Lori-Ann Beausoleil
FCPA, FCALori-Ann Beausoleil is a Board Director in both Canada and the US. She serves on Boards that are listed on the TSX60, TSX and NYSE, as well as private entities.
Creating an inclusive and diverse boardroom, one candidate at a time.
About Us
At Board Diversity Network, we believe in an inclusive and diverse boardroom and in turn, we have created a program to support diverse professionals who are passionate about becoming board members.
Our mission is to prepare Indigenous, race, LGBTQ+ and gender diverse executives to become sought-after board candidates through our networking and board-readiness educational program.
Why
Board Diversity Network?
Simply put, we've been there. We've experienced the journey of ascending the corporate ladder to now being highly sought-after candidates for various board positions. We are leaders who believe in leading by example. Our past corporate experiences have stemmed from our passion, education, and corporate resiliency that we are now channelling through our Board Diversity Network program. Our goal is to coach others to achieve the same success that we have experienced in the boardroom.
At the Board Diversity Network, we acknowledge that there is a pool of diverse candidates looking for board opportunities and our aim is to empower, educate and qualify these candidates. Our program objective is to provide the launchpad for these diverse executives to gain the skills, education, talent, and network to successfully secure board seats.
Program Details
The Board Diversity Network program is comprised of four modules delivered in-person through lectures, case studies, guest seminars, panels, group discussions, and facilitated workshops. By the end of the Board Diversity Network program, our graduates will:
- Understand board member and committee responsibilities, the boardroom meeting process and etiquette, the board effectiveness assessment process, and how to navigate the boardroom;
- Understand the key skills that are required to be a successful board member;
- Understand how to build a board resume, navigate the board recruitment process, and the interview process; and
- Know how to navigate the boardroom during a crisis.
The Board Diversity Network Program
Getting Board Ready
By learning about board governance and hearing the board journeys from a group of diverse Directors, we will help you navigate the boardroom, assess your experience and skills, identify your skill gaps, and build your board resume and board brand. You will meet recruiters and board members that will provide you with hands-on experience to the curriculum.
Board Recruitment and Interviewing
By developing an understanding of the board members’ responsibilities and the recruitment process, we provide you with the necessary tools to interview effectively. You will also hear from Nominating Committee Chairs and recruiters on how to navigate your board recruitment process.
Contributing To The Boardroom Effectively
As future Directors, you need to understand the risk you will be exposed to in the boardroom and how you can protect yourself. You will hear from experts on how to manage your boardroom risk.
We will also address how to navigate crises in the boardroom through case studies.
Building Your Network
Our networking events and the power of a small group setting will provide you with the opportunity to build lasting relationships with your fellow cohorts, recruiters, board members, and Board Diversity Network Partners.
Founders
Oliver Jordan
MBA, FCPA, FCA, ICD.DOliver Jordan is a Board Director in both Canada and the Caribbean who after an over 30-year global career is excited to be launching the Board Diversity Network.
Meet our
Founding Partners
Wildeboer Dellelce LLP (WD) is one of Canada’s premier corporate, securities and business transactions law firms.
Lori-Ann Beausoleil
FCPA, FCA
Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant
Fellow Chartered Accountant
Bachelor of Commerce, University of Toronto
Lori-Ann Beausoleil is a Board Director in both Canada and the US. She brings over 36 years of governance, finance, risk, audit, compliance and ethics experience to the Board Diversity Network program.
She currently serves as a Director and Audit Committee Chair of Canadian Apartment Properties REIT; as a Director and Audit Committee Chair of Brookfield Real Estate Income Trust Inc.; as a Director and Audit Committee member of Metro Inc.; as a Director, Compensation, Governance and Nominating Committee member and Audit Committee member for Slate Office REIT.
She is also a Director, Chair of the Financial Advisory Committee, member of the Regulatory Oversight Committee and Chair of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee member for a private company overseeing the NEO Exchange.
Lori is a recently retired senior partner from PwC where she held a variety of leadership roles and lead the Compliance and Governance practice; the national Forensic practice; and the national Real Estate practice over her 36-year career.
Lori is currently the Strategic Business Advisor at Wildeboer Dellelce LLP where she is working on the design and implementation of a strategic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) program, as well as a legal advisory practice.
She is passionate about education and is a member of the Dean’s Council at the Ted Rogers School of Business at Toronto Metropolitan University and is the Chair of the Accounting Program at George Brown College.
She is also a volunteer member of the Advisory Board for the Mentorship Program at Women Get on Board.
Lori’s governance expertise is being recognized as she was recently identified by Directors & Boards as one of the top 20 “Directors to Watch in 2022.”
Oliver Jordan
MBA, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D
Fellow Chartered Professional Accountant
Fellow Chartered Accountant
Bachelor of Commerce, University of Toronto
MBA, Schulich School of Business
ICD.D – Institute of Corporate Directors
Oliver Jordan is a retired PwC partner in its Caribbean Advisory practice where he held the role of Government & Public Sector Leader. Previous roles include Managing Director for CIBC’s operations in Barbados & the Eastern Caribbean and Chief Operating Officer for a Life & General Insurance company.
Oliver currently serves as a Director and Audit Committee for a Merchant Bank. In addition, he is Chairman of the Board of a Regulator for Insurance companies, Credit Unions, Pension Plans, and Mutual Funds while also Chairing its Corporate Governance Committee.
He is currently a Special Advisor to the Government of Barbados on the restructuring of several state-owned entities across key industrial sectors and is the Audit Committee Chairman for the University of the West Indies.
Passionate about Corporate Governance, in June 2022, Oliver completed the Rotman Director Education Program (DEP) and qualified as an ICD.D with the Institute of Corporate Directors of Canada. He is also a Director of the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute which is a non-profit organization committed to developing and enhancing professional standards of directors through education and learning and publishing best practice standards of corporate governance for directors.
In December 2020, Oliver was awarded the distinction of Fellow by CPA Ontario (FCPA) in recognition of his exceptional service to the accounting profession and community.
WD considers itself to be an entrepreneurial force for legal practice innovation and one of Canada’s most innovative and entrepreneurial law firms, continually changing the definition of what it means to be a partner and trusted adviser to business. WD invests in the success of their clients, serving as business law advisers at all stages of the business lifecycle from start-up to industry leader. WD recognizes that diversity is foundational to delivering excellence to their clients and community.
The firm’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is championed by their people, practices, and policies. WD recognizes that championing diversity must be accompanied by tangible representation and as such, they have partnered with the Board Diversity Network to remedy the need for diversity on Canadian boards.
Board Diversity
Network Members
Why Become a Board Diversity Network Member?
At the Board Diversity Network, we understand that diversity is the future, and we are looking to change the game. At Board Diversity Network, we are seeking qualified candidates who are looking to become change agents in their respective industries and careers, by taking their careers to the next level and making their voices count where it matters most – in the boardroom.
And this is a pivotal moment. We are creating a network of top talent. By creating an enriching and empowering education and networking program, we are providing our network members with new skills and networks that can be converted into valuable professional opportunities of becoming a board member.
Becoming a board member is an achievement held by few but coveted by many.
Joining a board (whether for an organization that is public, private, government, or not-for-profit) allows you the opportunity to shape the future of our country. Whether it’s overseeing strategy, risk, supply chain, financial matters, legal, political, or economic, you make a difference when you have a seat. That is why securing a seat at the table is so important.
Partners
Organizations (private, public, not-for-profit, academic, or government) are taking a stand for social responsibility because representation matters at all levels. Qualified diverse representation allows for greater creative thought, unique lived experience perspectives and innovative solutions to help navigate through these transformative and disruptive times.
Meet our Partners
Creating change on such a fundamental scale across boardrooms and corporate environments is not an easy feat. That is why we work with amazing partner organizations to support our work through recruitment, sponsorship or providing network opportunities. Learn more about how our partners get involved and help make a difference with Board Diversity Network to create an inclusive and diverse boardroom.
Diversity is no longer just a far-reaching placeholder goal, but a requirement that companies need to follow. And more importantly, companies should want to follow, given the positive impact that diversity has on decision-making. But organizations are challenged to find diverse board-ready candidates at a time that is crucial. Specifically, Boards are still facing an issue of effective and diverse representation and the Board Diversity Network will solve this problem by providing a database of diverse board ready candidates.
Board Diversity Network’s Partners
Our partners share our vision that diversity in the boardroom is not just about greater opportunities for racially diverse executives but getting access to top diverse talent and increasing the scope of voices around the boardroom table. BDN is privileged to have the following partners supporting our BDN program:
Get Involved
For individual executives, interested in learning more about the Board Diversity Network program including course curriculum and tuition details, or for organizations interested in learning more about our program, please fill out the form below and a member of our team will get back to you as soon as possible.
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