in a variety of property and corporate roles across a wide range of geographies.
Robert’s earlier experience includes work with Ian Schrager Hotels in New York and with Omni Hotels, both in hotel and corporate positions.
Robert is a member of the Executive Committee of the University of New Hampshire Hospitality Advisory Board, and does volunteer work for the MS Society of Canada.
Bonnie Rosenberg
Bonnie Rosenberg
Bonnie Rosenberg is the owner of B.R. Interiors, an interior design company specializing in residential homes.
Bonnie is currently a board member of Best Buddies Canada.
At present, Bonnie is chairing Mind Matters, an event to raise funds to build a classroom for the Fresh Start Program for Sunnybrook Hospital Brain Sciences Centre.
Bonnie was a former director of Sunnybrook Foundation. Bonnie also sat on both the Donor Relations Committee and the Common Marketing & Communications Committee for Sunnybrook.
Bonnie is an art enthusiast who is particularly interested in contemporary Canadian art.
Paul Manias
Paul Manias
Paul is the Managing Director for OMERS Platform investments, responsible for energy and special situations (PointNorth Capital). He held senior roles previously with Borealis Infrastructure and Torys LLP. Paul has extensive experience in the field of corporate governance and has advised business ventures of all sizes on governance matters. He currently servies on the board of a number of our portfolio companies, including as Chair of Gain Energy Ltd., a private oil & gas company located in Calgary. The McMichael has been a part of his life since his early childhood. He grew up in Woodbridge (Vaughan) and had many visits to the McMichael over the years—both the gallery itself as well as the grounds where he often rode the trails by bicycle with his Kleinburg friends.
Michèle D. McCarthy
Michèle D. McCarthy
As a lawyer running her own practice, McCarthy Law, since 2003, Michèle delivers services to mid-sized hedge funds, mutual funds, reporting issuers and Schedule II and III banks. She has led projects within the bank regulatory area, growing her portfolio in Canadian and US regulatory, compliance and corporate governance matters. Michèle has served as Chair of the Toronto Port Authority, member of the Small Business Advisory Committee of the Ontario Securities Commission, and is Director on the Board of Lago Dourado Minerals and several closed-end funds and independent review committees.
Through her interest in serving the community, Michele serves or has served on the boards of the Canada’s National Ballet School, the St. George’s Society, the Rekai Centres, the University of Trinity College (University of Toronto) and the Humber Memorial Hospital.
Nathalie Mercure
Nathalie Mercure
Nathalie Mercure is currently general counsel at CBGF with over 20 years’ experience as a business lawyer with extensive expertise in private equity and mergers and acquisitions.
Formerly, Nathalie was a partner at Stikeman Elliott LLP where she practiced corporate law for over 18 years. Nathalie led and completed a variety of corporate, commercial and regulated transactions, acting for buyers and sellers, issuers and dealers. She was principal senior counsel to significant private equity firms, leading many acquisitions, restructurings and divestitures. Over the last few years, Nathalie acted as Executive Director of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection and as Chair of the board of directors of the Toronto French School, Canada’s largest independent school.
Nathalie holds a law degree from McGill University, where she completed her BCL and LL.B and holds an MBA from the Ivey Business School at Western University and has completed her directors course with the Institute of Corporate Directors at the Rotman School of Management.
Nathalie has dedicated time to several not-for-profit organizations as a volunteer and board member. She has served on the Foundation Board and School Board of the Toronto French School for more than 6 years and is currently on the Board of Trustees of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, where she is Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee.
Laura Mirabella
Laura Mirabella
Laura Mirabella, FCPA, FCA, is the Commissioner of Finance and Regional Treasurer for the Regional Municipality of York. She was previously the Chief Financial Officer and City Treasurer for the City of Vaughan, spent 11 years in progressively senior positions with the Ontario Public Service, and another 10 years in the private sector providing professional services to organizations in a variety of industries.
Laura’s 25 year career has covered organizational and program governance, integrated performance measurement and reporting, strategic and fiscal planning, and program and risk management. She has a passion for public service, for making sure that strategic and fiscal planning issues are considered together by governments, and that financial information is communicated to decision-makers and the public in ways that can be easily understood and contributes to democratic discourse.
Fiona O’Brien
Fiona O'Brien
Fiona O’Brien is the Director of Marketing for the Coffee Division at Danone Canada. Leading the strategic planning, portfolio brand/pack vision and execution, and drives the multi brand communication strategy in the company’s fastest growing category.
For over 16 years Fiona has been a brand building leader in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) space with a career built on consumer driven, best-in-class brands at Unilever, Church & Dwight, Lactalis and Kruger Products.
Fiona is passionate about people, world-class brand building and the market trends that drive the fast paced world of CPG marketing.
In addition to her primary category responsibilities at Danone Canada’s, Fiona leads the company’s Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Employee Resource Group as she strongly believes in the positive impacts that D&I initiatives can have within the company and beyond.
Patrick Pelliccione
Patrick Pelliccione
Patrick Pelliccione is a key player in shaping Canada’s food landscape with a persevering career spanning over three decades.
A graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, Patrick is now the president of Jan K Overweel Ltd., a dynamic, vertically integrated company that manages production and distribution of foods from all over the world and supplying them to food retailers and food service establishments.
Patrick is an engaged member of his industry and community, where he heads up the International Cheese Council of Canada and is the Co-President of the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario, respectively. He is also on the boards of various charities including the Humber River Hospital Foundation. In his spare time, Patrick is an avid reader, golfer and traveler. He lives in Vaughan, Ontario with his loving wife and two sons.
Melanie Russell
Melanie Russell
Melanie is the founder of Kalex Valuations Inc. and began professional practice in 1985, which includes several years of industry experience. Throughout her professional career she has been involved in many assignments for a variety of public and private companies of various sizes and across many industries, obtaining her training at two of the largest international accounting firms in the industry. Melanie placed second in Canada on the CICBV membership examination. She founded Kalex Valuations Inc. in 1996.
Ms. Russell has been active in teaching business valuations and related topics since 1987 at various universities and professional organizations, and runs the premiere preparatory course for CBV students in Canada taking their national Membership Qualification Examination. She has written various articles, taught professional courses and had many public speaking engagements on matters relating to business valuations and related topics.
Melanie has qualified as an expert in the areas of business/asset valuation, quantification of damages, income determination and forensic accounting. She has testified as an expert in business valuations in the Ontario Court of Justice and the Ontario Superior Court, and for the Investment Dealers’ Association and the Discipline Committee of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, as well as in alternative dispute forums.
Carl Spiess
Carl Spiess
Carl Spiess is a retired wealth advisor. He spent 30 years at ScotiaMcLeod advising clients on their wealth management needs. He was featured in Scotiabank’s 2002 annual report for his charity work protecting Georgian Bay. Carl ran and continues to support the Georgian Bay Land Trust annual art auctions. He has been a long-time supporter and fundraiser for the Toronto United Way. He continues to be active as the treasurer of the ScotiaMcLeod Charitable Foundation which created the Carl Spiess Community Award in his honour and funds the annual “Share the Wealth” employee giving program.
Carl married his wife Jennifer at the McMichael gallery on a warm summer day in 1994. In his spare time Carl is an art collector, rock climber, hiker, snowboarder and obsessive windsurfer. Read more about his passion for the McMichael on his patron profile.
Doug McDonald
Past Chair (RETIRED)
Doug McDonald, Past Chair
Doug McDonald is a Partner in the Toronto office of Deloitte LLP. and a leader of the firm’s Merger & Acquisition business. Doug has held senior positions in Canada and the United Kingdom during his career with major investment banking and professional services firms including Credit Suisse, Ernst and Young, and CIBC. Doug graduated from the University of Western Ontario with an MBA in 1982 and received his Masters degree in Medical Physiology from the University of Manitoba in 1979.
Doug has a long standing interest in the arts and in particular, the work of Canadian contemporary artists. He is actively involved in the community and has held Board positions with leading arts organizations and business associations.