OSC Roundtable: Strengthening diversity in our capital markets

Grant Vingoe is the first dedicated Chief Executive Officer of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). He previously served as both Chair and CEO of the OSC before the roles were separated with the proclamation of the Securities Commission Act, 2021 on April 29, 2022. He continues to serve as a member of the OSC’s Board of Directors.

Grant is Chair of the Policy Coordination Committee of the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), the umbrella organization for securities commissions in Canada, and is a member of the board of directors of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). He is also the Chair of the Joint Regulators Committee responsible for the CSA’s oversight of the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments.

Grant is a senior leader and trusted adviser for regulatory agencies and, during his career as a partner in leading global law firms, for issuers and financial services clients. He has extensive cross-border expertise in securities law and deep knowledge of financial markets.

Grant holds a J.D. from Toronto’s Osgoode Hall Law School and an LL.M. from the New York University School of Law. He was admitted to the bar in Ontario in 1983 and in New York in 1985.

Naizam is General Counsel at the Ontario Securities Commission. He has been with the Ontario Securities Commission since 2000 and previously held the positions of Director of the Mergers and Acquisitions Branch and Deputy Director of the Corporate Finance Branch, primarily responsible for mergers and acquisitions regulation.  Prior to joining the OSC, Naizam clerked with the Commercial List, Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and was an associate in the insolvency and restructuring group at a leading Canadian law firm.

Naizam has been a frequent speaker on securities regulation, including mergers and acquisitions, at conferences and law schools in Canada and the United States. He has also written papers on regulatory aspects of mergers and acquisitions law. Naizam is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Law School and Osgoode Hall Law School, York University where he co-teaches courses in securities litigation and securities law. 

Naizam served as Special Advisor to the Chair on Regulatory Burden Reduction and led the team responsible for  OSC’s issuance of its burden reduction report - Reducing Regulatory Burden in Ontario’s Capital Markets in November 2019. Naizam was a member of the Expert Advisory Group to the Ontario Capital Markets Modernization Task Force.

Naizam has a LLB and a LLM from Osgoode Hall Law School, and was called to the Bar in 1998.

J.D., Law, University of Toronto; B.Sc., University of Waterloo. Melanie is Vice President & Head of the Responsible Investment team for RBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM) and a member of the Leadership Committee. The Responsible Investment team supports RBC GAM’s investment teams in integrating environmental, social and governance factors into the investment process, engages in active stewardship and provides meaningful client reporting on responsible investment. Melanie serves on the Board of Directors of the Responsible Investment Association as Vice-Chair, the Public Policy Committee of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, the Policy Committee of the International Corporate Governance Network, in addition to other responsible investment committees. Melanie joined RBC GAM in 2014 and has also held roles in Fund Governance and Strategy, which included evaluating and executing on corporate acquisitions/mergers. Prior to working at RBC GAM, Melanie was Senior Counsel, Litigation for another large financial institution, and Enforcement Counsel at the Ontario Securities Commission.   

Joseph is Anishinaabe, and a member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. Joseph has over 20 years of experience working with Indigenous communities and organizations across Canada and internationally, and advising municipal, provincial, federal, and foreign governments on Indigenous relations, and economic development strategies. Joseph has a Bachelor of Social Science in Political Science and Aboriginal Studies from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Art in Political Science from Western University (M.A., Political Science). 

Jean-Paul is the Executive Director, President and CEO of FAIR Canada. Prior to joining FAIR Canada, he was a financial sector expert at the World Bank Group assisting countries to enhance their securities regulatory regimes. He is a former member of the Executive Management Team at the Ontario Securities Commission, where he worked for 20 years in senior leadership and policy roles. He began his legal career at a national law firm advising clients on securities law matters. 

Roger is a senior partner at Casgrain and has many years of experience in the Canadian capital markets. Casgrain is the largest independent and privately owned fixed income investment dealer in Canada. Moreover, Roger has sat on numerous boards and/or committees including the Bank of Canada Canadian Fixed Income Forum (CFIF), Queen’s University’s Investment Committee, the Investment Industry Association of Canada, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (formerly IIROC), and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. 

Roger is also involved in numerous charity initiatives, including incoming Chair of the Learning Disabilities Association of Canada, Honorary Chair of the Institute of Learning Disabilities and advisor for the Aboriginal Savings Corporation of Canada. 

Gigi is a corporate governance and sustainability thought leader and educator for companies and individuals responsible for the oversight of organizations. She launched the governance discipline at Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada to facilitate enhanced board and executive response to emerging market demands. She has created and produced public forums, presentations and guidance publications. 

A leader in corporate governance with a pragmatic and strategic approach, Gigi has extensive knowledge of corporate governance structure and is an authority on board performance, strategy and risk oversight. She teaches Corporate Responsibility and Ethics in the Master of Financial Accountability program at York University.  

Gigi has been a member of boards throughout her career. Currently, she is a board and governance committee member of Youthdale Treatment Centres. She also sits on the advisory boards of the Embedding Project, the Canada Climate Law Initiative and the International Corporate Governance Network’s (ICGN) Human Capital Committee.  She is a past board member of Active Healthy Kids Canada and Family Daycare Services Toronto and was co-chair of the ICGN’s Board Governance Committee. She is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, the Institute of Corporate Directors, and the International Corporate Governance Network. 

Gigi obtained a Master of Laws at Osgoode Hall Law School. 

Peter Dey has been Chairman of Paradigm Capital Inc., an investment dealer, since November 2005. He has been a Director of Gran Tierra Energy Inc. since May 2015. From June 2006 to April 2017, Mr. Dey served as a Director of Goldcorp Inc. He was also a Director of Caracal Energy Inc. from March 2013 to July 2014, a Director of Enablence Technologies Inc. from October 2011 to October 2013, and a Director of Coventree Inc. from April 2008 to February 2012. Mr. Dey was chairman of Addax Petroleum from 2001 to 2009. Mr. Dey was a Partner of the law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, where he specialized in corporate board issues and mergers and acquisitions, from 2001 to 2005, and prior to that from 1985 to 1994 and from 1973 to 1983. 

From 1994 to 2001, Mr. Dey was Chairman of Morgan Stanley Canada Limited, where he helped develop the Canadian investment banking business and the overall strategic direction of Morgan Stanley in Canada. From 1993 to 1995, Mr. Dey chaired The Toronto Stock Exchange Committee on Corporate Governance in Canada that released the December 1994 report entitled “Where Were the Directors?”, known as the Dey Report. In 2021, Mr. Dey co-authored with Professor Sarah Kaplan, "360 Degree Governance: Where are the Directors in a World in Crisis". 

Mr. Dey has also served as Chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission and was Canada’s representative to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Task Force that developed the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance released in May of 1999. Mr. Dey attended Queen’s University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in 1963 and Dalhousie University, where he earned his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1966. He received his Master of Laws degree from Harvard University in 1967. 

Nils Engelstad serves as Senior Vice President, General Counsel of Alamos Gold Inc., a mid-tier gold mining company listed on the TSX and NYSE. Prior to joining Alamos in 2015, Mr. Engelstad served as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary to McEwen Mining Inc. He started his career in the Toronto office of a national full-service law firm. Nils holds a BA from the University of Toronto, an LL.B from the University of Windsor, a Master of Laws from the University of Toronto (Global Professional LLM), and an MA in International Relations from Queen Mary University of London. Mr. Engelstad is a member of the Law Society of Ontario. 

Rhonda Goldberg is Executive Vice-President and General Counsel for IGM Financial Inc., responsible for overseeing the legal, compliance, corporate secretary and regulatory affairs functions of Mackenzie Investments, Investors Group and Investment Planning Counsel. 

Rhonda has an in-depth knowledge of the legal and regulatory environment and financial services industry with over 20 years of legal experience. Prior to joining IGM Financial, she held progressively senior positions at the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and was a member of the OSC’s executive management team and Director, Investment Funds and Structured Products, from 2010-2015.  

Rhonda is currently a board member of Wealthsimple and the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) and previously served as a member of the OSC’s Securities Advisory Committee. She was called to the Bar in Ontario and has a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Kelly Gorman joined Kingsdale Advisors in 2021 as Executive Vice President, Governance Advisory. An accomplished executive, she brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in finance, governance and operations, as well as securities regulatory compliance and enforcement. 

At Kingsdale, Kelly and her team are responsible for research and analytics dedicated to advising clients on all governance matters and resolutions proposed for shareholder meetings, in both contested and uncontested situations. Kelly provides clients with expert advice primarily through the lens of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis on issues such as board independence, executive compensation, special resolutions, and structuring company equity plans, as well as tailored guidance on corporate social responsibility reporting and identifying sector-specific environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, best practices and trends, empowering clients to stay ahead of the curve. 

Kelly spent 14 years in progressively senior roles with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), where she oversaw a multi-disciplinary team responsible for the compliance and oversight of 1,500 Ontario-based public companies. Kelly designed and implemented the OSC’s whistleblower program, managed the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and led the OSC’s Continuous Disclosure Advisory Committee, which included representatives from ISS and the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG), among others. 

Prior to Kingsdale, Kelly was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and the EVP of Regulatory & Standards, where she led the operations and regulatory teams at CPA Ontario. 

Kelly has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto, is a Chartered Accountant, and holds the Institute of Corporate Directors, Director (ICD.D) designation.

Michela Gregory is a Director on the Responsible Investing and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Services team at NEI Investments. As part of NEI’s longstanding corporate engagement programme, Michela spearheads dialogues with companies across a number of sectors including information technology & communications, consumer staples, consumer discretionary and pharmaceuticals. Michela raises various ESG issues in corporate dialogues including human rights, labour rights, climate, nature and inequality - including diversity, equity and inclusion. She also actively works to further NEI’s policy efforts on these systemic issues, and supports the team’s evaluations and proxy voting processes. Prior to joining NEI, Michela was based in Ghana with an impact investor focused on early-stage investment in sub-Saharan Africa. She is a lawyer by trade, and practiced plaintiff-side class actions law in Canada. Michela holds a Juris Doctor, and an Honours Business Administration from Osgoode Hall Law School (York University) and the Ivey Business School (Western University) respectively. 

Michael is Managing Partner of North Star Legal and Managing Director of North Star Consultants.  Michael brings more than 20 years of wealth management, legal and compliance experience from Canada’s law firms, financial institutions, securities regulators and financial technology companies. 

Prior to joining North Star, Michael was Delphia Technologies Inc.'s GC & Chief Compliance Officer, Wealthsimple’s Associate GC and Chief Compliance Officer, Senior Legal Counsel at BMO Financial, and a member of the Autorité des marchés financiers Technological Innovation Advisory Committee. 

Michael started his legal career at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and was a partner of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP’s Capital Markets Group, during which time he was seconded to the Ontario Securities Commission. In addition to his legal practice, Holder Legal Services, board and advisory positions, Michael teaches Securities Law at Windsor Law School. 

Michael has a LLB from Windsor Law School, a Bachelor of Arts from Western University and an MBA from Ivey Business School. 

Geordie is a Gwich'in (Northwest Territories and Yukon). 

Geordie is the Chief Executive Officer of the First Nations Financial Management Board, one of three national fiscal institutions created under the First Nations Fiscal Management Act to support First Nations economic development.   

He brings deep experience in finance and financial law, with experience as a securities regulatory lawyer at the BC Securities Commission, financial tribunal Chair and CEO at the Financial Services Tribunal (BC), management consultant at McKinsey & Company and investment banker at Broadview (now Jefferies). He has also practised Aboriginal and corporate law at a national law firm, driven economic development initiatives for the Gwich'in Nation and the Gwich'in Development Corporation, and represented the Gwich'in Nation in international Arctic economic development forums. He has initiated and led Indigenous networking and Reconciliation and UNDRIP policy development initiatives at the Canadian Bar Association (BC and National). 

Geordie served as a member of the Independent Review Committee on Standard Setting in Canada that conducted a review from 2021 to early2023 to ensure Canadian audit and accounting standard setting will continue to be independent and internationally recognized and recommended the creation of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board. 

In December of 2022, the Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board appointed Geordie as a Special Advisor to provide strategic counsel on issues relating to natural ecosystems and just transition. Geordie is a member of CFA Canada's Canadian Advisory Committee for investment policy. 

Geordie holds an MBA and an MA (East Asian Studies/Chinese) from Stanford University, an LLB from UBC, and an electrical and computer engineering degree from Queen's University. He is a CFA Charterholder, CAIA Charterholder and an Action Canada Fellow.

Sarah Kaplan is Distinguished Professor, Founding Director, Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE), Professor of Strategic Management, and Fellow of the Lee-Chin Family Institute for Corporate Citizenship at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. She is author of the award-winning book, The 360° Corporation: From Stakeholder Trade-offs to Transformation. In 2021, she collaborated with Peter Dey on the report “360º Governance: Where are the directors in a world in crisis?” She received the Governance Professionals of Canada Peter Dey Governance Achievement Award and was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women Executive Network. She is currently studying variation in organizational responses to the OSC “comply or explain” regulation. Formerly a consultant for nearly a decade at McKinsey & Company in New York, she earned her PhD from MIT’s Sloan School of Management.  She is a member of the board of GLAD (GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders) in Boston, and Politenico di Milano in Italy.