About Us
Board of Directors
Patrick Watson, Chairman emeritus
Canadian broadcaster and journalist Patrick Watson built his extensive career as a television and radio interviewer and host, author, commentator, writer, producer and director. He was also one of the three founding members of Magicana in 2000.
Patrick was also the chairman of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation from 1989 until 1994; and has received an honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Mount Allison University in 2002 and the University of Toronto in 2004. He was invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981, then promoted to Companion in 2002.
Patrick Watson passed away on July 4, 2022 at the age of 92.
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Tim Jackson, Chairman
Tim has an extensive background as an entrepreneur, business and not-for-profit leader. He currently serves as the President and CEO of Shad Canada, a progressive STEM and entrepreneurship program for students to prepare them for real-world challenges and opportunities. He has also served as CEO of the Accelerator Centre, an incubator for technology startups, Vice President at the University of Waterloo and Executive Vice-President at the MaRS Discovery District, one of the world’s largest urban innovation hubs. He co-founded Tech Capital Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm, and served as CFO and CEO at Waterloo-based technology firm, PixStream (sold to Cisco Systems). Tim has chaired boards such as The Ontario Trillium Foundation, The Waterloo Public Library, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region and the Centre in the Square Theatre.
Michael Gillis
Michael is an investment professional with extensive experience, specializing in institutional asset management. His long-standing experience in the industry in business development, marketing, and client service comes from his past roles serving as vice-president in institutional marketing and sales along with his business development experience as a senior advisor for two private investment firms.
Craig MacPherson
Craig is a globally experienced business and operations leader. Leveraging a technical education and extensive commercial experience, his focus is in healthcare, both in product enablement and, more recently, in home care service delivery.
Kevin Rusli
Kevin is a partner at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP with a practice that focuses on private equity funds and investment products. He holds extensive experience in advising domestic and foreign clients on private equity and asset management. Kevin regularly provides legal advice regarding the regulation and registration of investment fund managers, portfolio advisers and dealers, and has considerable experience in structuring and implementing new fund platforms in Canada for both domestic and international sponsors.
Bob Weeks
Bob is a highly-experienced media, marketing and communications expert, and is also a senior broadcaster and sports reporter. He has spent a quarter of a century studying and providing in-depth analysis on professional golf tournaments for major television broadcasts, in addition to his duties as editor and content advisor for communication content for magazines, radio and digital media.
Ingrid Van Weert
Ingrid has recently retired from the practice of law. During her career she made time for public service, including volunteer work and serving on several boards. She has been involved with Frontier College, the Children’s Own Museum, Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Canadian Mental Health Association.