Our board of directors

Charlene Ripley currently serves as Heart & Stroke’s national board chair. She is also an independent director of Keyera Corp. a midstream energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Previously she was executive vice president and chief legal and sustainability officer for Teck Resources. Prior to joining Teck, Charlene was executive vice president and general counsel at SNC-Lavalin. Her previous roles include executive vice president and general counsel at Goldcorp, senior vice president and general counsel at Linn Energy and vice president general counsel, corporate secretary and chief compliance officer at Anadarko Petroleum Corp. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with distinction from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Laws from Dalhousie Law School. Her professional memberships include the Law Societies of British Columbia and Alberta and the Texas State Bar. 

Clayton Norris is the vice president of MNP's Indigenous Services. He leads the team across Canada, which provides services in consulting, accounting and tax in over 225 Indigenous Nations. 

Based in Calgary, Clayton works closely with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities in an advisory capacity, assisting clients in the areas of business and strategic planning, human resource issues, corporate finance, training and economic development consulting. With his extensive experience working with Indigenous business and communities Clayton understands the unique requirements. He takes great pride in being a close professional advisor to the individuals and organizations that support development within the Indigenous community.  

Clayton played a key role in the development of MNPs EASE cloud accounting services and Aboriginal self-employment and management training programs. As a member of the AFOA Alberta board in 2005, Clayton was awarded the Deputy Minister’s Pride and Recognition award for excellence in leadership. He was a member of the 2008 Governor General’s Leadership Conference. He is a current member of the MNP board, and former treasurer of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and several First Nation economic development boards. Clayton is a member of the Cold Lake First Nations. He currently serves as past chair of the Heart & Stroke provincial advisory board for Alberta and the Northwest Territories.

Stephen is a senior business leader with over 35 years of experience in areas of strategy, governance, audit, investment management and risk.

He is currently a member of the Board of Directors and President of Granite Golf Club, Stouffville, Ont.  He is also a member of the Executive Committee and past chair of the Finance and Audit Committee.

For over a decade Stephen was President and Director of the KBSH Spirit Foundation, a charitable foundation focused on raising funding and awareness for numerous children's health and educational needs in his local community.

Stephen retired as Chief Investment Officer, Global Equities from CIBC Asset Management where he led a team of investment professionals responsible for researching, investing and managing publicly traded equity investments.  He was a member of the firm's senior management team, investment committee, risk management and socially responsible investment committees.

Stephen is a graduate of Western University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, is Charterholder from the CFA Institute and a member of Institute for Corporate Directors. 

A senior investment executive with over 25 years in the investment and portfolio management industry, Jason was formerly the Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income, Currencies & Commodities for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP), the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada.  He led the team responsible for the overall fund’s exposures to these global asset classes and the related active investment programs.  Previously, Jason held various other portfolio management and investment-related responsibilities spanning global credit products, debt issuance, counterparty credit management and liquidity management. 

Jason has been active in many professional associations including the Canadian Fixed-Income Forum which was established by the Bank of Canada, and the Fixed Income Advisory Committee for the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).  He has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Canada Guaranty Mortgage Insurance Company as well as having acted as chair of their Investment Committee, and served on the Board and Executive Committee for the Investor Leadership Network.  In 2019, Jason was a recipient of Women in Capital Markets’ Champion of Change Award which recognizes excellence in leadership, commitment and creativity in advancing equality in the Canadian finance industry. 

Jason is a graduate of the Ivey School of Business and has received the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and he is a graduate of the ICD-Rotman Director Education Program and achieved his ICD.D designation.

Kyle Hickey is a managing director at SAF Group, a Canadian alternative investment management firm, responsible for deal origination, structuring, and execution, as well as ongoing portfolio and risk management for select structured credit and equity investments. He has over two decades of experience as an executive, advisor to, and corporate director, of multiple public and private entities.

Kyle has been a professional advisor to boards of directors, executive management teams, and private and public capital on a wide range of capital structure solutions including equity, debt, and hybrid financial instruments, as well as merger and acquisition transactions. He has extensive experience in Metals, Mining, and Critical Minerals and Diversified Industrials in Canada, the U.S., South America, and EMEA, with prior investment banking positions at BMO and J.P. Morgan. Kyle holds a B.Com. (Finance) from McGill University and a M.A. (Jurisprudence) from the University of Oxford

Andrew is Senior Managing Director - Head of Canada for MFS Investment Management^® (MFS^®). 

As Canadian CEO, Andrew leads the overall Canadian distribution efforts and holds regulatory UDP roles. He is based in Toronto, Canada. Andrew joined the firm in 2024. With over 30 years of investment industry experience, former employers include Mercer Global Investors, Canada, where he was Partner and Head of investment solutions; Russell Investments as Managing Director of Institutional Canada; and SEI Investments as Managing Director and Senior Client Portfolio Manager. Andrew earned a Bachelor of Science degree in statistics and operational research from the University of Exeter (UK). He is a Chartered Financial Analyst, a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

Andrew is a supporter of theatre and the arts, as well as keen sportsman and runner – having completed multiple marathons around the world.

Michael Ladha has extensive experience as a lawyer, executive, and corporate director. He is currently Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, where he is responsible for all legal and governance aspects of the utility as well as supply chain and procurement matters. 

Michael has governance board experience and currently sits on the Newfoundland and Labrador provincial advisory board. He also brings meaningful insight through his family’s lived experience.

Victor Ng completed his medical degree at the University of Manitoba and family medicine residency and emergency medicine fellowship at Western University.  He serves in a senior leadership role as the Director, Programs and Practice Support at the College of Family Physicians of Canada. He is an Associate Professor and Assistant Dean, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University, Canada.  His academic interests are primarily in medical education, health systems innovation, and quality improvement. An experienced board member, Dr. Ng completed the Directors Education Program (DEP) at Rotman School of Management and attained his ICD.D designation. He currently serves as the Board Chair of Casey House Hospital and Foundation, and board member of William Osler Health System. In the past, he has served on national and international organization board of directors including the World Organization of Family Doctors, Maple Leaf Angels and the University of Manitoba Alumni Association. He has been a sought-after international speaker and has received awards and acknowledgements including the Alumni of Distinction from Western University and the fellowship award from the World Organization of Family Doctors.

Victoria is vice president and head of business operations - direct financial services for CIBC Capital Markets, providing leadership to a diverse team of professionals who lead strategic, high-profile, complex and organization-wide initiatives at CIBC. She is an accomplished business executive and transformation professional. Her career spans over 27 years leading large-scale change in many of North America’s best-known brands. Her strong delivery track record enabled successes in financial merger-integrations, corporate restructuring, innovative solutions, global business and technology transformations and business operations for a digital challenger bank.

Victoria is an active advocate and volunteer with Professional Mentoring, Women in Leadership, Inclusion & Diversity, Visible Minority Associations and other local charities. She was a director of the Project Management Institute (PMI) Toronto and chair of the Heart & Stroke Ontario & Nunavut Provincial Advisory Board. Victoria is a 2021 Women of Inspiration award recipient, Canada’s Top 100 Women of Change book contributor and on the Canadian Center for Women’s Empowerment – Economic Justice Task Force.

Victoria is currently CIBC’s executive sponsor of Ride for Heart and was TD’s co-captain of Ride for Heart since 2015.

Dr Andreas Orfanos has more than 35 years’ experience and demonstrated ability to strategize, and advance companies, product candidates, technologies, and services from early stage to commercialization. Andreas is an independent consultant and brings extensive global strategic, clinical development and operational expertise, experience, and insight across several sectors of life sciences.

Until recently, Andreas was the chief operating officer (COO) of BELLUS Health, a clinical stage biotechnology public company focused on developing a novel therapeutic to address chronic cough. Bellus Health was acquired in 2023 by GSK, and following the acquisition, Andreas was representing and responsible for integration of core functions of Bellus into GSK.

Prior to this, Andreas was the director of the MHICC (Montreal Health Innovations Coordinating Center), the clinical research organisation of the Montreal heart Institute; responsible for the global clinical trial programs.

At the same time, as CEO of Innovacor, he focused on the valorization and commercialization of products and technologies that originate at the Montreal Heart Institute.  He served as an officer on the Board of Directors of Innovacor, as well as a private company focused on developing innovative therapeutics to control atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases.

Andreas held executive positions in other biotech companies: Thrasos Innovation, Neurochem and Picchio (investments); as well as global pharmaceuticals: Novartis and Sandoz Pharmaceuticals.

Dr. Andreas Orfanos obtained his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBCh) and Master of Business Administration (MBA), at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and has a Fellowship with the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FFPM), Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. 

"I have had many opportunities afforded to me during my career and have benefitted from exceptional mentoring and support from the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Being a member of the board of directors allows me to give back and to support, and guide future generations. I am deeply honoured to serve an organization committed to improving the lives of so many Canadians."

Dr. Gavin Oudit is Professor of Medicine and Clinician-Scientist at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, University of Alberta. He completed the Clinician-Investigator Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, followed by training in adult cardiology at the University of Toronto. He completed a four-year post-doctoral fellowship in the molecular biology of heart failure. 

Gavin was part of the team that discovered ACE2, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2, leading to the development of recombinant human ACE2. This discovery has created a unique opportunity to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cardiovascular disease and health. He designed and led the biomarker component of the Alberta HEART prospective cohort to study HF with preserved ejection fraction. He has created a unique and extensive tissue database of human explanted heart samples which have led to the creation of the first “Spatial Cell Atlas of the Adult Human Heart” including efforts to support diversity.

Gavin is currently a Canada Research Chair in Heart Failure, Director of the Heart Function Clinic at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. His clinical activities with a primary emphasis on heart failure and cardiomyopathies. He introduced the use of supportive care, genetic counselling and testing, and created a virtual care pathway for patients. He is the primary cardiologist in the Neuromuscular Multidisciplinary Clinic that provides care to vulnerable patients with muscular dystrophy.

“Heart disease and stroke do not discriminate; they affect Canadian families regardless of race, age or gender. I am proud to be part of an organization that saves lives through research, education and awareness.”

Kostia Pantazis joined the Heart & Stroke Québec advisory board in 2013 and was vice-chair of the national volunteer engagement committee.  She has been chair of the provincial advisory board since December 2018. 

With more than 35 years of experience in the insurance industry, Kostia has been president of Pantazis & Associés, Courtiers d’Assurances Inc. since 2000.  In addition to managing and growing her own business, she has actively participated in several professional and philanthropic organizations. She was a member of the board of directors of the SAAQ (Société de l’Assurance Automobile du Québec) as well as president of the Hellenic Board of Trade of Montreal.  She has been a member of the board of directors of the YWCA-Montréal since 2012, having previously served on the board of its foundation as vice-president. 

In 2019 Kostia was named Businesswoman of the Year by the Hellenic Board of Trade to recognize her success in the business community as well as her commitment to philanthropy.  

Dr. Brian Rowe is a Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and the School of Public Health in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Alberta. Brian is a proud graduate of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, where he played on the men’s varsity soccer team and was the captain in his final year. Brian received a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Ottawa in 1984 and completed his Family Medicine/Emergency Medicine training at the University of Ottawa in 1987.

Brian practiced clinically in Sudbury, Ontario prior to receiving further research training in clinical epidemiology at McMaster University in 1991. From 1991-1997 he was the Research Director of the Northeastern Ontario Family Medicine Program (NOFM), the precursor of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). He was recruited to the University of Alberta as the Research Director, Department of Emergency Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry in 1997 and has remained there ever since. From 2001-2018 he held Tier II and Tier I Canada Research Chair funding and was the Associate Dean of Clinical Research in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry (2010-2014). Throughout his career, he has also been a dedicated mentor for the next generation of clinicians and scientists.

His research focuses on transitions of care for patients with cardio-respiratory, neurological and injury presentations to the Emergency Department. Brian has published more than 635 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, 35 book chapters and a book (Evidence-Based Emergency Medicine). In 2015 he was appointed the Scientific Director of the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICHR) at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the primary Institute linked to HSFC research and funding activities. He completed two four-year terms and guided the Institute through the COVID-19 pandemic. He was inducted as a Fellow to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2014.