Board of Trustees
Paul C. Genest
Mandeep Roshi Chadha
Manny Blair
Susan Côté-Freeman
Filomena Frisina
Dominique Hamel
Adad Hannah
Julie Jai
Harold Robinson
François R. Roy
Sara Stasiuk
Key Functions of the Board of Trustees:
Strategic Planning
The Board of Trustees sets the Gallery’s direction through its Corporate Plan, the centrepiece of the accountability regime adopted by Parliament for Crown corporations. The Plan keeps Parliament and the public informed of the Gallery’s priorities, objectives, strategies, and performance indicators. It commits the Gallery to a planned strategic direction over a five-year period.
Monitoring and Reporting the Gallery’s Performance
The Board’s oversight role requires regular monitoring of corporate performance, annual assessment of the performance of the Director, and annual reporting to Parliament. Regular monitoring of corporate performance alerts the Board to new developments within the Gallery and in its external environment, and assists the Board in decision-making.
Risk Management
The Board ensures that the Gallery’s principal business risks have been identified and that appropriate systems to monitor and manage these risks are implemented. All major decisions involving Gallery assets and their financing are reviewed and approved by the Board.
Audit Regime
For reassurance about the integrity of the information it receives, as well as the Gallery’s internal control system, the Board relies heavily on the Gallery’s audit system. The internal and external audit regime is set out in Part X of the Financial Administration Act. An external Gallery audit consists of an annual audit and, at least once every ten years, a Special Examination conducted by the Office of the Auditor General.
Corporate Policies
The Board establishes a set of corporate policies that clarify its expectations and management’s authority and responsibilities. These policies govern areas such as acquisitions, research, conservation, exhibitions, human resources and contracting. The Board of Trustees reviews and updates all corporate policies according to a five-year cycle, ensuring that the policies continue to provide the necessary direction.
Succession Planning/Board Self-Assessment
The Board plays a key role in the effective succession of Trustees and critical Gallery management positions. Notwithstanding the Government’s prerogative to appoint Trustees, the Board is expected to play an active role in making recommendations to the Government. The Board is also expected to plan for the succession of its Chairperson by establishing appointment criteria and providing nominations to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. As well, the Board appoints the Director of the Gallery with approval of the Governor-in-Council.
Board of Trustees:
Dr. Genest has been Senior Vice-President of Power Corporation since 2016. His background includes government, academia, business, and the not-for-profit sector. He served in a number of portfolios as a Deputy Minister in the Ontario Government, including Intergovernmental Affairs, Francophone Affairs and Deputy Minister responsible for the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games held in Toronto in 2015.
Paul served in the federal government as Director of Policy and Research for Prime Minister Jean Chretien. He served as President and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities and also as Assistant Vice-President of Bell Canada. He was an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., and an Adjunct Professor at Glendon College, York University.
Dr. Genest is an active volunteer with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, and is Chair of the Board, Ontario Region. He is a Board Member of Business for the Arts and he is a board member of the Rideau Hall Foundation. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the Coalition for a Better Future. He is a past Member of the Board of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and was the Vice-Chair of the Board of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation.
A champion of diversity, Paul has been honoured for his advocacy for the rights of the LGBTQ community, including serving as the Deputy Minister Champion of OPS Pride. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. In June 2022, Dr. Genest was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ottawa.
He holds a B.A., Honours (cum laude) in English and Philosophy from the University of Guelph, an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Ottawa, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University. He is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He has also completed the Rotman School of Management, Institute of Corporate Directors - Directors Education Program.
Mandeep Roshi Chadha, a Montrealer, has many years of experience in the art world. Her primary interest is Inuit art, which she has explored through her education, as a collector, and by initiating art exchanges between Canada and India. She is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award.
Ms. Chadha holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Art History from Concordia University in Montreal. She has also held numerous positions on various national and Montreal-based boards, including the Board of Governors of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Canadian Centre of Architecture.
Manny Blair is a practising artist living in Nova Scotia. He has 30 years of experience in the public and not-for-profit sector, specifically in arts and culture, urban regeneration and public open space in Canada and the United Kingdom.
Mr. Blair holds a Master’s degree in Public Art from University of Bolton; a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degree from Manchester Metropolitan University and a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from the University of Sunderland. His area of interest is in contemporary architectural based abstraction and portraiture, where his work is in private collections throughout North America and Europe.
Mr. Blair was the co-founder of Art Calgary, a contemporary fine art fair based in Alberta. He was also a drawing instructor at the Alberta University of the Arts and has been a board member and chairperson on various arts and design organizations in the UK.
Mr. Blair is currently the Director of Infrastructure and Operations with Municipality of Chester, NS, where he oversees the municipality’s public realm infrastructure.
Susan Côté-Freeman is an Ottawa-based governance and anti-corruption professional whose involvement in the field, both in Canada and abroad, has spanned more than two decades.
During her career at Transparency International, the leading global anti-corruption organization, Susan worked in London, Washington D.C., and Berlin. She led programs aimed at raising the standards of corporate anti-corruption practice and represented Transparency International on global initiatives such as the United Nations Global Compact, the Partnering against Corruption Initiative of the World Economic Forum and the B20.
Following her career at Transparency International, Susan moved to the Conference Board of Canada where she managed an executive network of Canadian risk professionals and carried out research in the governance, compliance and risk areas.
In addition to being a Trustee of the National Gallery of Canada, Susan has been Chair of the Board of Transparency International Canada since 2019 and a board member since 2016. She was elected to the international board of Transparency International in November 2020. She is a past Chair of IMPACT, a Canadian non-profit dedicated to addressing the problem of conflict minerals.
A native of Québec City, Susan holds a Bachelor’s degree from Université Laval.
Filomena Frisina has practiced corporate law for just under 40 years. She has been a partner since 1989 in the Toronto office of the international law firm of Gowling WLG. She will be retiring from the firm within the 2023 year end.
As a corporate lawyer and strategic team player, Filomena has lead private mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions for domestic and multinational clients in a wide range of industries, including financial services, food distribution, real estate and healthcare. She advised domestic and foreign insurance companies on M&A transactions, insurance regulation and general business matters. Ms. Frisina co-led management of Gowling’s Toronto art collection from 2013-2022.
Filomena was the former leader of Gowling’s Italy Desk for Canada. She assisted Canadian clients pursuing commercial opportunities in Italy, and assisted Italy-based clients with their legal requirements in Canada, connecting them to strategic collaborators.
Outside of law practice, Ms. Frisina has served on boards for public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations. Currently she is on the board of directors of two family real estate development corporations. Ms. Frisina previously served as Chair of the board of directors of the Art Gallery of Hamilton and as chair of its Council of Governors. During her time as a board member, Filomena participated in a number of committees, including, the Governance and Nominating Committee.
Ms. Frisina is currently a volunteer member of the organizing committee developing the Italian Cultural Centre of Hamilton. She has professional working proficiency in French and is fluent in Italian.
Dominique Hamel is a principal with the Accounting Standards Board, where she works to develop and transform accounting financial reporting standards to meet society’s evolving needs. A Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), Dominique holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from HEC Montréal and a Master’s degree (with Distinction) in accounting and finance from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).
Dominique has over 10 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently as part of the corporate finance team at Intact Financial Corporation. She has also worked in audit at National Bank and KPMG.
Dominique teaches in the arts management program at HEC Montréal and has been involved in various research projects. As a Research Associate at Harvard Business School, she co-authored several case studies highlighting risk management practices in fields from toy manufacturing to hydroelectricity production. She also collaborated to studies on Quebec’s public sector productivity, and developed teaching material for undergraduate, MBA and Executive Education courses at both Harvard and HEC Montréal.
Dominique has been President of the Montreal chapter of the LSE Alumni Association from 2014 to 2022. She was a member of the Conseil jeunesse de Montréal, an advisory body to the city’s municipal administration, and has served on the Executive Committee of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts’ Young Philanthropists’ Circle. A committed supporter of the visual arts, Dominique resides in Montreal with her husband and her three young children.
Adad Hannah is an artist living in Burnaby, British Columbia. He was born in New York, spent his childhood in Israel and England, and moved to Vancouver in the early 1980’s.
Mr. Hannah holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, along with a Master and Doctorate of Fine Arts both from Concordia University in Montreal.
Mr. Hannah exhibits regularly at Pierre-François Ouellette art contemporain in Montreal and Equinox Gallery in Vancouver. His works often take the form of video-recorded tableaux vivants. Through his videos, photographs, and installations, he explores the nexus of photography, video, sculpture, and performance and how the human body occupies this space. He has produced commissioned projects for museums around the world and has been the recipient of numerous grants and prizes including the Canada Council for the Arts’ Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award for mid-career artists. Mr. Hannah’s work can be found in the permanent collections of many institutions, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Musée Rodin in Paris, the Museo Tamayo in Mexico City, and the Samsung LEEUM Museum in Seoul.
Julie Jai has had a lifelong interest in promoting respect and understanding among all people, advancing human rights, and supporting arts and artists.
Julie has served as a senior executive and senior legal counsel with the governments of Ontario, Yukon and Canada. She was legal advisor to the Yukon government on comprehensive land claim and self-government negotiations with Yukon First Nations and Chief Negotiator on justice issues and has been a member of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
She has served on the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, where she has chaired the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Earlier she was a board member of St. Joseph’s Health Centre in Toronto, an executive member of the Canadian and Ontario Bar Associations, a mentor with the Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers, and President of the Canadian Lawyers Association for International Human Rights. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto (B.A., LL.M.) and Osgoode Hall Law School (LL.B.).
In 2019 she co-founded the Yukon Prize for Visual Arts to honour Yukon artists and promote their work across Canada and internationally. Julie lives in Whitehorse and Toronto.
Harold is Metis, born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. Harold and his three siblings were raised by a single mom whose love, commitment to fairness, and hard work shaped the work Harold would do. “As a lawyer and a mediator, I still draw on the lessons I learned around the kitchen table growing up; which was to be a good listener, to be respectful, and to help as best I could whenever I could.”
Not surprisingly, reconciliation is the central theme to Harold’s work. Whether as the Director of Alberta Aboriginal Intergovernmental Relations, Mediator on the Roster of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, or as an Adjudicator of Indian Residential School Claims, Harold worked to promote meaningful dialogue, mutual understanding, and positive outcomes.
With a passion for public service, Harold considers himself lucky to have worked with talented and committed Canadians on local, regional, and national boards. Harold has always been especially energized by the work of museums and their boards. “What I love about museums is that we see and learn about that which surrounds us, where we have come from, and sometimes how far we have yet to go. When our visit is over, we leave with new insights, big or small, and always something to talk about around the kitchen table.”
François R. Roy has extensive experience in management capacities and Board memberships with private companies, publicly-traded companies, not-for-profit organizations and academia. He was Vice Principal at McGill University between 2007 and 2010, From 2000 to 2003, he was Chief Financial Officer at Société Télémédia, a private holding company. From 1990 to 2000, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Québecor Inc., a company operating in the areas of telecommunications, entertainment, media and culture.
Through an involvement going back many years as a Board Member, both with publicly-traded companies and not-for-profit organizations, he served, among others, on the Boards of Vie des arts, the Festival International du Film sur l'Art, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Canadian Centre for Architecture, the Montréal Arts Council, the Opéra de Montréal, the National Arts Centre Foundation, CUSO International and CBC/Radio-Canada.
He also served, among others, on the Boards of Directors of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Transcontinental Inc., Noranda Income Fund and Ovivo Inc.
He continues on the Boards of Directors of Colabor Inc., Sollio Groupe Coopératif, and after having chaired them, the Boards of Concours Musical International de Montréal and its Foundation.
Sara Stasiuk is CEO of The Forks North Portage Development Corporation, with more than 25 years’ experience in community development, business operations, culture and music. As a born-and-bred Winnipegger, she has also participated in local arts and culture all her life.
Throughout her career, Sara has contributed to The Forks as a meeting place — both from outside as Executive Director of Manitoba Music and Director of Operations for Six Shooter Records and the Interstellar Rodeo Music Festival, and from within through five years as Vice-President of Finance & Operations for The Forks itself. During her time with Manitoba Music, Sara served on the Winnipeg JUNO Committee, the Western Canadian Music Alliance, the boards of FACTOR and the Polaris Music Prize, and many other music, entertainment and arts-focused boards and committees.
Sara is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of Manitoba. Her priorities are innovation, relevance, sustainability, and reconciliation. Outside the workplace, she continues to lend her skills to supporting the arts. In addition to her work with the National Gallery of Canada, she serves on the boards of the Manitoba Arts Council and Travel Manitoba.