Meet the Board of Directors

Pardeep Singh Gill, Chair and Treasurer

Pardeep Singh Gill is a CA and Partner in the Toronto technology, media and telecommunications audit practice with KPMG. His deep experience includes providing audit and advisory services to public and private companies ranging from start-ups to multinational corporations on various projects involving complex accounting matters, risk management, internal controls, business process improvement and training.

Pardeep is specialized in the telecommunications, technology, healthtech and cannabis industries. In addition to audits, his experience is focused on projects related to the adoption and interpretation of complex accounting standards, system and process implementations and migrations, revenue assurance matters, data and analytics, control systems and performance improvement.

Elsa Cabral, Vice-Chair

Elsa Cabral is a Managing Director at Bayshore HealthCare providing strategic direction and leading the transformation of the home health division. She also supports high performing business leaders to innovate and transform service and operating models that improve business performance with differentiated customer and employee experiences. Elsa has deep experience in strategy and innovation powered by technology; client and employee experience; operational excellence; and quality, health and safety.

Prior to joining Bayshore in 2021, Elsa’s portfolio of leading transformation includes bringing consumer-grade experiences to healthcare such as: LifeLabs’ self-directed patient appointment booking system (2011), skip the line app - Save my SpotTM (2018) digital access to lab results - MyResultsTM (2015) and convenient lab tests from home - myVisitTM (2020).

Elsa holds an Honours BSc degree in Toxicology and a MHSc degree in Occupational and Environmental Health, both from the University of Toronto. She is a mentor for the University of Toronto’s New College and Dalla Lana School of Public Health and is the recipient of its prestigious Arbor Award (2019) for her exceptional and sustained contributions.

Linda Franklin, Past Chair

Linda Franklin is the Chair of the Board at Osler and the recently retired President and CEO of Colleges Ontario. Under her leadership, Colleges Ontario worked to coordinate system wide initiatives from achieving college standalone nursing degrees and three-year college degrees to a unified response to COVID-19. She also spearheaded a major marketing campaign to drive home the value of a college education and established a Board governance leadership program that has trained hundreds of college directors in the principles of good governance.

Previously, Linda was the CEO of the Wine Council of Ontario. There, she worked with government to change legislation that dramatically improved the economics of the industry. She also led advocacy efforts that resulted in the establishment of the VQA regulatory system for fine wines. Prior to joining the Wine Council, Linda was a writer and communications specialist whose career included time as a consultant, five years as the head of communications for a regulatory body and heading up a department charged with meeting the communications needs of MPPs at Queen’s Park. She has also served as Chief of Staff to former Ontario Cabinet Minister Ernie Eves.

In addition to her role at Osler, Linda is the Governance Chair and member of the Board of the Home and Community Care Support Services, Chair of the Governance Committee for the Ontario Motor Vehicles Industry Council and a member of the Niagara College Board of Directors.

Linda Franklin has an Honours degree in English and History and a Master of Arts in Journalism from the University of Western Ontario. She is the recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee medal for her work in the wine industry and was recognized as Niagara’s business person of the year during her time at the Wine Council.

Nolan Bederman, Director

Nolan Bederman has a long and extensive history of successfully investing in North American growth companies and partnering with management teams to help optimize organic growth and acquisition-based expansion. He is the founder and managing partner of private equity fund Bederman Capital Corp., which invests in several North American business and consumer service companies.

Nolan holds a Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto, where he received the Gold Medal for graduating first in his class. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Western University, where he was awarded the Chancellor’s Prize for graduating first in his class within the Economics department as well as the Faculty of Social Science.

Outside of his core investing activities, Nolan currently serves as an independent director of Air Wisconsin, a regional air carrier in the United States operating a fleet of jets for American Airlines, as well as other board positions. He serves as a mentor in the Leadership, Exploration, Advice, Development and Success program at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management.

Susan Britton Payne, Director

Susan Britton Payne is the former President and CEO of Grace Hill Inc., a marketing consultancy firm. Susan is an MBA graduate of Rotman School of Management and has a BA from the University of Toronto. She holds the FCSI and ICD.D designations.

Susan is a retired, seasoned senior executive with over 35 years of experience in the financial industry. Prior to starting Grace Hill Inc., Susan was the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for BMO Financial Group. Susan previously served as Chair and a long-term Director of the Board of The Young People's Theatre and as a member of the BMO InvestorLine Board and the Board of the Investor Education Fund, Ontario Securities Commission.

Melissa Carvalho, Director

Melissa Carvalho, RBC Global Cyber Security Vice President, leads the Global Cyber Security Strategic Services group, providing cyber solutions and services for RBC’s 97,000 employees, RBC’s subsidiaries and 17 million clients.

She is a results-driven professional recognized for successfully delivering critical, high-risk initiatives for large organizations. She is known as an adept and innovative leader with extensive experience in managing all aspects of information technology, including business needs impact assessments, software development and infrastructure implementations.

Melissa is also the Vice Chair for the Women in Identity (WiD) Global Board of Directors. WiD is a global non-profit organization focused on breaking bias to create a world where “Digital identity solutions built for everyone are built by everyone”. With WiD, Melissa combines her two passions, advancing people and advancing technology. Melissa looks to bring people together and create new opportunities for a future without biases.

Melissa is an advocate for diversity and inclusion. In addition to her Women in Identity role, she is also the RBC Technology and Operations Co-lead for the LGBTQ+ leadership team. Melissa continues to promote an environment of equality for all and one where everyone is comfortable to bring their ‘true self’ to work.

In her spare time, Melissa loves to travel. She has been over 65 countries across all seven continents.

Benjamin D’Souza, Director

Benjamin D’Souza is an Assistant General Manager at Magna International Inc. in Brampton, where he is responsible for operations, engineering and business development. He completed his Mechanical Engineering degree at Toronto Metropolitan University, MBA at the Schulich School of Business and LLM at Osgoode Hall Law School. He has more than 20 years of experience in managing high budget innovation projects internationally. Ben is also trained in Lean Six Sigma and has been successful in developing and improving processes that have led to significant improvements in executing projects with greater efficiency while reducing costs.

Benjamin also serves on the Board of Directors for Community Living Association for South Simcoe, a non-profit, charitable organization that cares for individuals with developmental disabilities. Benjamin is conversant in Hindi and lives in the Region of Peel.

Chris Loreto, Director

Chris is the Managing Principal of StrategyCorp Inc. and leader of its Management Consulting service line. He specializes in helping clients create conditions for success with advice on governance, public policy development, strategic and business planning, organizational and operational development, and stakeholder engagement. He has more than 20 years of experience working in both the public and private sectors at the executive level.

Prior to joining StrategyCorp, Chris was a Vice President with Deloitte’s Financial Advisory Services group, and prior to that he served as a senior political advisor and civil servant with the Ontario government. Chris is the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Humber Meadows Long Term Care Home and is 1st Vice President of the Ontario PC Party. He is also a husband and the proud father of five sons.

Dr. Victor Ng, Director

Dr. Victor Ng is a practicing family medicine and emergency medicine physician, having completed his medical degree at the University of Manitoba and residency and fellowship at Western University. He is the Assistant Dean at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University and Associate Director, College of Family Physicians of Canada. He is currently President, North America Region, at the World Organization of Family Doctors and has served on expert panels with the World Health Organization. He is co-editor of the highly regarded international medical education textbook 'Family Medicine in the Undergraduate Curriculum: Preparing medical students to work in evolving health care systems' and is a sought after speaker nationally and internationally on topics of medical education and health systems.

Dr. Ng has a keen interest in governance and completed his ICD.D designation through the Directors Education Program at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He is currently Board Chair of Casey House Hospital and Foundation, member of the board of the World Organization of Family Doctors and member of the board of EmergConnect Inc.

Manny Satija, Director

Manny Satija is the Vice President, Strategic Initiatives and Supply Chain for CSA Group. In this role, Manny has responsibility for developing and executing strategic initiatives focused on elevating CSA’s business performance. In addition, he leads CSA Group’s global supply function focused on driving profitability through execution of growth initiatives, negotiations, innovative cost reduction and process transformation. Mr. Satija has more than 18 years of experience in leading teams focused on business transformation. He has held increasingly senior roles at CSA with responsibility for CSA’s global procurement, enterprise insurance, real estate and commercial operations portfolio.

Prior to joining CSA Group, Manny spent 14 years with IBM in various procurement leadership and global transformational roles. His supply chain experiences centered around indirect source to pay transformation. As part of his responsibilities, he led global teams focused on delivering sourcing savings, supplier governance, risk mitigation and integrated programs. Advancing procurement through digital transformation and supplier innovation were key pillars in his approach to delivering change that impacted not only profitability but opportunities for enhanced revenue.

Manny holds an MBA and BBA from the Schulich School of Business and has participated in an international study abroad program with the University of Bath in England.

Connie Stefankiewicz, Director

Connie Stefankiewicz is a retired senior executive with over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. As a member of BMO Financial Group's Executive and Operating Committees and several boards of directors, Connie earned a strong reputation for a highly collaborative approach and results oriented thinking. She was recognized as Strategy Marketer of the Year in 2016 and as one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women in 2011.

Connie earned her MBA at Schulich School of Business. She has extensive experience serving on not-for-profit Boards including, McMaster University and St Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation Boards. Her experience included involvement on many Committees, including audit, risk and executive.

Michael Torrance, Director

Michael Torrance is Chief Sustainability Officer of BMO Financial Group, leading strategy and implementation of sustainability governance, disclosure, engagement and innovation at BMO Financial Group. Before joining BMO, Michael was a Partner at the international law firm Norton Rose Fulbright where he spearheaded the development of a global environmental, social and sustainability governance risk advisory practice, and was a litigation practitioner in employment, labour, human rights and health and safety law. His experience includes application of international standards of environmental and social risk management and human rights due diligence in the corporate and banking contexts.

Michael has authored widely used texts and guides on international environmental and social governance frameworks including the equator principles and IFC performance standards on environmental and social sustainability. Michael also hosts a podcast on sustainability.

Winston Young, Director

Winston Young is currently the Chief Financial Officer of Toronto Global, a foreign direct investment attraction agency serving the Toronto Region. He is an innovative financial executive who excels in strategic and financial planning with extensive experience in private, public and not for profit sectors. Winston was formerly CFO of several economic development corporations, including Toronto Port Lands Company, City of Toronto Economic Development Corporation, Build Toronto Inc. and Invest Toronto Inc. He has also held various senior finance positions at Famous Players Inc., and Markborough Properties Inc.

Winston is a CPA, CA and a certified corporate director of the Institute of Corporate Directors and served as a former board member of the Canada Korea Business Council, the International Institute of Business Analysis, and the Ontario Place Corporation.

Dr. Frank Martino, President and CEO

Dr. Frank Martino is a highly accomplished physician and visionary health care leader whose breadth of work has had a fundamental impact on advancing the health of individuals in Osler's community and beyond through his contributions as a family doctor, clinical educator, medical leader and respected advisor at health care planning tables regionally, provincially and nationally.

He has practiced family medicine in Brampton for more than 30 years and provided care in obstetrics, inpatient and emergency departments at Osler's Brampton Civic and Etobicoke General Hospitals. Throughout his career at Osler, Dr. Martino has consistently stepped up to provide strong physician and organizational leadership. Highly respected amongst his peers, he served previously as Osler's Chief of Staff, Interim Executive Vice President of Quality and Medical Affairs, and as Corporate Chief of Family Medicine. In 2012, he was appointed Primary Care Lead for the (former) Central West Local Health Integration Network, where he led efforts to improve primary care integration within the local health care system through practice and system change.

Dr. Martino continues to serve in provincial and regional roles that work to improve the quality of health care locally and across Canada. He currently serves on the Board of Shared Services West and held previous positions as former Board Chair of the Ontario College of Family Physicians and former President of the Ontario College of Family Physicians. As a clinical educator, he has been teaching medical residents and students for over 20 years and was instrumental in creating Osler's family medicine teaching program. He is currently an associate clinical professor at McMaster University.

Dr. Martino is a past recipient of the Reg Perkins Award as Ontario Family Physician of the Year and the Award of Excellence from the College of Family Physicians of Canada. He is a graduate of the Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine Residency Program at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Greg Rutledge, Chief of Staff and Executive Vice President, Medical and Academic Affairs

As Chief of Staff at Osler, Dr. Greg Rutledge is an accomplished physician with extensive experience in emergency medicine and health care leads. His remarkable career spans over two decades, Greg has been instrumental in shaping emergency medicine in Ontario, and has held the position of Regional Lead of Emergency Medicine at Ontario Health West since September 2020, contributing to enhancing health care services in the region. His pivotal role as Chief Emergency Medicine at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton highlights his dedication to excellence in emergency medical care.

During the course of his career, Dr. Rutledge has been actively involved in medical education and assessment. He has played a significant role as a Program Director for the CCFP(EM) Program at McMaster University, contributing to the training and development of future emergency medicine professionals. His involvement with the College of Family Physicians of Canada includes serving on the Examinations Committee for the CCFP(EM) Examination.

Greg's commitment to health care extends beyond hospital walls serving as the Medical Director for the Toronto Marlies Professional Hockey Team since July 2016. Additionally, he serves as the on-site Emergency Physician for the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey Club, showcasing his expertise in handling medical emergencies in high-pressure environments.

With an impressive portfolio of experience, including roles as an Emergency Medicine Physician at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation, Greg Rutledge has demonstrated a commitment to providing high-quality health care and making a lasting impact in emergency medicine. His leadership, clinical expertise, and dedication to patient care have solidified his reputation as a prominent figure in the Canadian health care landscape.

Dr. Yasir Karani, President, Etobicoke Professional Staff Association

Dr. Yasir Karani joined Osler in 2010. Shortly after starting at Osler he was selected to be the inaugural Division Lead and oversaw the development, recruitment of staff, and building of the Internal Medicine division at Etobicoke General Hospital. He then served as Interim Site Chief of Medicine at Etobicoke General Hospital.

Dr. Karani was elected as President of the Professional Staff Association (Etobicoke General Hospital) in 2023. More recently he joined Toronto Metropolitan University as the Interim Collaborative Program Director for the General Internal Medicine program.

Dr. Prashant Phalpher, President, Brampton Professional Staff Association

Dr. Prashant Phalpher began his career as an emergency physician at Osler in 2010. Since then, he has held a number of leadership positions at Osler including site chief of Brampton Civic Hospital’s emergency department from 2014-2019, during which he led the best wait time improvement in the province while also expanding the department’s research output and educational offerings. He was also the Medical Director of digital health during COVID-19, where he launched the Virtual Urgent Care platform, the virtual Nurse Practitioner follow-up clinics and the internal e-referral platform. He served as the Ontario Health Regional lead for emergency services in OH Central Region from 2018-2022, where he built the business case for the now operating virtual support program for rural emergency departments.

In 2022 he completed his executive MBA at University of Toronto. Over the last few years he has been working as independent consultant advising digital health start-ups and providing operational and strategy consulting for healthcare organizations. For example, he served as a member of the Senior Medical Advisory Committee for the initial development of TMU’s new medical school in Brampton, advising on their innovation strategy. He has also been the physician in residence at the Brampton Venture Zone for the last three years.

Dr. Phalpher is an active researcher, collaborating on a wide range of research on diagnostic imaging utilization, patient flow and machine learning applications in triage. He is also co-author of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians anti-racism guidelines and currently is working with the Health User Experience Lab at TMU to re-design hospital wheelchairs. As an educator, Dr. Phalpher is actively involved in the teaching of residents in the ED and teaching practicing physicians advanced techniques in point of care ultrasound. He is an adjunct assistant professor with McMaster University.

Along with a couple of emergency medicine colleagues at Osler, Dr. Phalpher runs a school for 700+ children in Haiti through the grassroots NGO Health Education Project.

Tiziana Rivera, Executive Vice President, Quality, Research and Chief Nursing Executive

Tiziana is a visionary nurse executive who has provided strategic change leadership in her clinical, professional practice, administrative and governance roles. As a values-based, solution-oriented professional, she has mentored high performing teams to support the delivery of safe, evidenced informed, high quality care across the continuum of care. She has extensive experience and expertise in supporting and influencing the development and use of evidence based best practices grounded in quality and patient safety to advance quality and positive patient outcomes and patient experience. Tiziana’s leadership encompasses Professional Practice, Academic Partnerships, Quality, Patient Safety, Research and Ethics.

Tiziana is a recipient of the Nursing Award of Excellence in Nursing Leadership through the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) and has published numerous articles in referred journals, conducted several research studies and presented her papers provincially, nationally and internationally.

Tiziana has worked closely with the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario to support the international adoption of best practices and supported two Ontario hospitals in their journey towards achieving Best Practice Spotlight Organization status. She has served on several Boards and is currently teaching in the undergraduate nursing program at Toronto Metropolitan University. She also holds an Adjunct Lecturer appointment at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto as well as an Adjunct Professor appointment at Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.

Prior to joining Osler, Tiziana led innovative, technology-enabled health care as Chief Nursing Executive and Chief Practice Officer at Mackenzie Health as well as the strategic development of seniors’ health services at Trillium Health Partners.

A graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, Tiziana holds a Master of Science in Nursing and an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certificate from the University of Toronto. She has achieved the Canadian Nurses Association certification in gerontological nursing, is a Certified Health Executive through the Canadian College of Health Leaders and is a surveyor with Accreditation Canada.