Arthritis Society Canada’s Board of Directors is comprised of leadership volunteers from across the country who meet quarterly to oversee the governance of the organization and bring significant professional experience and insight to our work. This includes approving the organizational strategy, budget and financial statements, ensuring sound policies are in place and overseeing risk management and compliance.
Acting with the highest integrity and in the best interests of people with arthritis, our Board of Directors contributes invaluable knowledge and expertise to support the achievement of the organization’s goals.
If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about joining our Board of Directors, please contact us at [email protected].
Andrew Branion
Chair
Managing Partner, Branion Harper Advisory Inc.
Andrew Branion co-founded Branion Harper Advisory Inc. in the fall of 2019 and is the Managing Partner. He retired from Scotiabank in February 2019, where he was Executive Vice President and Group Treasurer. In this capacity, he was responsible for managing Scotiabank’s global treasury and investment operations, including medium-term and capital funding, asset/liability management, liquidity and public and private investment portfolios.
Andrew joined Scotiabank in 1997 after nine years with the Bank of Canada, where he held progressively senior roles in global banking and markets before moving to global risk management in 2012. Andrew is the Past Chair of Providence Healthcare Foundation’s Board of Directors and a past member of the Board of Directors of Unity Health Toronto. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alberta.
Lynn Oldfield, ICD.D
Vice Chair, Chair, Governance and Nominating Committee
Non-Executive Director, AIG Canada
Lynn Oldfield is an inclusive and transformative business leader with over 40 years of experience in commercial risk and insurance. From 2008 to 2023, she served as President and CEO of AIG Insurance Company of Canada, guiding the organization through strategic growth and innovation. She began her career with AIG in 1991 as an underwriting manager and became a respected voice in the industry.
Beyond her executive leadership, Lynn has spent more than two decades coaching global executives to reach their full career potential. She is a seasoned board director, having served on private, educational, and not-for-profit boards. Appointed by Canada’s federal government, she currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Global Risk Institute, where she chairs the Membership, HR and Compensation Committee.
Lynn recently joined the Board of Foresters Financial, contributing to the Fraternal, HR and Governance, and Risk and Investment Committees. She also serves as an Advisory Partner with LEAP Strategy Partners, supporting CEOs in strategic business decisions.
She holds an Honours BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MBA from McMaster University, along with professional designations including FCIP, ICD.D, and ESG.D from the Rotman School of Management.
Neal Oswald
Director, Treasurer and Chair, Audit and Finance Committee
Retired
Neal Oswald is Corporate Director and Co-founder of Wanilah Advisors, and works across strategy, finance, risk, operations and technology functions implementing system, process and organizational change. Recently, Neal worked at Concentra Bank to help them transform to launch a digital Bank – Wyth.ca.
Neal was formerly the Senior Vice President of Process Management in Retail and Business Banking at a large Canadian bank. In this role, he created and ran end-to-end process transformation programs. Neal and his team built the capability to digitally measure and manage the ETE lending processes for the mortgage, cards and wealth businesses. Neal moved to this role from Technology and Operations, where he was the SVP for Process Management. Prior to this role, Neal was the Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning and Business Management in the Technology and Operations division. Before that, Neal was the CFO of the Wholesale Bank during the subprime crisis.
John Chippindale
Director and Chair, National Council
Vice Chairman, HKMB HUB International
John Chippindale currently serves as the Vice Chairman of HUB International in Toronto, Ontario. With a career spanning 42 years, he has a proven track record in the insurance and risk management industry, particularly in the fields of Enterprise Risk Management and Program Administration. His expertise extends across various industries, including automotive, manufacturing, financial institutions, healthcare, real estate and religious organizations. He has enjoyed Canadian and Global CEO leadership roles at Marsh and Integro prior to joining Hub.
He has also been active in Board activity prior to serving as an Arthritis Society Canada Board member and Chair of the National Council, including United Way, Branksome Hall, Junior Achievement and Georgian Peaks Ski Club.
John’s engagement with Arthritis Society Canada is personal, given the impact this disease has had on his mother, daughter and himself. He is dedicated to committing his time, energy and strategic experience to enhancing awareness and delivering comprehensive patient-centred solutions through a disciplined roadmap to guide our efforts in the fight against arthritis over the next decade.
Jeffrey Brown
Director
Chief Operating Officer, Watson Properties
Jeffrey Brown is an experienced senior executive and board director with a strong background in real estate development, investment management, and sales and marketing leadership. Supported by an MBA and ICD.D designation, he brings a proven track record in strategic planning, business development, and risk management.
As Chief Operating Officer of Watson Properties Since 1879 Limited, a Toronto-based firm, Jeffrey drives growth through smart partnerships and hands-on operations, maintaining a collaborative and grounded approach. His expertise also includes capital project financing, government negotiations, compliance, and integrating new technologies.
Previously, he held leadership roles at Silverthorn Capital and CI Financial. Jeffrey is passionate about using his skills to support The Arthritis Society and make a meaningful difference.
Janet L. Ecker
Director
Retired
Janet L. Ecker was the founding CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA), a concept she turned into an influential public-private partnership dedicated to building Toronto as an international financial services centre. With government and industry support, she also established the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services to leverage the sector’s global reputation for stability and the Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education to capitalize on the region’s talent advantages. The Centre was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a best practice in collaborative public-private partnerships.
A former Minister of Finance for Ontario, and the first woman to deliver a budget in the province, Janet also delivered significant public policy reforms during her political career as Minister of Education, Minister of Community and Social Services and Government House Leader.
Before entering public life, she was the Director of Policy for the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the first non-physician in the role. During that time, the College launched major reforms to prevent sexual abuse of patients, obtain patient consent to treatment and adapt to the new Regulated Health Professions Act. She now serves as the first non-physician director on the board of the Canadian Medical Association.
A frequent public speaker and media commentator, Janet currently sits on a wide range of public and private sector boards, agencies and government advisory committees and is a Senior Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute and a member of its National Council. She was the founding Vice-Chair for the GTA investment attraction agency, Toronto Global, and was a founding director on the board of the Ontario Government’s new agency, Invest Ontario.
Among other awards for leadership and public service, Janet has received the Order of Canada, an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Toronto and a King Charles III Coronation Medal. She is also one of the founders of “Equal Voice”, a national, multi-partisan organization working to elect more women and “The Prosperity Project”, a national advocacy group working to minimize the negative economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women.
Diana Gazdar
Director and Vice Chair, National Council
Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Medline Canada
Diana Gazdar is committed to transforming healthcare through connecting people and ideas, streamlining processes, and leveraging technology to drive meaningful impact for the Canadian healthcare system and the people it serves.
As Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Medline Canada, she leads enterprise growth and brand strategy, government relations, corporate communications, sales activation, and E-Commerce initiatives to build a brand that clinicians trust, and organizations rely on to make healthcare run better.
Diana serves on Medtech Canada’s Board of Directors, the Federal Affairs Committee, and the US Tariff and Taxes Committee, and is Chair of the Governance and Nominating Committee for Canada’s leading medical device industry trade and advocacy association. She also serves as the Co-Chair of the National Council of the Arthritis Society Canada, driving fundraising efforts to fuel innovation, advocacy, and public awareness, while championing solutions to reduce the impact of arthritis on Canada’s healthcare system and economy.
With over 25 years in Sales and Marketing leadership roles, Diana has a proven track record of delivering business growth and expertise in building strategy, powerful narratives, governance, and digital transformation to advance healthcare in Canada.
Deborah Greenberg
Director
Chief Legal and Corporate Services Officer, Draganfly
Deborah Greenberg is a senior executive with 20+ years of experience as a legal, governance, technology, data and government relations expert.
As Chief Legal Officer of Draganfly, an innovative organization using drones for humanitarian, public safety and agricultural purposes, Deborah oversees legal operations, technology and business transformation, government relations and human resources. Deborah has received several accolades, including the prestigious Global Counsel Award in the General Commercial Law Category, a Top 100 Canadian General Counsel on the GC Powerlist, and one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada.
Dr. Nigil Haroon
Director
MD, PhD, DM, FRCPC, FRCP, MBA
Head of the Division of Rheumatology at the University Health Network and Sinai Health
Dr. Nigil Haroon, MD, PhD, is the Head of the Division of Rheumatology at the University Health Network and Sinai Health. He is a professor of medicine and rheumatology at the University of Toronto and a Senior Scientist at the Krembil Research Institute and the Schroeder Arthritis Institute, a state-of-the-art research facility in Toronto. He has held multiple board and leadership roles, including being the Immediate Past President of the Canadian Rheumatology Association, Vice-Chair of the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network (SPARTAN), Co-President of the International Spondyloarthritis Congress (Belgium).
Dr. Haroon is an internationally renowned clinician-scientist in the field of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). He is well published in this area and has been an invited speaker at several international meetings. Dr. Haroon also serves on the board of the Spondylarthritis Research and Treatment Network (SPARTAN) as well as on the Medical and Scientific Advisory Boards of the Spondylitis Association of America and the Canadian Spondylitis Association. Dr. Haroon has won several awards, including the Vanier Scholarship and the Jane Bruckel Award of the Spondylitis Association of America.
Dr. Haroon has a well-established translational research program at the University Health Network, Toronto and is known for his work in functional genomics of AS. He has published paradigm-shifting studies in AS, including the first study to demonstrate that TNF inhibitors can decrease the risk of progression of spinal fusion. He published one of the largest population-based studies in AS, including a total of 100,000 subjects/controls, and identified a significantly increased risk of dying from heart attacks and strokes in AS patients. He identified the role for MIF, an innate immune molecule that can drive both inflammation and bone formation in AS patients.
Vas Rao
Director
Vice President & Head of Insurance Operations, ivari Canada
Vas Rao is a global financial services transformational leader with 25 years of expertise across technology, finance, treasury, operations, retail, and small business. A trusted senior executive advisor who builds consensus and accelerates progress across multi-disciplinary teams, Vas is a pragmatic visionary driven to undertake business changes with a large IT dependency.
In addition to his role as Vice President, Head of Life Operations and Deputy Chief Operating Officer at ivari Canada, Vas is the Treasurer and Chair of the Audit Committee at Right to Food, a national organization transforming the way that food insecurity is tackled through an innovative, dignity-first model. This past June, Vas completed a 9-year term as Treasurer and Chair of Finance, Pension and Audit Committee at Victoria University (a part of the University of Toronto). The University of Toronto recently named Vas as a 2025 Arbor Award recipient in recognition of his outstanding volunteer service to the university. The Arbor Award represents U of T’s most prestigious volunteer recognition honouring alumni and friends for their significant contributions to the university.
Stephen Weiss
Director
Retired
Stephen Weiss’s career has been focused on healthcare, both in the private and public sectors. In the private arena, he worked for many years in the medical diagnostics field with a focus on management and strategic marketing, both with large companies such as Abbott, Bayer, Olympus and Chiron, and start-up biotechnology organizations such as Tm Bioscience. In his most recent role (2008-2017), he was appointed the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute (ABJHI) in Calgary, Alberta. ABJHI is a not-for-profit institute dedicated to improving the health of patients with arthritis through data analysis and measurement in collaboration with patients, physicians, researchers and government.
