Board of Directors

Gail Harding K.C. retired from Canadian Western Bank Financial Group in 2018 where she served as Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary with responsibility for the legal, governance, regulatory compliance and ethics functions. Gail also sat on the board of CWB’s subsidiaries which offered equipment financing, wealth management, insurance and trust services.

Gail is an active volunteer in the community and in her profession having served on the boards of numerous not-for-profit entities and crown corporations. In recognition of her accomplishments Gail has received several awards including the Canadian General Counsel Award, the Women in Law Leadership Award and the King’s Counsel designation. She currently serves on the board of the Alberta Securities Commission and Pieridae Energy Limited. Gail received both her Bachelor of Education (Honours) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of Alberta and her Master of Laws from York University. She holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and the FSA designation from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board.

Phil Armstrong is an experienced corporate director having chaired and served on numerous international and domestic boards for over 25 years. Phil specializes in corporate governance, risk management and transformational change enabled through digital technology and AI. Phil is a retired C-suite executive with a 40+ year international career in financial services. He held EVP & Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Officer positions leading digital, AI, technology, innovation, cyber security and operations functions at Manulife Financial, Sun Life Financial and the Great-West Lifeco group of companies that included Canada Life, Great-West Life and London Life. Phil also worked at the Royal Bank of Canada, and Manulife Bank.

Phil is Canada’s only inductee into the “CIO Hall of Fame” and has launched and founded two startups (Macanthium Ventures Inc. and White Wolf Books Publishing House) while nurturing countless other technology-based startups. As one of Canada’s most respected voices on technology governance and risk, he is a responsible steward of the future with deep expertise in emerging technologies. Phil co-wrote Canada’s first legislative governance standards on the Use of Ethical AI as an inaugural board member of the Canadian Digital Governance Council. Phil served as the Chaiman of the Board for the Technology Business Management Council and has been a luminary providing advice to some of the worlds largest technology/cyber companies.

Phil holds a B.Comm from York University, Canada, a B/TEC from Leeds University, UK, together with Capital Market Certifications (Canadian Securities Course – Toronto, and Canadian Derivatives Course - Montreal). Phil holds a Diploma of Corporate Governance (DipCorpGov) with distinction from the Corporate Governance Institute - UK in association with the Glasgow Caledonian University.

He is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors attaining his ICD.D certification and holds both a GCB.D (ESG and Sustainability designation) and CCB.D (Climate and Nature designation) from Competent Boards and an AI Ethics and Board Oversight certification from the Diligent Institute.

Upkar Arora is a seasoned organizational leader and board director with a proven track record of delivering results. He is dedicated to systems change to create a more just and equitable society, using financial, human and social capital.

Upkar is currently the CEO of Rally Assets, Canada’s leading impact investment management firm, and Managing Partner of Realize Capital Partners. Rally is an award-winning B Corporation, committed to using business as a force for good.

Prior to Rally he worked in finance and leadership roles with some of Canada’s most successful organizations for more than 30 years - building, operating and advising companies of varying sizes, stages and sectors, domestically and globally.

Upkar has extensive governance experience, having served on boards of several for profit and not-for-profit organizations including Vancity Community Investment Bank, the University of Waterloo, Institute for Canadian Citizenship, Wolf Willow Institute of Systems Learning, Why Not Theatre and Metrolinx.

He is an FCPA, FCA having been awarded CPA Canada’s highest honour in 2017, holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and is also a BMW Foundation Global Responsible Leader. He is an adjunct lecturer at the University of Waterloo where he received the Distinguished Teacher Award in 2022.

Ms. Chung is a global transformation leader with extensive experience across technology, distribution and finance. She most recently served as Executive Vice-President, Global Chief Marketing Officer of TD Bank from 2017 to 2023, where she led innovative strategies that earned industry recognition for digital sales leadership. Prior to that she was the Chief Marketing Officer, Global Banking, Wealth and Insurance at BMO Financial Group from 2011 to 2017. Her previous experience includes serving as Finance Director and Head Insurance at American Express. She also spent a decade at KPMG Consulting (UK) and Coopers & Lybrand specializing in financial services audit, tax and strategy consulting. Ms. Chung is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA, CPA) and completed a Bachelor of Commerce at University of Toronto and an MBA from London Business School.

She currently serves as a Board Director of public companies including a number of Power Corporation Group companies (TSX: POW) - IGM Financial (TSX: IGM), IG Wealth Management and Mackenzie Investments. Betsey is also an Executive in Residence at Beringer Capital. Ms. Chung was the recipient of the 2020 Best Executive Award, Sales and Marketing, Report on Business. She was also the recipient of the Cannes Lions Award in 2019.

Matt Davies is a former C-suite executive and with track record of driving innovation and change. Mr. Davies is the former Chief Technology Officer for Shared Services Canada (SSC). He regularly serves as a keynote speaker and panelist, sharing his valuable insights and expertise on future trends, strategy, digital transformation, cybersecurity, emerging technologies, and sustainability with audiences. In 2023, Matt was a recognized innovator, having received the prestigious Top 50 Government Innovators award and a global CCISO Hall of Fame Runner-Up award. Matt had previously received the CCISO Award at the 2020 CISO Forum Canada in recognition of his outstanding contribution to cybersecurity in Canada.

Matt is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), a Chartered Director (C.Dir.) and has obtained both the Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) designations. He is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and has completed Executive Education Programs at the Tuck School of Business and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He has completed the National Association of Corporate Directors Cyber-Risk Oversight program earning the CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight issued by the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University and the Sustainability Leadership: Innovation for Growth program from the University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management and the ICD program on Board Oversight of Climate Change.

Matt is a board member and the Chair of the Governance and Management Resources committee on the Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. Board, and he also serves on the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Board and is the Chair of the IT Committee.

Karen Farbridge is President & Urban Connector of Karen Farbridge & Associates, working with business, governments and organizations to build healthy and prosperous communities. Karen was elected to the Meridian Board in 2015. Karen served as Meridian Board Chair for a six-year term from 2018 to 2024 and during her tenure on the Board has served on the Governance, Audit & Finance, Risk, Human Resources and Nominating Committees of Meridian. She also served as Board Chair of Motusbank and QUEST Canada. She is a member of the Sustainable Energy Initiative (SEI) at York University where she is adjunct faculty. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Karen served for 17 years in municipal politics including 11 years as mayor of Guelph. She has served on numerous boards in the private, public and non-profit sectors. Karen has a MSc and PhD from the University of Guelph and a Chartered Director designation from McMaster University.

Stacey Grant-Thompson is a marketing and customer experience expert who has successfully designed, scaled, and optimized multiple businesses. Most recently she was the Chief Marketing Officer for Manulife Canada. Stacey has broad and deep expertise in digital transformation and artificial intelligence. Stacey brings a deep understanding of business model design and a multi-faceted perspective from her executive experience as a GM with P&L ownership, CMO, and Strategy function lead in both financial services and telecom. Stacey is a member of the Board of Directors of Meridian Credit Union and Pathways to Education. She is an advisor to several early-stage digital-first companies and is a mentor for Creative Destruction Lab’s AI Stream. Stacey began her career with McKinsey & Company and holds an MBA from INSEAD, an HBA from IVEY at UWO, and the ICD.D designation.

Lianne Hannaway is a finance professional with 25 years of experience in financial services. She has held senior leadership positions at TMX Group and KPMG LLP, where she developed deep expertise in financial oversight, regulatory reporting, and business transformation.

Lianne is passionate about ensuring that cooperative financial institutions remain accessible, member-focused, and financially sound for all Canadians. Beyond her corporate experience, she is the founder of WealthNuvo Financial, a wealth advisory platform that helps first-generation professionals build generational wealth by addressing their relationship with money. She is a certified Trauma of Money™ practitioner, facilitating frameworks for healing collective and individual traumas to create financial well-being.

Lianne complements her professional work with a strong commitment to board governance. She serves as Treasurer of the Equality Fund, a groundbreaking partnership combining philanthropy, grant-making and investing that supports global women and girls' rights organizations and movements. She is also Treasurer of the Kids Help Phone Foundation, supporting Canada's only 24/7 national service providing professional counselling to youth across the country.

Lianne holds a Bachelor of Mathematics and Master of Accountancy from the University of Waterloo and is a Chartered Professional Accountant and the ICD.D designation.

Hari Panday is a seasoned financial executive and corporate director. He has spent over 40 years in financial services sector in Canada and USA. In addition, he has been an external, internal and IT auditor. As a founding President & CEO, he established a full-service bank and its securities firms in Canada; he also led the bank's wealth management business in the US. Currently, he serves on both, the OSC and Meridian boards. In addition, at the OSC he is a member of its Risk and Governance and Nominations Comm. In addition to Meridian, he is a member of the Investment Review Committee of the TD Asset Management Inc. Over the course of 30 years he has served on several corporate and not-for-profit boards, and a designated provincial administrative authority board. He teaches accountability and corporate governance at York Univ. and has authored on Cross-border Corporate Governance. He is currently an Honorary Colonel in the Canadian Army and in 2024 he received the Canadian military decoration (CD) for his service. He has a Fellowship from CPA Canada (FCPA, FCGA), is a certified director in Canada (ICD.D) and in the USA (NACD.DC). His volunteer service was recognized when he received The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal.