2025-2026 Composition and Membership

Term: July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2027

See: https://www.mcgill.ca/chancellor/

Current Term: April 1, 2023 - June 30, 2028

See: https://www.mcgill.ca/president/

Term: July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2027

Arun D. Bajaj is Chief People and Corporate Development Officer at the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) and a member of the organization’s Executive Committee. He is a member on the Board of Directors of Cogeco Communications Inc. where he is the Chair the Human Resource Committee and serves on the Corporate Governance Committee. During his executive career he has led global human resource, legal and communications functions in public companies. His previous positions include Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resource Officer and Legal Affairs of Gildan Activewear Inc., Chief Human Resource Officer of Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance and Chief Human Resource Officer of Nissan Motor Company. In his career he has operated in multiple geographies including North America, Asia and Europe.

Mr. Bajaj graduated from McGill University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Bachelor of Laws and he is currently a member of the law Society of Ontario.

Mr. Bajaj currently serves on the Human Resources Committee of the Board of Governors

Member at-Large Term: May 1, 2016 June 30, 2026

Chair of the Board Term: July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2026

Previously served as Vice-Chair of the Board from October 4, 2018  to June 30, 2022

For more information about the Chair of the Board, please visit https://www.mcgill.ca/boardofgovernors/membership/about-chair

Term: July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2028

Bertrand Cesvet is a Canadian business leader, with a strong track record in the fields of branding, communications, creative management, marketing, and international business. After joining Sid Lee in 1997, he led the company's transformation from a local design studio to an internationally recognized creative micro-network of more than 1,000 employees in 6 offices across Canada, France, the US, and the United Kingdom. Working with top-tier clients in the fields of digital marketing, advertising, experiential marketing, and architecture, he has sought to create globally recognized work (Cirque du Soleil, Adidas House Party, Adidas is All In, We The North, and the redevelopment of Place Ville-Marie, to name a few). In 2009, he moved his family to Paris to establish Sid Lee's presence in France and in the Netherlands, which enabled him to create a strong business network in Europe.

In 2011, alongside Jean-François Bouchard and Daniel Lamarre, he co-founded C2-MTL, a globally recognized international conference on creativity and business. He has worked extensively in M&A, leading seven sales and acquisition processes on behalf of both Sid Lee's partner group and its parent company kyu, a Japanese holding company that acquired Sid Lee in 2015. From 2015 to 2019, he was an independent board member on the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a $340B asset manager that services the Province of Québec's various pension funds.

He left Sid Lee in 2021 and is now focusing on active investment. He deploys capital and brings his brand development skills and creative leadership expertise to high-growth B2C businesses. His most recent investments include apparel brands Psycho Bunny and Kanuk.

Bertrand first came to McGill in 1986. He first earned a BA in Economics and then completed his MBA, also at McGill, in 1988. In 2012, he won the Desautels Management Award. In 2015, he was a finalist for the Desautels Faculty of Management Top 50 Impact Makers Award. In 2016, he was awarded a Doctorate Honoris Causa in literature by the University. In 2019, he worked on the development of the Made by McGill campaign to celebrate the University's 200th anniversary. Since 2021, he has been an independent board member for the McCall MacBain Scholarships at McGill.

Mr. Cesvet currently serves on the Human Resources Committee of the McGill Board of Governors.

Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2026

Mr. David is the Chief Executive Officer of GRI Capital Inc., a private investment management firm that he has led since its inception in 2005. Mr. David serves as a Director at Dollarama and Roots Corporation. From 2002 to 2005, he served as the Senior Vice-President for Business Development at Dollarama. Prior to that, from 2000 to 2002, Mr. David served as a Financial and Strategic Advisor to private and public companies. He worked at Claridge Inc. from 1998 to 2000 and at McKinsey & Co. from 1996 to 1998. He holds Bachelor of Commerce with Honours from Queens University, Bachelor of Laws from McGill University, Bachelor of Civil Law from McGill University, and Master of Business Administration with Distinction from Harvard Business School.

Mr. David currently serves on the Investment Committee of the McGill Board of Governors.

Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2027

Ariel Deckelbaum is Partner at Ropes & Gray . He is M&A partner who advises clients on their most challenging, strategic and business-critical transactions. This includes mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, spin-offs, and cross-border and restructuring transactions, as well as other significant corporate matters.

With more than 20 years of experience, Ariel represents public and private companies, private equity and asset management firms, boards of directors, special committees, family offices and high-net-worth individuals and other strategic investors. Chambers USA notes his “diverse industry expertise,” which includes investment management, technology, media, private equity, industrials and manufacturing, consumer products, hospitality and sports.

Prior to joining Ropes & Gray, Ariel was a partner in the New York office of another international law firm.

Mr. Deckelbaum currently serves as a member of the Committee on Sustainability and Social Responsibility of the McGill Board of Governors.

Term: July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2027

As Regional Vice President of Private Banking for Quebec and Eastern Canada, Alan Desnoyers leads a team of private bankers and enterprise private client professionals who provide wealth planning strategies and solutions for high-net-worth clients in Northern and Eastern Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. His team is responsible for deepening client relationships, driving profitable growth and new household acquisition and delivering an exceptional client experience with partners across RBC. Alan also delivers on key strategic priorities that enhance employee engagement and nurtures collaboration across the organization.

Alan has more than 30 years of experience in private banking, commercial banking and integrated markets, including senior leadership and national office roles. He has extensive experience in strategy development and execution, performance and human resources management. In addition to his leadership across various businesses, Alan is a fierce advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion and has a passion for the development of people. Committed to education, Alan currently serves on the McGill Board of Governors, and served as an executive member of the McGill Alumni Association between 2007-2022. He is also an active supporter of Centraide du Grand Montréal.

Alan is an alumni of McGill University. He completed the Strategic Thinking and Management Program from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Institute of Corporate Directors – Rotman Directors Education Program.

Mr. Desnoyers currently serves as Chair of the Committee on Sustainability and Social Responsibility and as a member of the Audit and Risk Committee of the McGill Board of Governors.

Term: July 1, 2020 - June 30, 2029

Mr. Fred Headon is Vice-President and General Counsel, Labour and Employment Law, at Montreal-based Air Canada and is a Course Lecturer in the Faculty of Law.

At Air Canada, Mr Headon leads a team of in-house lawyers, paralegals and support staff who are responsible for all aspects of labour and employment law, including administrative law, human rights, privacy and workplace health and safety matters. He also represents Air Canada in proceedings before various courts and tribunals and advises on matters ranging from collective bargaining to strategic corporate initiatives.

Prior to joining Air Canada, Mr. Headon worked in private practice in Montreal in the areas of labour, employment, human rights, privacy, and administrative law, as well as civil litigation. He has also taught Social Law and Administrative Law at the Faculty of Law of the National University of Rwanda.

Mr. Headon has served the Canadian Bar Association in a number of capacities, including as its National President from 2013-14. His work with the CBA, and in particular, the Legal Futures Initiative, which he chaired, were cited by Canadian Lawyer magazine when it included him in its 2013 and 2015 list of Canada’s 25 most influential lawyers. His work was also recognized by the Barreau due Quebec which has award him the distinction of Avocat émérite.

Mr. Headon earned his LL.B. and B.C.L. degrees from McGill University in 1996 and his B.A. from the University of Winnipeg in 1992. He has been a member of the Quebec Bar since 1997.

Mr. Fred Headon currently serves as Chair of the Nominating, Governance and Ethics Committee and as a member of the Human Resources Committee and the Executive Committee.

Member-at-large term: July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2027

Vice-Chair term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2027

For more information about the Vice-Chair, please visit: https://www.mcgill.ca/boardofgovernors/membership/about-chair/about-vice-chairs

Member-at-Large Term: July 1, 2018- June 30, 2028

Vice-Chair Term: July 1, 2023 -  June 30, 2028

For more information about the Vice-Chair, please visit: https://www.mcgill.ca/boardofgovernors/membership/about-chair/about-vice-chairs

Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2026

Ms. Prando was Managing Director, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and member of the Executive Committee of the Canadian operations of Société Générale, a French bank with a global presence and operations in 65 countries, having spent 21 years with the bank from 2000-2021. She was a member of the Board of Directors of Société Générale (Canada), and was responsible for managing the Legal team, the legal and banking regulatory affairs of the SG entities in Canada, as well as the Corporate Secretarial functions. She played a key role in strategic business and corporate development in Canada, and practiced in the areas of financial institutions, securities and derivatives, corporate and commercial law, employment law, privacy laws and managed complex litigation matters. She was also very involved in ensuring appropriate governance in a continuously evolving multi-jurisdictional structure.
Prior to that period, she was counsel with Pratt & Whitney Canada, a Quebec based aircraft engine manufacturer with an extensive international presence, where she was involved in significant contractual negotiations with clients, suppliers and partners across Europe and the US. She was involved in competition and litigation matters as well.
Ms. Prando is fluently trilingual (English, French and Italian), and holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA 1983), and Bachelor of Civil Law and Bachelor of Laws (B.C.L, LL.B 1987) from McGill University.

Ms. Pando currently serves as Chair of the Human Resources Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee, the Nominating, Governance and Ethics Committee and the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the McGill University Board of Governors.

Term: July 1, 2018 - June 30, 2027

Ms. Sakhia joined Knight Therapeutics Inc. as President in August 2016 and assumed the additional responsibility of CFO from October 2017 to March 2020. Prior to Knight, Ms. Sakhia served as the CFO at Paladin from 2001 to 2015. At Paladin, Ms. Sakhia was responsible for the finance, operations, human resources and investor relations functions. During her employment with Paladin, Ms. Sakhia was instrumental in executing in-licensing and acquisition transactions of Canadian and international pharmaceutical products and businesses. In addition, Ms. Sakhia led several M&A and strategic lending transactions as well as equity rounds on the TSX and completed the sale of Paladin to Endo International for over $3 billion.

Ms. Sakhia holds an MBA and a Bachelors of Commerce degree from McGill University. Ms. Sakhia serves on the boards of Grupo Biotoscana SA., the Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the International Advisory Board of McGill's Desautels Faculty of Management and is an independent Board member at the McGill University Health Center.

Ms. Sakhia currently serves as a member of the Finance and Infrastructure Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee of the McGill Board of Governors.

Term: July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2027

Jonathan Sigler recently retired as co-president of Prével, a real estate development company specializing in the construction of mixed used residential and commercial projects in the greater Montreal area. He continues to be active as an investor and strategic advisor.

Jonathan holds degrees in Civil Engineering with a specialization in Construction Engineering and Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Stanford University.

Mr. Sigler serves as the Vice-C chair of the Finance and Infrastructure Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors.

Term: January 16, 2025 - June 30, 2026

Dr. Charles Bierbrier is a business consultant, educator, and entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience across multiple industries.

He holds a Doctor of Business Administration from Johnson & Wales University, an MBA from Concordia University, and a BA in Economics from McGill University. As an active and engaged member of his community, Dr. Bierbrier provides leadership and expertise on the boards of several non-profit and community organizations.

Term: September 19, 2019 - June 30, 2028

Inez Jabalpurwala has extensive experience building and leading teams, organizations and cross-sector collaborations in science, technology and innovation, academia, and international development. She is currently the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Public Policy Forum, a leading Canadian think tank. 

Inez founded and is Global Director of VINEx, a non-profit corporation that was established early in the COVID-19 pandemic to understand how viruses and other infectious agents may affect the central nervous system. That work expanded to explore how the environment and brain health intersect, aligned with the World Health Organization’s One Health approach. She was previously the Executive Leader of the Brain Health Nexus, a global collaboration to unleash science and technology to optimize brain health and prevent brain disease. The initial focus was developing the case and roadmap for a Global Brain Health Index, to measure and monitor brain health across the life course. She was the Founding President and CEO of the Brain Canada Foundation from 2001 to 2020. When she joined, the organization had about $1 million in assets; she grew this to over $400 million. Under her leadership Brain Canada provided research grants totaling $250 million and involving more than 1,000 scientists and clinicians based at 115 institutions across Canada. 

Inez currently serves on the Board of Governors of McGill University, co-Chairs the joint Board-Senate Committee on EDI and is a member of the Human Resources Committee; is a past President of the McGill Alumni Association; is a member of McGill University’s Campaign Cabinet for its $2B capital campaign and Chaired the McGill Fund Leadership Circle; and is a Desautels Global Expert in McGill University’s Faculty of Management. She is a long-standing member of the Board and on the Executive Committee of Equitas—International Centre for Human Rights Education, which works to advance equality, social justice and respect for human dignity in Canada and around the world through human rights education. She is a member of the Economic Development and Public Finance Committee of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. She is a member of the International Women’s Forum and a long-time mentor of young women. 

Inez has served as an advisor to the federal government on strategic science investments, and served on the committee of research experts who informed the development of ecosystem-wide recommendations for the Organ Donation and Transplantation Collaborative.  

Inez was named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 by the Women’s Executive Network, in the “Trailblazers and Trendsetters Category” in 2007, and again in 2016 and 2022. She is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal. 

Inez holds a BA and MA in English Literature, and an MBA from McGill University; she has also completed the Master of Management program for voluntary sector leaders. 

Term: July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2028

David Reckziegel graduated from McGill University in 1987 with an MBA and also holds a BSc. Chemical Engineering from the University of New Brunswick.

Mr. Reckziegel is the founder of Rex Media Capital Inc. which provides strategic and corporate development advisory services to media and entertainment companies in North America.

Prior to founding Rex Media Capital he spent twenty (20) years working in film and television as a producer and distributor culminating his professional entertainment career as President of the largest film distributor in Canada, Entertainment One. He has also worked as a film producer having produced over a dozen feature films including: Shake Hands with the Devil, Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, Super Duper Alice Cooper, Vers le Sud and the Russian Ark.

Prior to launching his career in film and television Mr. Reckziegel worked for seven (7) years as an investment banker with BMO Nesbitt in Montréal, Toronto and New York .

Term:  July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2027

Victoria Kaspi is a Professor of Physics at McGill University, where she holds the Lorne Trottier Chair in Astrophysics and Cosmology, and the Distinguished James McGill Chair in Physics.

She is the inaugural Director of the Trottier Space Institute at McGill. She received a B.Sc. (Honours) in Physics from McGill in 1989, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Physics from Princeton University in 1991 and 1993, respectively. From 1994-96, she held a Hubble Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology. She was an Assistant Professor of Physics at MIT from 1997-2000, and joined the faculty of McGill in 2000, where she has remained.

Prof. Kaspi has used techniques of radio and X-ray astronomy to study rapidly rotating, highly magnetized neutron stars. Since 2014, she has begun working on Fast Radio Bursts, a newly recognized astrophysical phenomenon involving few-millisecond radio bursts of unknown origin, and is presently the Principal Investigator on the CHIME Fast Radio Burst Project.

Prof. Kaspi has been the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including the 2016 Gerhard Herzberg Medal, Canada's top science prize. In 2021 she was co-recipient of the Shaw Prize in Astronomy for her work on magnetars. She is and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, of the Royal Society of London and the American Physical Society. She is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2017, she was named Companion of the Order of Canada.

Term:  July 1, 2025 - June 30, 2028

Dr. Temcheff is an Associate Professor in Counselling Psychology at McGill University and a Quebec Research Scholar (Fonds de Recherche du Québec – Santé, Chercheur Boursier Junior 1). Directly in line with the priorities and strategic plan of the Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux (MSSS), the overarching goal of Dr. Temcheff’s research programme is to identify pathways and mechanisms which link childhood conduct problems in girls and boys to developmental trajectories of medical service utilization and mental health problems (particularly depression and addiction) from childhood through to early adulthood. Her programme of research has three primary research objectives. Dr. Temcheff currently serves on the Nominating, Governance and Ethics Committee. 

Term: August 7, 2024 - June 30, 2028

Term: July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2027

Kit Malo has a background in organizational development, conflict resolution, leadership development and equity in the workplace, with 20+ years of experience in the not-for-profit sector, and 10+ years of working with McGill. Kit's particular passion is supporting academics in the development of their leadership and governance capacities, which is at the heart of supporting deeper inclusion and ultimately more joy and balance in our institution.

Kit currently serves on the Finance and Infrastructure Committee and the Nominating, Governance and Ethics Committee of the Board of Governors.

Term:  September 2, 2020 - June 30, 2026

Petra Rohrbach obtained her PhD from the University of Heidelberg at the German Cancer Research Centre (Germany) in 2000, after completing her BSc at McGill University. She continued her studies as a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg University School of Medicine (Germany), where she obtained her habilitation early 2008. In the Fall of 2008, she joined McGill University as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Parasitology and was granted tenure and Associate Professor in 2014. She currently serves as Research Ambassador for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and is a Visiting Professor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.

Professor Rohrbach currently serves as a member on the Finance and Infrastructure Committee and the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors.

Term:  January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2025

Term: June 1 2024 - May 31, 2026

Dymetri Taylor is presently serving his second term as President of the Students’ Society of McGill University, a representative of the undergraduate student body. He is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree with concentrations in Psychology and Political Science. 

Mr. Taylor previously served as President and Vice President of Academic Affairs of the McGill Psychology Student Association, as well as Co-President of the Canadian Studies Association of Undergraduate Students. In recognition of his contributions to student leadership and university life, he was awarded the McGill Scarlet Key.

Dymetri is currently serving on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors.

Term: June 1, 2025 - May 31, 2026

Sheheryar Ahmed is the Secretary-General of the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) of McGill University. He holds a B.A. in Political Science from York University, and is currently an M.A. student at the McGill Institute of Islamic Studies. Previously, Sheheryar has served as a graduate representative on the McGill Senate, as a PGSS Councillor, and gained work experience from positions at McGill University Advancement. He currently serves on the Nominating, Governance, and Ethics (NGE) Committee of the Board of Governors.   

Term: June 1, 2024 - May 31, 2026

Amine Arezki holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Economics and a minor in Finance, completed in 2018, and a certificate in Management, completed in 2014, both from McGill University. He is currently a student in Computer Science at the School of Continuing Studies.

Previously, Amine participated in the StartUp X1 Accelerator at the Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship with a project focused on blue-collar recruitment.

Amine currently serves on the Finance and Infrastructure Committee of the Board of Governors.

Term: June 1, 2025 - May 31, 2026

Owen Pflipsen is currently the VP University Affairs of the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society of the Macdonald Campus of McGill University. He is actively pursuing a Bachelor of Bioresource Engineering.

Owen currently serves on the Sustainability and Social Responsibility Committee of the Board of Governors.