The surgical team preparing one of the surgical robots for a training session. v

Our Board of Directors

Thanks to a committed group of volunteers – our Board of Directors – we achieve the highest standards in governance, stewardship and accountability.

Our Board ensures that:

• Funds are used for the purpose for which they are given
• Funds are managed effectively and ethically
• The Foundation’s affairs are managed with appropriate care and control
• We comply with any legislation pertaining to privacy issues


Vice-Chairs

picture of Kim Mason

Kim Mason

Ms. Kim Mason is executive vice president and head of RBC Private Banking Canada, which provides high-net-worth individuals, families and family offices with comprehensive strategies and solutions for their wealth management needs. In her role, she is responsible for shaping the business strategy, driving growth and leading a highly enabled team to deliver trusted advice, tailored solutions and personalized service.

Since joining RBC, Kim has held progressive roles, including senior vice president, Business Distribution, Strategy and Performance and regional president for Atlantic Canada and Greater Toronto.

Kim earned her Master of Business Administration at Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and received her Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from the University of Western Ontario. In June 2014, she obtained her ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD).

During her career at RBC, Kim has been recognized as a Top 50 CEO by Atlantic Business Magazine for 2012, 2013 and 2014. She was named one of Canada’s Top 25 Women of Influence for 2013 by Women of Influence magazine and one of WXN Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women for 2014 and 2023.

A believer in community, Kim has held director and chair roles on health care boards for two decades and is on the board of the University Health Network (UHN) Foundation. She’s also a director on the board of Canada’s Walk of Fame (CWoF), and a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO). In 2021, she was appointed to Ontario’s Task Force on Women and the Economy, where she worked alongside members from the public and private sector to move forward women’s economic empowerment in a post-COVID-19 economy. In 2022, she was honored by receiving the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award. Kim and her husband have four adult children and reside in Oakville. Kim currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Foundation Board and as Chair of the Human Resources Committee.

Board Members

picture of Sam Ajmera

Sam Ajmera

Serving on the Board since 2016, Mr. Sam Ajmera is Co-Founder of FGF Brands, which he co-founded in 2004 with his two sons; Ojus and Tejus. FGF Brands is a commercial bakery that produces an entire collection of authentic flatbreads sold under the brand name “Stonefire.”

Born in Mumbai, India, Mr. Ajmera holds a Masters Degree in Business from the University of Detroit. Following his graduation, he moved to Canada in 1974, where he co-founded Dough Delight with his brother Shreyas. By the time the company was sold in 1994 to Canada Bread, it was producing 5 million bagels and 3 million croissants a day.

Mr. Ajmera is a supporter of BAPS Charities, a non-profit organization committed to humanitarian operations throughout the world in such diverse fields as medical, educational, environmental, community and disaster relief services. In April 2012, he also supported the Ajmera Family Chair in Urology at Sunnybrook Hospital to further pursue genetic research in prostate cancer.

In 2009, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) gave Mr. Ajmera the Entrepreneur Award in recognition of his achievements.

Mr. Ajmera has generously supported the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation through the establishment of the Soham & Shaila Ajmera Family Transplant Centre and the Soham & Shaila Ajmera Family Chair in Molecular Diabetes Research. He has also served as member of the ‘Diwali – A Night to Shine’ Event Committee and in May 2009 hosted a dinner in support of diabetes research. In 2009, FGF Brands was a presenting sponsor of the Ladies on the Links golf event raising funds for the mechanical heart program.

picture of Daniella Dimitrov

Daniella Dimitrov

Ms. Daniella Dimitrov is a mining finance executive and corporate director. She has 25+ years of experience in building, leading and operating businesses in mining and financial services in various strategy, finance, operations, corporate development and governance roles. Her previous roles include President and CEO, Interim CEO, CFO of multi mine gold/copper producers and a $2B+ mine developer, partner at a mining investment bank, Executive Vice-Chair of an iron ore developer, COO of a national wealth management and capital markets firm.

Since 2010, Ms. Dimitrov serves and has served as a director of a number of companies in the natural resources, energy and chemicals industries. She is currently a director of Nexa Resources, the fifth largest zinc miner and metallic zinc producer globally (and a member of its Sustainability & Capital Projects and Audit committees) and a trustee of Chemtrade Logistics, a provider of chemicals and services (and a member of the Responsible Care, Compensation and Corporate Governance committees and Chair of the Audit committee).

Ms. Dimitrov was chosen as one of the Top 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining for 2016, was a Canada Board Diversity Council – 2016 Diversity 50 Candidate and has the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Directorship Certification, an ESG designation (GCB.D) from Global Competent Boards, an Executive MBA from Kellogg School of Management and Schulich School of Business and a law degree from the University of Windsor.

picture of Laurence Goldstein

Laurence Goldstein

Mr. Laurence Goldstein is currently the President of Canuck Properties Ltd, which is a real estate investment company that develops, owns, and manages a portfolio of commercial and industrial properties in Canada. He holds an MBA from Ivey Business School at Western University and received his undergraduate degree at Boston University where he graduated with a BA with a Political Science major. As well, he played on Boston
University’s Golf Team which was an NCAA Division 1 program. Over his business career, he has served on a number of company Boards, including Fifth Wheel Truck Stops and Trio Tech Inc., where he led the sale of the company to German manufacturer Desch.

In 2001, Mr. Goldstein co-founded and served as President, Storagepipe Solutions, which went on to become the pre-eminent Canadian provider of fully managed online data backup and disaster recovery services. He served as the company’s President until 2007 after which he served as Chair of the company’s Board of Directors until the company was sold to US-based Thrive Networks in April 2023.

Mr. Goldstein has made it a priority to be an active community member through the years concurrent to his business activities. Most recently he served on the Board of the Baycrest Foundation from 2000-2022, and sat on the Executive Committee, the Governance Committee and the Nominations Committee, which he chaired. He was elected Chair of the Board of the Baycrest Foundation in June 2013 and served as Chair until October 2017. Among the many activities as Chair of the Foundation, he led the search for and recruitment of the current CEO. Concurrently, Mr. Goldstein served on the Board of Baycrest Senior Care from 2013-2017, where he served on the Management Committee, the Strategic Committee and the Compensation Committee. Beyond Baycrest, he was previously an active member of UJA including sitting as a member of the Business Review Committee which was tasked with vetting organizations looking to locate and operate on UJA’s Vaughan campus.

On a personal note, Mr. Goldstein has been married to his wife Lesli for 27 years, and has three sons, Jack, Nolan and Drew.

picture of Raj Kothari

Raj Kothari

Serving on the Board since 2005, Mr. Raj Kothari was PwC’s Managing Partner for Greater Toronto and Vice Chair of PwC Canada. He was also a member of PwC’s Extended Leadership Team. His business experience spans India, the U.K. and Canada. Raj currently serves as an advisor to a few ultra-high net worth families and also serves on a few Corporate boards including IMCO and Jarislowsky Fraser.

Raj has served in a voluntary capacity on a variety of boards including Bayview Community Services (an organization for the mentally and emotionally challenged), the Duke of Edinburgh Awards-Ontario, Pearson College of the Pacific, the Ontario Arts Foundation, the Stratford Festival of Canada and Soulpepper Theatre Company. Raj was one of the founding members and directors of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) in Canada-now known as ENACTUS. He served as chair of the Board of Governors of the Stratford Festival Endowment Fund and as President of the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce. Raj also served on the International Advisory Council of the Dean of Schulich Business School and on the President’s Advisory Council of OCAD. Raj co-chaired the Stratford Express, the single largest fund-raising event for the Stratford Festival over three years, the fundraising campaign of the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s exhibit, “India The Living Arts,” and the Soulpepper Theatre Company fundraising gala from 2016 to 2018.

Alongside the UHN Foundation board, Raj currently serves on the board of the Aga Khan Museum of Canada.

Raj has chaired ‘Diwali – A Night to Shine’ for nine years, raising in excess of $12 million in support of various causes at UHN, including the Toronto General Hospital Research Institute, emergency care, cardiac care, diabetes, transplant, vision, neuroscience and rehabilitation research.

Raj served as Chair of the Foundation Board from 2018 to 2024. He is currently the Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee and a member of the Investment Committee.

picture of Alan Menkes

Alan Menkes

Mr. Alan Menkes is the President of the High Rise Residential Division of Menkes Developments a multi-disciplined real estate company and leader in the development, construction, and management of high rise residential homes.

Since beginning his career with the company in 1976 he has been one of the key pioneers and innovators of the condominium lifestyle and has completed over 25,000 units in more than 85 buildings.

The company is regarded as one of the most trusted home builders with a strong reputation for quality and customer service excellence.

Under his leadership Alan has spearheaded a number of high profile projects including the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences in Yorkville, Empress Walk the landmark Residential and Retail community in North York’s City Centre and Harbour Plaza a two million square foot Residential, Office and Retail development in the Downtown South core. Currently Alan is overseeing the development of one of its largest developments to date, Sugar Wharf located on the waterfront and will contain 5 Residential towers, a retail podium along with the new headquarters of the LCBO.

Alan has contributed to the building industry through his longtime membership and involvement with the Building Industry and Land Development Association of Toronto. He was most recently awarded the BILD Lifetime Achievement Award and was also the past recipient of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award (Ontario) 2003.

He currently serves on the Board of the Foundation of the University Health Network and has co-chaired a campaign to build a new rapid assessment center within the Emergency Department of the Toronto General Hospital.

Previously Alan has served on the boards of the Baycrest Centre, North York General Hospital Foundation and the United Jewish Appeal, Real Estate Division.

picture of Marcia Moffat

Marcia Moffat

As Country Head of Canada for BlackRock, Ms. Marcia Moffat is responsible for the leadership and strategic direction of BlackRock’s business activities in the region. Through its institutional client and iShares businesses, as well as growing technology and advisory services, BlackRock’s Canada team is focused on sharing the very best of the firm’s global capabilities and local expertise with Canadian clients. Ms. Moffat is also a member of the firm’s Global Operating Committee, Global Human Capital Committee and US & Canada Executive Committee.

Ms. Moffat joined BlackRock in 2015 with over 15 years of experience in financial services. She has spent most of her career in financial services, including several years at the Royal Bank of Canada where she held progressively senior roles in Investment Banking, Investor Relations and Retail Banking. Earlier in her career, she worked as a corporate finance lawyer in the New York and Paris offices of Shearman & Sterling.

Beyond the firm, Ms. Moffat is actively involved with several industry and not-for-profit organizations, and speaks regularly at conferences and other events. She is Board Chair of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, Board Vice Chair of the Ontario Brain Institute, a Board Member of the C.D. Howe Institute, a member of the Business Council of Canada and Co-chair of McGill University’s campaign for its third century. She also dedicates time and resources to a number of philanthropic endeavors.

She earned her MBA and Law degrees from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Science (biology) degree from McGill University.

picture of Melinda Rogers-Hixon

Melinda Rogers-Hixon

Ms. Melinda Rogers-Hixon presently holds the position of Vice Chair at the Rogers Control Trust, having previously served as Deputy Chair of Rogers Communications for six years. Her tenure at Rogers, which began in 2000, witnessed her progression through various senior roles within the organization. Additionally, she assumed the role of Founder at Rogers Venture Partners from 2011 to 2018, a venture fund company focused on investments in broadband-enabled wireline and wireless companies.

Beyond her contributions to Rogers Communications, Ms. Rogers-Hixon served as Chair of the Jays Care Foundation for 22 years.  Under her leadership the foundation grew significantly, being recognized twice by MLB with the annual Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence and is now known as one of the top 100 charities in Canada according to Charity Intelligence.

Ms. Rogers-Hixon is a founding partner at Generation Trust Advisors, a global consultancy specializing in family enterprises. Her other involvements extend to serving as a Director at Huron University College, University Health Network Foundation, a Leadership Board Member at Cleveland Clinic International, and a Trustee at The Bishop Strachan School.  Ms. Rogers-Hixon has recently become a member of the Advisory Board at Shift25, a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming Canada’s collective mindset to unlock the full potential of our economy through innovation and entrepreneurship.

Ms. Rogers-Hixon holds a B.A. from the University of Western Ontario and an M.B.A. from the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. In recognition of her achievements, she was honored with a doctorate from Huron University College at Western University in November 2018.

picture of Andrew Saunders

Andrew Saunders

Mr. Andrew Saunders is the President and CEO of The Globe and Mail, overseeing all aspects of Canada’s national newspaper, its business magazine, digital advertising network, digital platforms and events and conference lines of business. With over 20 years of experience at The Globe, he brings expertise in revenue generation and management, business transformation, change management and digitization, data analytics & consumer insights, technology implementation, branding and performance marketing, pricing optimization and more.

In his previous role as Chief Revenue Officer at The Globe, Andrew was responsible for shaping the monetization strategy and driving the business transition from print to digital across all facets of the business, including subscription revenue, licensing, advertising sales, events and conference business, data engineering & analytics, digital media/UX and consumer marketing.

Andrew is an active and highly respected figure within the media and advertising community, having served on various industry juries, including the Media Innovation Awards, Marketing Hall of Legends, and the Effie Awards. His commitment to the industry is further demonstrated through his past positions as Chair of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB) and Chair of the NADbank Association. Presently, he continues to contribute as a member of the executive team on the IAB board of directors, Chair of the Canadian Cannes Advisory Board, a board member of The Canadian Press, a board director of the World Association of News Publishers – IFRA supervisory board and a valued board member of the Advertising Standards of Canada.

In his capacity as President and CEO, Andrew Saunders is dedicated to maintaining The Globe and Mail’s journalistic excellence

picture of Kevin Smith

Kevin Smith

Dr. Kevin Smith, O.Ont., KSG, is President & CEO of University Health Network, Canada’s largest academic health sciences centre and consistently recognized as one of the world’s top 10 hospitals. Dr. Smith has spent his career at the interface of the University and Research Hospital and is passionately committed to the mission of education, research, and exemplary patient care. Dr. Smith is a pioneer in advancing integrated care models spanning the continuum of health and social services. 

Dr. Smith is a Professor, Institute for Medical Sciences, Department of Medicine, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Educated in Canada, the U.S., and the United Kingdom, Dr. Smith began his career in medical education, followed by leadership roles in university administration, academic hospitals, and health systems. He is professionally certified in Corporate Governance by the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Harvard Program in Effective Governance and completed the Wharton School CEO Program for Health Care Leadership.

Dr. Smith was deeply honoured to be appointed to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest civilian honour. For his contributions to health care, he was made a Knight of St. Gregory by His Holiness The Pope. He has been the grateful recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver and Golden Jubilee Medals. In 2024, Dr. Smith was named one of Newsweek Magazine’s top hospital CEOs.

Dr. Smith has served previously in many roles including as former Chair, Council of Academic Hospitals of Ontario; Chair, The Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ontario Hospital Association, and as a frequent advisor to governments and the private sector.

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