Board of Directors biographies

Suromitra was appointed permanent Chair of the Board of Directors of Canada Post in June of 2021, after serving as Acting Chair since July 2020. She joined the Board in May of 2018. As Chair, she sits on every committee of the Board of Directors.

A seasoned corporate director, Suromitra is a board director of Purolator Holdings Ltd., and is Chair of the Royal Bank Global Asset Management Independent Review Committee. Previously, she served on various boards, including the Edmonton International Airport, Travel Alberta, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Canadian Blood Services, and as chair of the Royal BC Museum. She has also been an active community leader, having served on the boards of the United Way of the Alberta Capital Region, the CN Edmonton Community Board, the Telus Victoria Community Board and the Pacific Parkinson’s Research Institute.

Suromitra began her career in litigation and has held a number of senior corporate positions in the non-profit, public and private sectors, including as BC and Yukon Vice-President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business and Vice-President, Corporate and Government Relations at Partnerships BC.

Suromitra is fluent in English, French and German and has a conversational ability in Bengali. She has a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa and a Bachelor of Arts (French Literature) from the University of Victoria.

Canada Post is the country’s postal service and leading parcel delivery company. In 2018, it delivered 8 billion pieces of mail, parcels and messages to 16.4 million addresses. With its subsidiaries Purolator Inc., SCI Group Inc. and Innovapost Inc., Canada Post is a leader in providing innovative e-commerce, marketing and logistics solutions.

As Chief Commercial Officer for Canada Post from August 2016 until his appointment as CEO, Doug led growth strategies for Canada Post’s Parcels, Direct Marketing and Transaction Mail businesses. He oversaw all commercial functions, including Sales, Marketing, Retail, Digital, Business Development and Customer Service. He was also a member of the senior executive team that reviews and approves major business plans, processes and policies, as well as performance indicators and targets.

An accomplished senior executive with a strong focus on customer service, Doug has more than 30 years of broad experience in the consumer packaged goods industry. He worked with Canadian and global organizations – leading sales, marketing, and product management.

Before joining Canada Post in August 2016, Doug led well-established companies through complex business transformations. He was President and CEO of Scotsburn Dairy Group, the largest Atlantic Canadian-owned dairy processor and distributor. Prior to that, he was the first non-family member to be President and CEO of Ganong Bros. Limited, one of Canada’s oldest family businesses. Previously, he held executive roles with Parmalat, Nestlé and Coca-Cola.

Doug also chairs the board of Innovapost.

A proud native of Nova Scotia, Doug earned both a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Masters in Business Administration from Dalhousie University in Halifax.

An economist by training, Louise Champoux-Paillé has been teaching governance and risk management at Université du Québec à Montréal for 10 years. Her research and volunteer work have helped promote good governance, ethics, sustainability and women’s access to strategic roles.

Her senior management positions include founding president of the Bureau des services financiers du Québec (now called the Autorité des marchés financiers), executive vice-president of the Ordre des administrateurs agréés and president of Leucan, which supports children with leukemia and other forms of cancer.

In her career, she has served on numerous boards, including the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, the Université du Québec à Montréal, Loto-Québec, la Société du parc Jean-Drapeau, the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Montréal and the CHU Sainte-Justine.

She holds an MBA, a master’s degree in museology and a certificate in governance from Université Laval. She has successfully completed the Governing for Nonprofit Excellence program from the Harvard Business School.

She was named a member of the Ordre national du Québec in 2012. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2016 for her contributions as an administrator and for her commitment to promoting women in governance. In 2014, she won the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case, granted to women who have made outstanding contributions to the quality of life for women in Canada.

Krista is an experienced corporate director and senior business leader known for bringing strategy to execution. Her career as a business executive in Canada spans more than 25 years with global companies including Samsung, Walmart, Toys“R”Us and Ace Hardware.

With expertise in ecommerce, retail and digital, Krista’s extensive business experience covers the health and wellness, grocery, apparel and electronics sectors. Her passion for digital technology has helped organizations generate results in innovation, customer experience and brand loyalty through engagement.

An experienced board director, Krista previously served as vice chair of the board of directors of Headwaters Healthcare Centre and on the boards of Headwaters Healthcare Foundation and Starlight Children’s Foundation. A graduate of Brock University, Krista is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Management Accountant of Ontario and a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Ron is an experienced executive business leader, CEO, COO and Board Director with more than 30 years in senior management roles. He has an extensive background in logistics, distribution and fulfillment, in fintech, and in the retail and consumer packaged goods sectors. He was previously President and CEO of The Source (Bell) Electronics, a chain of more than 750 electronics stores, after Bell’s acquisition of The Source by Circuit City (InterTan), where he had previously held CEO and board roles. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice-President, Merchandising, Marketing and Supply Chain, with Best Buy Co. Inc.

He has served on the boards of private companies and industry associations. Ron is currently a director of Wildlife Preservation Canada, a not-for-profit that does hands-on work to save animal species at risk of extinction in Canada.

Ricky is Senior Partner of RGL Fontaine, providing professional advice and services to Aboriginal governments and their entities in the key areas of programs and services delivery, governance, economic development and fiscal relations.

Innu from the community of Uashat mak Mani-Utenam, Ricky has held a number of senior executive positions for organizations in the private, public, parapublic and non-governmental sectors.

He previously served as executive director of Innu Takuaikan Uashat mak Mani-utenam, a local government dedicated to the social, economic, community and political development of the Innu community of more than 4,500 people.

Ricky has served on several boards as chair and director. He has shared his expertise with the Régie du bâtiment du Québec, the Laurentian Pilotage Authority, United Way Centraide and Le Régime des Bénéfices Autochtone, among others. He remains active at the community, regional and national levels while finding time for his passion for ultradistance running.

Claude Germain has extensive governance experience in both private and public firms, and non-profit organizations.

Mr. Germain is currently the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Rouge River Capital (since 2009), a merchant bank focused on acquiring controlling stakes in private midmarket transportation and manufacturing companies.

Mr. Germain serves on the boards of Triton International, Pillar5 Pharma, Fleet Complete, as well as a number of other private firms controlled by Rouge River Capital. He has also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of SMTC Corporation (2011–2013), a global manufacturer of electronics based in Markham, Ontario. Earlier (2004–2009), he served as Managing Director for Schenker of Canada Ltd., a market-leading logistics services provider.

Mr. Germain started his career as a management consultant specializing in global logistics for The Boston Consulting Group, winning the Canadian Executive of the Year in Logistics in 2002 and 2007.

Mr. Germain holds a master of business administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor of engineering physics (nuclear) from Queen’s University.

André is a seasoned corporate leader with a career spanning more than 35 years in senior executive roles in international manufacturing, distribution and retail.

Previously president and CEO of Brother Canada and vice-chair of Electronics Products Stewardship Canada, André also served as chief financial officer, chief operating officer and chief of internal audit for large national and international manufacturing, distribution and retail companies. He spent five years at the Office of the Auditor General of Canada where he performed statutory audits of federal agencies, departments and Crown corporations.

André has more than 30 years’ governance experience through board roles for commercial and not-for-profit organizations. He currently chairs the board of The SIMA Group and is a member of the board of directors of vadimUS, a clean energy solutions provider.

André is a Certified Professional Accountant with governance certifications such as Administrateur de sociétés certifié and Chartered Director, both from the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés. A member of the Institute of Corporate Directors, he has bachelor’s degrees in administration and commerce from the University of Ottawa, a certification in strategic leadership from Queen’s University, a certificate in optimizing warehouse operations from Concordia University and multiple SAP certifications. André is bilingual in French and English and conversational in Spanish.

Ann is an accomplished leader and corporate executive. With more than 15 years’ experience as a CEO in the high-performance computing and film and television sectors, Ann applies extensive leadership experience as a corporate director in the areas of financial and enterprise risk management, strategy, governance, succession planning and transformation.

Ann’s previous experience included serving as CEO of ACENET in Halifax, president and CEO of Film Nova Scotia and as an executive with the Conference Board of Canada.

An experienced corporate board member and committee chair, Ann holds a Masters in Electronic Commerce from Dalhousie University and is a longstanding member of the International Women’s Forum. She is a certified corporate director and Chartered Professional Accountant.

Tom has extensive experience in international logistics, having held senior executive positions throughout North America in the multi-modal cargo and logistics industries. He served in senior management roles at Livingston International in Toronto, as president and CEO of Edmonton International Airport and Halifax International Airport, and as president of Canadian North Airline in Yellowknife.

He has held board positions on the Airports Council International World Governing Board, the Airports Council International - North America, and served as chair of the Canadian Airports Council.

Tom sits on the board of PortsToronto and is executive director of Airlink, an international non-profit organization that provides early onset logistic and humanitarian support for global disasters. Tom supports regional community organizations as a member of the board for Explore Edmonton and the Telus Edmonton Community Foundation.

Melissa has almost four decades of international leadership experience across a range of enterprises, having played key roles in transformative change. She has a track record of delivering real impact for organizations facing complex, multi-stakeholder, global opportunities.

After spending the first phase of her career in healthcare, she drove change at Air Canada during a period of multiple transformational phases, and later became a founding executive with Aeroplan (which became known globally as AIMIA). As a member of Aeroplan’s senior management team, Melissa drove organizational growth and change, including a successful financial and corporate restructuring during a bankruptcy process, an initial public offering, international merger and acquisition activity, and a multiyear global rebranding.

Since then, she has served on a number of corporate boards and advisory boards, including those of Exchange Income Corporation, Hydro One, Enghouse Systems Ltd., Athennian, VIA Rail Canada, Groupe Touchette, MD Financial Holdings and Rideau Recognition Solutions.

Melissa has served as chair of the board of an international NGO, member of the board of an organization driving diversity in Canada’s capital markets, vice-chair of a national professional association, and as a professor of practice and executive-in-residence at McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate classes.