Board of Directors

Dr. Gary Newton assumed the role of President and CEO of Sinai Health System in 2016.

A well respected physician leader, Dr. Newton previously held the position of Physician-in-Chief of Mount Sinai Hospital from 2013 to 2015 and was appointed to the role of Chief Medical Strategy Officer and Physician-in-Chief of the newly formed Sinai Health System in 2015.

As a practicing cardiologist, Dr. Newton was Head of the Division of Cardiology, University Health Network and Mount Sinai Hospital from 2009 through 2013. He has had an active research program in human physiology, focusing on congestive heart failure, most recently investigating nutritional issues in patients with heart failure. He currently serves as Chair of the Scientific Research Committee of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Dr. Newton is a graduate of the University of Toronto Medical School. He completed internal medicine at the University of Toronto and trained in adult cardiology at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. This was followed by specialty training in heart failure, combined with an integrative cardiac physiology fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Dr. Newton joined the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto in 1996, where he has distinguished himself as a mentor to junior faculty. In 2016, Dr. Newton was awarded the Robert Hyland Award for Excellence in Mentorship by the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto.

Janice Skot is the former (now retired) President and CEO of Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie, Ontario. Under her visionary and progressive leadership, RVH became a recognized centre of excellence and innovation, providing specialized care closer to home with a strong culture of safety, transparency, accountability, and service excellence.

Throughout her career, Janice has held a number of senior positions, including President and CEO of Laurentian Hospital in Sudbury as well as the CEO of the Northeastern Ontario Regional Cancer Centre under the auspices of Cancer Care Ontario. Prior to these appointments, Janice was a member of the Laurentian Hospital senior team holding a variety of clinical portfolios.

Janice currently sits as an independent board member of Plexxus and, previously, she chaired the COHPA Board of Directors. Janice is also a surveyor with Accreditation Canada. Janice has sat on a variety of Ontario Hospital Association committees and is currently a member of the Leadership Council of the North Simcoe Muskoka Local Health Integration Network and, in this capacity, she has lead or been a member of multiple regional projects.

Janice is a Certified Health Executive and holds her Master of Health Science, Health Administration, from the University of Toronto, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Queen’s University. Her continuing education includes the Harvard School of Business Advanced Management Program and the Independent Corporate Directors Program, Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto.

Janice is passionate about patient-centred care and the need to align the organization’s culture in order to witness sustainable improved outcomes. To this end, Janice has spoken nationally and internationally about how to define and drive culture to achieve strategic results.

Cathy Szabo is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Providence Care, the leading provider of aging, mental health, and rehabilitative care in southeastern Ontario.

Her experience has focused on health system improvement, creating organizational cultures of quality and excellence while delivering patient care that meets individual needs.

Under her leadership, Central CCAC developed a Medication Management Support Services program that was awarded Best Innovation Healthcare Practice in Canada by the National Research Corporation (NRC). Additionally, this program was recognized at the bronze level by the Institute for Public Administration of Canada (IPAC).

A dedicated advocate for healthcare, Cathy is a member of the International Society for Quality in Health Care, Osgoode Hall Health Law Program, GS1 Canada Health Care Advisory Council, and the HQO IDEAS Strategic Advisory Committee – Improving and Driving Excellence Across all Sectors. Cathy is past chair of HIROC – the Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada.

Cathy holds a Master of Public Health, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and a Diploma of Clinical Administration from the Ontario Hospital Association. She is a Registered Nurse and a Certified Health Executive with the Canadian College of Health Leaders.

Elizabeth (Liz) brings more than 30 years of healthcare experience, both within Ontario and British Columbia, to the OCINet Board. She is a specialty-trained nurse and has served in executive and senior leadership positions for more than 25 years. She has served as President and CEO at several Ontario hospitals.

In July 2022, Liz transitioned from Scarborough Health Network (SHN) to St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. Prior to joining SHN in July 2017, Liz was President and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health Centre Toronto, where she was instrumental in the voluntary merger of three hospitals to create Unity Health Toronto. Liz’s extensive background in healthcare leadership also includes four years as Executive Vice President, Clinical Operations and Chief of Nursing and Professional Practice, for the William Osler Health System, which is one of Canada’s largest multi-site community hospital corporations.

On the west coast, Liz served as Senior Operating Officer for Vancouver Acute, a multi-site academic health sciences centre within the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, Canada’s largest integrated health region. Additionally, Liz has held positions of Executive Director, Program Planning and Services, and Director, Cardiac Sciences, for Providence Healthcare, also in Vancouver.

A native of London, Ontario, Liz obtained her Nursing Degree from McMaster University, graduating magna cum laude. She also holds a Masters in Health Administration from the University of British Columbia, a Master of Arts in Leadership and Organizational Training from Royal Roads University in Victoria, and is a member of the Canadian College of Health Leaders.

Roy was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Joseph’s Health Care London in August 2021. A leader at St. Joseph’s for more than 20 years and a member of St. Joseph’s Senior Leadership Team since 2009, Roy has provided executive leadership to numerous portfolios.

Prior to being appointed President and CEO, Roy was Vice President, Patient Care and Risk Management (2014-2021). In this role, Roy provided executive leadership to the clinical operations at the Parkwood Institute Main Building and Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care, as well as Corporate Risk Management, Privacy, and Patient Relations. Roy played a critical role in the establishment of the Gray Centre for Mobility and Activity at Parkwood Institute and the opening of a new Palliative Care unit. In addition, he has championed significant improvements in staff engagement and quality outcomes across the organization. He was the executive sponsor for the Accreditation Canada survey when St. Joseph’s achieved its first two of now three consecutive awards of Accreditation with Exemplary Standing.

Roy has also held executive leadership roles accountable for strategic planning, corporate quality and patient safety, environmental services, food and nutrition services, pharmacy, clinical decision support, and health information management.

During the pandemic, Roy played a critical lead role in St. Joseph’s pandemic response, including the redesign and reintroduction of services with a steadfast focus on the safety of patients, residents, family caregivers, staff, and physicians.

A collaborative and engaging servant leader, Roy is committed to partnering with patients, residents, and caregivers and has been instrumental in positioning St. Joseph’s as a leader in this area through his executive leadership of one of four provincial Change Foundation funded initiatives designed to enhance and elevate care partnerships.

Roy holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from Queen’s University and a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Western University.

As a volunteer in support of his local community, Roy coached competitive youth soccer for several years and served in various roles with the United Way. He currently sits on the London Community Recovery Network, is an active member of the Board of Cheshire Independent Living Services, and serves on the Board of Directors of St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation.

Passionate about system transformation, Ann believes partnerships and collaboration will drive innovation and change to improve patient care and access to services. She actively promotes planning and strategic initiatives that reach across the continuum of care to focus on improving system capacity to provide high quality care where and when the patient needs it.

Ann is currently the VP, Facility Operations, Redevelopment, Information Systems, and Chief Privacy Officer at William Osler Health System, a role that develops and supports the strategy and implementation of transformational initiatives that support clinical operations. Ann is also the executive responsible for the planning and implementation of Osler’s redevelopment strategy. In this role, Ann provides leadership for Osler’s major projects, including the new patient tower and the Etobicoke Wellness Centre (Ancillary Services Building) at Etobicoke General Hospital and the Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness (PMC), which is in operation and serving the community, as well as, planning for PMC Phase 2. She has worked closely with multiple stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Cities of Brampton and Toronto, community members, patients, and clinical teams to create facilities that support Osler’s vision to deliver high quality patient care now and into the future. In her regional role, Ann also supports the redevelopment project at Headwaters Healthcare Centre.

Ann holds a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Colorado State University and a Master of Science Health Administration from the University of Colorado. She maintains membership in numerous professional societies, including the Canadian College of Health Leaders, the American College of Health Executives, and the Project Management Institute. Ann is a member of the Shared Services West Board of Directors.

Soumya has more than 21 years of experience within the technology, business consulting, and outsourcing industry and has worked with large global enterprise clients in various leadership roles across the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. His professional experience includes P/L management, business and go-to-market strategy, digital transformation, C-suite client relationship management, strategic program delivery, and organizational transformation.

Soumya has been working extensively in the banking and financial services market for the past 15 years and his areas of expertise include core banking modernization, digital transformation, payments, and wealth management. As a Canada Market Unit Leader of Banking & Capital Markets, Soumya has the responsibility to drive strategic partnership with clients and grow the Capgemini business footprint in Canada to make Capgemini a strategic partner of choice for Canadian financial services clients. Prior to this role, Soumya was instrumental in building a strategic relationship with one of the largest global FI in Canada with annual revenue of $150 million.

Soumya is a member of board of directors at Pine River Institute and also serves as chair of the Finance Committee. In addition, Soumya is also an active member of Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and previously held position as a member of the Executive Committee that focused on promoting corporate governance among not-for-profit and for-profit/SME organizations in Greater Toronto Area (GTA) West region. He also works as a mentor for the young entrepreneurs at Futurpreneur Canada.

Soumya holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST), India, and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, US. Soumya also recently completed an Executive Leadership program at Booth School of Business. He is an avid traveler and loves to explore new cultures and cuisines.

Sheryl King currently holds the position of Managing Director Strategy and Business Management for the Global Corporate Bank at the Bank of Montreal. This role has direct accountability for designing and execution of strategy. Planning, regulatory, financial, and operational oversight, including monitoring and forecasting constraining resources, are critical in the complex, highly regulated banking environment.

Through Sheryl’s international banking experience, she has held various diverse leadership roles heading up finance professional teams in both the capital markets and retails banking pillars. Her experience includes driving the enterprise-wide capital plan and capital target-setting process. Having served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Merchant Bank and led the stress-testing process, governance oversight and risk appreciation are strong skills that she has developed.

Sheryl served on the Board of Agricorp (a Crown corporation) for six years until September 2019. She served as a member on both the Finance and Audit Committee in addition to the Human Resource and Governance Committee. During her directorship, Agricorp undertook a significant technology replacement project.

As a seasoned professional, Sheryl holds a CA and MBA, completed an advanced program in Treasury Management, and is a Fellow of Canadian Bankers (FICB). She has also completed the corporate directors program through the DeGroote School of Business.

Dr. Peter McLaughlin was appointed to the position of President & CEO of Peterborough Regional Health Centre on May 24, 2016, after serving as Interim President & CEO for the previous 19 months. Dr. McLaughlin initially joined the staff at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) in 2005 and served on the hospital’s senior leadership team as Chief Medical Officer, Chief of Staff, Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee, and Vice President prior to his current appointment.

Dr. McLaughlin is formerly a Professor of Medicine, University of Toronto, and a staff cardiologist at the University Health Network. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, and the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. McLaughlin graduated from the University of Toronto Medical School and undertook post-graduate training at the Ottawa Civic Hospital, Toronto General Hospital, and Stanford University Medical Center.

Dr. McLaughlin has had a long interest in investigation and treatment of the adult patient with congenital heart disease. He has published over 120 original articles, 175 abstracts, one book, and has lectured and given demonstrations in his area of interest in the United States, Canada, Europe, and China. He has completed terms as a Governor of the American College of Cardiology, President of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, President of the Canadian Cardiovascular Academy, and Director, Division of Cardiology, at the University of Toronto.

Since assuming leadership roles at PRHC, Dr. McLaughlin has particularly focused on developing quality of care programs, developing the regional role of PRHC, and fostering relationships with the community. Some of the more recent achievements for PRHC include Accreditation with Exemplary Standing from Accreditation Canada, Stroke Distinction from Accreditation Canada, Meritorious Standing from the National Safety Quality Improvement Program in surgical services, national recognition from the Canadian Patient Safety Institute with a Patient Safety award for work in safe handover and clinical cultural competence initiatives, and a Leading Governance Excellence award from the OHA PRHC’s collaboration with Peterborough Housing Corporation to develop a supportive, affordable housing project for frail, elderly people in need. PRHC also initiated a PCI program and Code STEMI program in recent years, which serves its large geographic referral region.

Ali Mir joined Extendicare in 2019 as the Vice President of ParaMed Operations. A former McKinsey and Co. consultant with a focus on public and private sector transformation and growth strategies, Ali has served as Vice President at eHealth Ontario and was most recently a Managing Principal at TELUS Health, where he managed the health outcomes, analytics, and innovation agendas.

Ali started his career as a Canadian Foreign Service Officer and served both in Ottawa and as a diplomat at Canadian embassies in Latin America and the Middle East. Ali believes deeply in community service and has served on the board of the Canadian Mental Health Association and currently serves on the Board of the Canadian Cancer Society. Ali holds an M.Phil in Development Studies from the University of Cambridge, and a B.A (Hons) Economics from McMaster University.

Todd Stepanuik is the President & CEO, Norfolk and West Haldimand General Hospitals, effective July 11, 2022.

Mr. Stepanuik served as President & CEO at the Middlesex Hospital Alliance in Strathroy, Ontario, for nine years.

Mr. Stepanuik is a Certified Health Executive and holds a degree in Hospital/Business Administration. He is immediate past president/chair of the Canadian Chapter of the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE) and was recognized in 2020 with a service award for his commitment to the healthcare management profession. He was also the recipient of the senior healthcare executive of the year award in 2021.

Mr. Stepanuik brings with him an extensive background in healthcare, with over 30 years of executive leadership experience as President & CEO and demonstrated dedication to quality healthcare and patient safety.

Eric C. Whaley is a senior information technology executive with significant experience in oversight of large-scale technology programs and leveraging technologies to achieve business growth, improvements, and exceptional customer experience. He has a history of leveraging technologies and building inspired teams to renovate and propel businesses to the next level of growth and expansion. He is a very effective change agent and is recognized for leadership in identifying goals and instituting governance, methodologies, and approaches for collaboration.

Eric is currently the Chief Information Officer at Wolseley Canada, a leading distributor of plumbing, HVAC, waterworks, and industrial products. Wolseley Canada is part of the global Ferguson organization, which is the world’s largest trade distributor. In his current role, he is responsible for digital transformation and all aspects of technology across the organization, including technology operations, applications, ecommerce, data platforms, and innovation. Eric established and led the initial transformation of the organization leveraging cloud and SaaS at the core and modernizing the IT structure and skills to align with a digitally enabled world. He is also leading the organization in leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Prior to his current role, Eric was the Chief Information Officer at the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) from 2008 to 2014, where he led the technology efforts to deliver a modernized equity trading surveillance platform to transform from a single exchange trading market to a multi-exchange trading market and improved the security framework of the organization. From 2002 to 2008, Eric was the senior executive leading the IT function for the capital markets division of HSBC Bank Canada and was the Chief Technology Officer of the joint venture of Merrill Lynch and HSBC in Canada from 2000 to 2002. From 1996 to 2000, Eric was the Chief Information Officer for the capital markets division of Canada Trust.

Past volunteer activities include being selected and trained as an Auxiliary Police Officer in Halton Region, where he served from 2013 to 2016.

Shafique Shamji joined OCINet in September 2022, immediately after having served as the Executive Vice President and CIO of The Ottawa Hospital.

With over 25 years of experience in telecommunications, IS/IT, and software development, Shafique has held executive, C-level, and Board of Director roles based in both Canada and the United States.

For example, within Canada, Shafique served as Chief Operating Officer at Macadamian Technologies; President at Privasoft Corporation; President at Time iCR; Vice President of Professional Services at Sprint Canada / Rogers Communications.

In the United States, he worked as Chief Operating Officer of TeleHub Network Services in Illinois; President of LD Exchange in California; and Vice President of Network Services for Fidelity National Information Systems in California.

He also gained invaluable experience in several engineering and product marketing management positions with AT&T Canada, Unitel Communications, and Nortel.

Shafique has a computer engineering degree from McMaster University in Hamilton and received his Professional Engineering designation in 1991.