Selection Committee

Jo Mark Zurel, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D

President: Stonebridge Capital Inc.

Jo Mark Zurel is the President/Owner of Stonebridge Capital Inc., a private investment company that invests in a variety of businesses including Atlantic Canadian start-up and high-growth companies. Previously he served as Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of CHC Helicopter Corporation, one of the world’s largest helicopter operating companies, as well as Chairman of Newfoundland Power. He is currently a board member at Fortis Inc., a director of Major Drilling, the CPP Investment Board, and Highland Copper.

Mr. Zurel is active in the community, supporting many charities and non-profit organizations. Mr. Zurel’s current and recent not-for-profit activities include chair of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, chair of the St. John’s Board of Trade, chair of Junior Achievement of Newfoundland and Labrador and chair of its Newfoundland and Labrador Business Hall of Fame Committee, chair of the Canadian Red Cross Prepared capital campaign, board member with the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Care Foundation, the Institute of Corporate Directors and Propel ICT. He was honoured as one of Canada’s Top 40 under 40 in 2000 and named Outstanding Philanthropist for Newfoundland and Labrador for 2015. Mr. Zurel holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Dalhousie University and is a Chartered Accountant.

Jo Mark is the current Chair of Canada’s CFO of the Year Award Selection Committee.

Bruce Waterman, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D

Corporate Director

Mr. Waterman is a Corporate Director, currently serving on the Boards of Encana Corp., Irving Oil Limited and Prairie Storm Energy Corp.

Bruce retired in January 2013 from Nutrien Ltd. (formerly Agrium Inc.) as Executive Vice President, having held senior roles as Chief Financial Officer, as well as in business development and strategy since April 2000. Prior to Talisman, Mr. Waterman spent 15 years (1981 to 1996) at Amoco Corporation, including Dome Petroleum Limited, a predecessor company. At Amoco (a global chemical, oil and gas company which merged with British Petroleum in 1998), his roles included various positions in finance, accounting and business development.

Bruce holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from Queen’s University, and is a Chartered Accountant. He was chosen as Canada’s CFO of the Year TM in 2008, and named a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta in 2011. He is past Chair and a member of the Selection Committee of Canada’s CFO of the Year Award, and is a member of the Advisory Board of FEI Canada’s CFO Leadership Beyond Finance Program.

Kathleen O’Neill, FCPA, FCA

Corporate Director

Kathleen O’Neill currently serves on the Board of Directors of ARC Resources Limited, Invesco Canada Funds (Invesco Canada Fund Inc. and Invesco Corporate Class Inc. boards, and Invesco Canada Funds Advisory Board and Independent Review Committee), Finning International Inc., Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and Cadillac Fairview Corporation Ltd. Ms. O’Neill was previously the Executive Vice-President, Personal & Commercial Development and Head of Small Business Banking at BMO Financial Group. Prior to joining BMO Financial Group, she was with PwC for 19 years including eight years as a tax partner. Ms. O’Neill is past Chair of St. Joseph’s Health Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Centre Foundation.

In 2005, Ms. O’Neill was accredited through the Institute of Corporate Directors / Rotman School of Management Director’s Education Program. She is on the Ontario Advisory Council for the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). Kathleen instructs the audit committee effectiveness course and is a frequent examiner/executive in residence for the ICD. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (with Honours) from the University of Toronto and is a Fellow of the Ontario Institute of Chartered Accountants. Ms. O’Neill was on the Steering Committee on Enhancing Audit Quality jointly sponsored by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and by the Canadian Public Accountability Board. For the past two consecutive years, she was selected as one of Canada’s most powerful women by the Women’s Executive Network.

Russell Goodman, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D

Corporate Director

Russell Goodman is a corporate director of public, private and not-for-profit companies. He is a member of the boards or committees of:

Gildan Activewear, where he is chair of the Audit and Finance Committee and is a member of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee;
Northland Power, where he chairs the Audit Committee and is a member of the Compensation and Independent Directors Committees;
Metro, where he is a member of the Governance and Nominating and Audit Committees;
Investors Group Mutual Funds, where he is a member of the Independent Review Committee;
Forth Ports; and
Whistler Blackcomb Holdings (until October 2016), where he chaired both the Audit Committee and Special Committee of independent directors.

Mr. Goodman was a partner at PwC until his retirement in 2011, where he held senior management and leading client responsibilities at Canadian, North American and Global levels. Mr. Goodman is a Chartered Professional Accountant, a fellow of the Quebec Order of Chartered Professional Accountants, Certified by the Institute of Corporate Directors (Canada) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University. In the not-for-profit field, Mr. Goodman has held many directorships and continues to support a number of organizations, primarily for the underprivileged and for amateur sport.

Benita M. Warmbold, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D

Corporate Director

Benita Warmbold currently serves as Corporate Director at SNC-Lavalin, Methanex and CPAB. Ms. Warmbold was previously at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board as the Senior Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer for 5 years and prior as Senior Vice-President and Chief Operations Officer for 5 years. Prior to joining Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, she was with Northwater Capital Management Inc. as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer for 11 years and senior leadership positions with Canada Development Investment Corporation and KPMG.

Ms. Warmbold is active on several other boards, including Crestone Peak Resources, Queen’s University Board of Trustees and Women’s College Hospital. As well as Chair of the Smith School of Business Advisory Board (Queen’s University) and on the Patrons Council of the Alzheimer Society of Toronto.

In 2017, Ms. Warmbold was honored with a CFO Special Recognition Award for Social responsibility and mentoring at Canada’s CFO of the Year Awards. She was also recognized three times as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women “Top 100” and in 2016 was inducted in the WXN Hall of Fame. Ms. Warmbold was selected as one of the 50 diverse board-ready candidates in the Canadian Board Diversity Council’s first-ever Diversity 50.

Achieved Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario and Institute of Corporate Directors.

Pamela Steer, FCPA, FCA, CFA, CBV

Chief Financial Officer

Pamela Steer is President and CEO of CPA Canada. At the time of winning the award Pamela was the Chief Financial Officer of Payments Canada. As a member of the executive management team, Pamela has overall responsibility for overseeing the financial and corporate planning functions of the organization.

Pamela joined Payments Canada from the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), one of the largest insurance organizations in North America, where she was the CFO and Head of Finance and Employer Services.

Pamela is also past chair of the CFA Society Toronto, a member of the City of Toronto’s Investment Board and sits on the Advisory Board of the University of Waterloo’s School of Accounting and Finance. In addition, she was appointed to the global advisory council for the Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) under The Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation, and is a founding member of the Canadian chapter of the A4S CFO Leadership Network.

Pamela holds a Master of Accounting degree from the University of Waterloo, is a CPA Fellow, is accredited as a Chartered Accountant and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst and Chartered Business Valuator designations. In 2019, Pamela was awarded Canada’s CFO Of The Year Award.