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Appointee Biographies

Ontario Financing Authority

GREG ORENCSAK

Greg Orencsak became the Deputy Minister of Finance in June 2018. Greg first joined the Ontario Public Service (OPS) in 1999 on an internship as an economist for the Ministry of Finance. Since then, he has held progressively senior positions in the public service. In November 2010, he became Associate Deputy Minister of the Office of the Budget and Treasury Board in the Ministry of Finance, where he was responsible for the coordination of the delivery of the annual Ontario budget. He was appointed Deputy Minister of Government Services in April 2014 and later that year became the Deputy Minister of Treasury Board Secretariat. Concurrently, he also served as Chair of the Public Service Commission, which ensures the effective management of human resources in the OPS. In 2017, he became Deputy Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development. Greg also previously worked in the private sector as a partner in Ernst & Young’s Canadian advisory practice, where he served as the firm’s National Leader for Public Policy and Fiscal Innovation.

MARIE MACDOUGALL

Before her appointment to the OFA Board of Directors, Marie MacDougall was Vice President and Treasurer at Export Development Canada (EDC) for 31 years. During her tenure at EDC, Marie occupied various financial, investment, and accounting roles before she was promoted to Vice President and Treasurer in February of 2000. As head of EDC’s Treasury group, her team provided financial and technical support to the lending and insurance operations of the corporation. Marie’s team of capital market experts developed and executed financial strategies and transactions for the corporation’s long-term debt issues, short-term borrowings, investments and foreign exchange transactions, all derivative and pricing activities, and investor relations. In addition, Marie attended the EDC’s Board of Directors meetings to provide support to the Chair of the Audit Committee and address any questions regarding EDC’s Treasury operations.

(LAURA) RITA THEIL

Rita is a veteran of global corporate finance with over 30 years’ experience advising public and private power, water and energy companies. She has advised governments, companies and investors on privatizations, cross border mergers, acquisitions, and financing strategies in power, water and energy around the world. She has both advised on, and lead from the board or senior management level, IPOs in Canada (TSX and TSX-V), the USA (NASDAQ) and the United Kingdom. Rita is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of JacKryn Holdings Inc., a financial advisory firm focused on corporate governance and interim strategic management. A Canadian resident, Rita works globally on energy and infrastructure transactions. She is also the founder of The Women’s Mentor Initiative. Rita serves as the Chair of the Investment Committee of the Board of Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, the Chair of Ceylon Graphite Corp., an Independent Director on the Investment Review Committee of NewGen Asset Management, and on the Board of the Toronto Public Library Foundation. Rita has an MBA and Chartered Director designation. She holds an LLB from the University of Ottawa and is a Member of the Bar in Ontario and the United Kingdom.

PETER WILLIAMS

Peter (Grant) Williams is a debt capital markets/government finance professional with a 30-year track record of providing timely and reliable advice to senior government and corporate clients. He retired from the Bank of Montreal in 2020 where his last role was Managing Director and Co-Head of Canadian Government and Supra, Sovereign and Agency (SSA) Origination. After being appointed to that role in 2015, Grant oversaw the growth of its global US$ SSA origination group into a market leader. Prior to that, Grant headed up the Canadian Government Finance team that focussed on providing innovative and cost-effective financing to all three tiers of government, which totalled ~$120 billion per annum of issuance. In addition, his responsibilities also included several of the largest infrastructure and utility issuers in the Canadian debt market. Earlier in his career, Grant spent time at Citibank Canada. Grant has an MBA from the Ivey School of Business at Western University, a Bachelor of Business from the University of South Australia and was a Certified Financial Analyst charter holder from 1997–2020.

HEATHER-ANNE IRWIN

Heather-Anne Irwin is the Academic Director of the Master of Financial Risk Management and an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream at the Rotman School of Management. She is also the Executive Director of the Canadian Securities Institute Research Foundation. Prior to this, Heather-Anne spent 19 years in capital markets at TD Securities, Nesbitt Burns, and Citibank where she occupied various senior roles in corporate finance, fixed income and structured products. Currently Heather-Anne is a board member of Artis REIT and a member of the Independent Review Committee of Starlight Capital; she was previously a board member of InnVest REIT. She also sits on several private boards. She is the Founding President of Women in Capital Markets. Heather-Anne’s not-for-profit board work includes, Up With Women where she is the Past Chair, and Bay St. Deconstructed. She was a member of the board of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation from 2002–2008. Heather-Anne has a degree in Engineering Chemistry from Queen’s University and an MBA from the Schulich School of Business at York University. She holds the ICD.D designation.

DIANE MCARTHUR

Diane McArthur is a recently retired public servant. She was the first ever Chief Talent Officer of the Ontario Public Service where she chaired the Ontario Public Service Commission and spearheaded a strategic plan to modernize the public service. Prior to this, she was the Executive Lead for the Secretariat supporting the Premier’s Advisory Council on Government Assets. The Secretariat worked with ministries to successfully implement one of the largest IPO's in Ontario's history and most significant reform of beverage alcohol retailing since prohibition. Diane’s previous executive roles include Assistant Deputy Minister and Executive Officer of Ontario Public Drug Programs, where she oversaw the administration of the second largest drug insurance program in North America; Assistant Deputy Minister of the Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat; Executive Coordinator of Health and Social Policy in Cabinet Office. Diane has extensive experience in health human resource policy and planning for health care provider training, education, supply and distribution initiatives, data and health information planning and analysis, health care provider negotiations, rural health policy, labour relations, and service delivery restructuring. She is currently a board member of CorHealth, which provides strategic leadership to improve cardiac, stroke and vascular care in the province, and of Belmont House, a charitable, non-profit home for seniors offering long-term care and retirement living. Diane’s previous Board experience includes the Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation (Audit Committee member), the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health (Chair, Audit and Finance Committee), and the Michener Institute of Canada. Diane has a Bachelor of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax and an MBA from the University of Ottawa. She received her ICD.D designation in June 2018.

PAUL POTVIN

Paul Potvin is a former derivatives trader and structurer with 26 years of experience in Canadian and international fixed income, equities and credit. Paul has held senior positions with Canadian and international banks, including National Bank of Canada, CIBC, and ABN AMRO / Royal Bank of Scotland. Paul also served as a consultant to the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec in an initiative to reduce the credit risk it assumed following the Montreal Accord restructuring of the Canadian asset-backed commercial paper market. Before working in the financial services industry, Paul was an assistant professor of finance at the University of Toronto. Paul holds a PhD in Business Economics from Harvard University, and an Honours BA from the University of Toronto.

GADI MAYMAN

As CEO of the Ontario Financing Authority (OFA), Gadi is on the boards of Infrastructure Ontario and Invest Ontario. He is Co-Chair of the Joint Nuclear Funds Investment Committee, a joint committee of the OFA and Ontario Power Generation. Prior to joining the OFA, Gadi worked at Export Development Canada in Ottawa and in the International Division of the TD Bank. He received a Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Toronto in 1981, and an MBA from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario in 1988.

STEVE GEIST

Stephen Geist has over 30 years of experience in wealth and asset management. He retired from CIBC in 2017 where his last role was Senior Executive Vice President and Group Head, CIBC Wealth Management. Prior to this role, Steve was President and CEO of CIBC Asset Management. Before joining CIBC he held senior positions with TD Wealth Management and was also with Fidelity Investments and Prices Waterhouse. Steve currently serves on the Advisory Board of Ardenton Capital, a global private equity corporation. He is the Chair of the Capital Sector Audit Committee for the Province of Ontario and is a member of the Independent Review Committee of SEI Investments Canada. Mr. Geist is a Chartered Professional Accountant and is a Fellow of the Institute with an FCPA/FCA designation. He holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and is a past director of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association. Mr. Geist is also a Certified Financial Planner and has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfried Laurier University.

RANI DHALIWAL

Rani K. Dhaliwal retired from Humber College in 2021, where she was the Senior Vice-President, Transformation and Strategic Partnerships at Humber, supporting the advancement of the college’s strategic priorities. Rani oversaw Humber College’s unique strategic partnerships with industry and community and the University of Guelph Humber. She also led the establishment and implementation of the Humber-Seneca Polytechnic Partnership and the successful $50M capital campaign (Unlimited). In her earlier role as the college’s SVP Planning and Corporate Services & CFO, Rani provided leadership in the areas of financial services, capital construction risk management, IT and strategic planning. She also has extensive private sector experience in the manufacturing sector. Rani has a passion for volunteering and working on issues related to health and education. She currently serves on the Ontario Internal Audit Committee and as a director of the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace. Rani has previously been involved with the William Osler Health System, World University Service of Canada, UNICEF Canada and the Federation of Canadian-Brazilian Businesses. Rani has her FCPA FCMA. She has a BA in Economics and in Business Administration from York University, and Chartered Director designation from McMaster University.In her former role as the college’s SVP Planning and Corporate Services & CFO, Rani provided leadership in the areas of financial services, risk management, IT and strategic planning. She also has extensive private sector experience. Rani has a passion for volunteering and working on issues related to health and education. She currently serves on the Ontario Internal Audit Committee and as a director of the Ontario Education Collaborative Marketplace. Rani has previously been involved with the William Osler Health System, World University Service of Canada, UNICEF Canada and the Federation of Canadian-Brazilian Businesses. Rani has her FCPA FCMA. She has a BA in Economics and in Business Administration from York University, and Chartered Director designation from McMaster University.