Board of Directors

Officers
Richard Nunn, Chair
Samantha Horn, Vice Chair
David Bronicheski, Treasurer
Denise Hardenne, Secretary

Directors
Pankaj Arora
Bob Aziz
Dr. Blair Baker
Sharon Barkley
Charlotte Burke
Mayor Rob Burton
Dr. Meghan Daly
Dr. Hanif Jamal
Joan Jickling
Karen McClure
Dr. David McConachie
Ken McDermot
Stacey Nagle
Riccardo Trecroce

Board of Directors Biographies

Richard Nunn is a senior client service partner at Deloitte specializing in the financial services industry and has over 28 years’ experience in the UK and Canada. Richard has held multiple management roles within Deloitte, providing audit and risk consulting to many of Canada’s leading businesses. Richard was previously the Managing Partner of the Toronto Audit & Advisory practice from 2008-2011 and is past chairman of the Panel Auditors’ Committee of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization.

Richard is currently Chair of University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation and past Chairman of the Governing Council of the University of Toronto. He served on the board of the Oakville Hospital Foundation and was Chair of its Finance Committee.

Richard joined the Board in 2013 and was appointed Chair in June 2019.

Samantha Horn is a partner in the Toronto office of Stikeman Elliott LLP where she has practiced corporate and commercial law for 24 years. Her practice is primarily in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and private equity and venture capital financing. Ms. Horn is a member of the Toronto office's Management Committee and formerly served as co-head of the Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and Private Equity Group.

Samantha obtained her law degree at Queen’s University and has received the Women's Executive Network's Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award in the "KPMG Professionals" category for 2014, 2015 and 2016 and in the Hall of Fame in 2017, which recognizes women who play a leadership role within their organization.

Samantha joined the Board in 2017 and represents the Town of Oakville.

David is a Corporate Director currently serving on several boards of public, private and non-profit corporations. He previously held the position of Chief Financial Officer of Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. from 2007 to 2020 and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Amtelecom Income Fund from 2003 to 2007.

He also was Chief Financial Officer for a large public hospital in Ontario. David holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics (cum laude), a Bachelor of Commerce degree and an MBA (University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management). He is also a Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Professional Accountant.

David served as a Community Representative on Halton Healthcare’s Finance & Audit Committee and the Quality Committee in 2020/21. As a Board Director he will represent the Town of Oakville.

An accomplished health executive, Denise Hardenne has held progressively more senior roles in health authorities and at Halton Healthcare for over three decades, culminating in her current position as President and Chief Executive Officer. Denise has been a surveyor with Accreditation Canada since 1998 and joined the Board of Governors of Waterstone Human Capital’s, Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures in 2022.

During her tenure at Halton Healthcare, Denise has overseen the organization’s progression to 5,228 staff, 931 medical and professional staff and 1,280 volunteers, and growth in operating funding to over a half billion dollars annually. She has led organizational transformation, with a strong strategic focus on purpose and delivering on a vision of exemplary patient experiences, always. Denise has also successfully delivered three major hospital infrastructure projects with a total value of $3.36 billion at Halton Healthcare, including the new 1.6 million square foot Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital, the modernized Georgetown Hospital, and the expanded Milton District Hospital. Her expertise in planning and operational readiness has ensured not only on-time and on-budget delivery of these projects but also the seamless opening of the new facilities.

Denise holds an MBA from Queen’s University and an MCED and BSN from the University of Saskatchewan. She is also a Johnson & Johnson Wharton Fellow from the Wharton School of Business and completed the Not-for-Profit Governance Essentials program at the Rotman School of Business. Denise has published and presented extensively on many aspects of hospital administration and operations.

Pankaj Arora (B.Eng, MBA, MMA) comes to Halton Healthcare as a global leader, having worked in the United States, India and Canada, acquiring over 20 years of people management experience. Pankaj currently holds the title of Vice President Transformation at CIBC. He has previously held leadership roles in other large corporations, such as GE Capital, Dell Canada and the TD Bank.

Pankaj joined the Board in 2016 and represents the Town of Milton.

Robert (Bob) Aziz has been the Chief Operating Officer of the Ontario Municipal Employment Retirement System (OMERS) and the President of OMERS Investment Management since 2020. Prior to this, he was with Oxford Properties Group, the real estate arm of OMERS where he held the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel. Before joining Oxford, Bob was President of Great Gulf Homes and held senior roles at TD Bank Financial Group. Earlier in his career, Bob was a Partner at Torys LLP and Davies Ward Phillips Vineberg LLP. Robert currently sits on the Boards of Brewers Retail, Woodbine Entertainment Group and was a member of the Oakville Hospital Foundation Board from 1992 to 2003. He is also a committed fundraiser on behalf of several charities, having served on the boards of the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation and the Lighthouse for Grieving Children. Bob received his Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from the University of Western Ontario. He and his family reside in Oakville, Ontario.

Dr. Blair Baker attended medical school in Cork, Ireland followed by a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Toronto. He has done additional training in emergency medicine.

Dr. Baker has been an Emergency physician at Milton District Hospital for seven years and is an assistant clinical professor at McMaster University. He has worked as a hospitalist and has supported the community palliative care, stroke and code blue teams in his career.

He is currently a member of the Credentialing Committee, Medical Affairs Committee and Milton Emergency Department Executive. He is lead physician and developer of individualized support plans for the Milton Emergency Department and Medical Director of the Halton Healthcare Medical Enhancement Support Team (MEST). He is currently Vice President of the Professional Staff Association.

Sharon Barkley is an entrepreneur with a long history of commitment to her community. She has served as a Town Councillor in the Town of Milton and as Chair of Milton Hydro.

Sharon was also the Chair of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) – Halton. A graduate of Western University, Sharon has furthered her education in the MBA program at the Richard Ivey School of Business, and corporate governance at the Schulich School of Business.

Sharon joined the Board in 2016 and was appointed Vice Chair in June 2019.

Charlotte Burke (BA, MBA, ICD.D) is an independent director serving on the boards of Coast Capital Savings, Horizon, Halton Health Services and formerly OLG, Postmedia and Acadia University. Currently the President of Stanhope Consulting, advising companies on growth strategies through innovation and digital adoption.

Charlotte has over 25 years of executive experience leading high growth technology firms including Microsoft Canada, Bell Canada’s Internet and Mobility businesses, Hewlett Packard and Sony Corporation. Most recently she was a member of Microsoft Canada’s leadership team focused on helping Canadian businesses with digital transformation through technology partnerships. Her extensive expertise leading technology transformation will be of great benefit as the healthcare sector ventures further into the digital world.

Charlotte joined the Board in 2016.

Rob Burton has been Oakville’s Mayor since 2006, with a mandate to control growth, debt and taxes, protect green spaces and the environment and make Oakville Canada’s most livable town. Some of the Mayor’s initiatives encompass Halton’s Natural Heritage Systems, Energy Management and Air Quality.

Mayor Burton also co-founded the Municipal Leaders for the Greenbelt. Before running for public office, Rob Burton was a director and producer in journalism, film and television, and is best known for starting YTV. Rob serves on several other Halton Boards, such as Community Housing, Children’s Aid Society, Regional Police Services, Oakville Hydro and Tree Canada. Rob avidly supports Oakville’s sports, arts and culture groups and charities.

Mayor Burton joined the Board in 2007 as the representative from Oakville Town Council.

Dr. Meghan Daly is an Emergency Physician at Georgetown Hospital and is leading the development of the Palliative Care Physician Program for Halton Hills. Dr. Daly previously practiced Family-Obstetrics at Women’s College Hospital and worked across northern Canada serving remote and Indigenous communities.

She is the co-founder of Understory, a non-profit organization that creates compelling digital continuing medical education courses for Canadian women physicians.

Dr. Daly is currently the Professional Staff Association Vice-President representing the Georgetown site, a member of the Code Pink Committee, Credentialing Committee, as well as the lead for the Georgetown Hospital Emergency Quality Improvement Committee and co-physician-lead for Halton Healthcare’s Peer Support Services, which provides support after traumatic incidences. She was also formerly co-lead of CovidCARE, which provided pandemic-related mental health support for front-line and essential workers across Halton Healthcare.

Dr. Hanif Jamal has been a Hospitalist at Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital since 2006 and an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University Department of Family Medicine. He is the Medical Director of Iasis Health Management as well as the Health Innovation Lead and Executive Health Physician at Cleveland Clinic Canada. He also serves as Board Director for the Natural Health Products Research Society of Canada since 2015.

Dr. Jamal is a current member of the Oakville Hospital Foundation Board where he also serves on the Governance Committee. Dr. Jamal has been serving on the Professional Staff Association Executive since 2013 and was appointed Vice-President of the Oakville Site in 2017. He currently serves on the Fiscal Advisory Committee, Continuing Medical Education Committee, Credentialing Committee, Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, and Medical Advisory Committee at Halton Healthcare.

Dr. Jamal joined the Board as an ex-officio Director in 2017 and is a Vice President of the Professional Staff Association representing Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital.

Joan Jickling is a Registered Nurse with more than 25 years of experience in a variety of clinical, advanced practice and management roles. Joan has led the Halton Healthcare Quality and Patient Relations program since 2014 and has been instrumental in setting the patient safety, relations and engagement programs and managing risk, ethics and spiritual care portfolios. She has also successfully supported the Board Quality Committee and led prior Accreditation processes resulting in the highest award possible of Exemplary Standing. Joan holds a Bachelor of Science from Western University, a Master of Nursing from the University of Toronto, and a certification in Clinical Safety and Effectiveness from the University of Texas Southwestern. She is also an associate faculty member for the IDEAS Foundations in Quality Improvement Program, at the University of Toronto.

Karen McClure is a strategic advisor with expertise in both healthcare technology and health system transformation. She has been the Chief Investment Officer of Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster since 2018 and prior to that held the position of Vice-President of General and Advanced Diagnostics and Director of the Office of Strategy Management at LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services. Karen has worked extensively as a Management Consultant in both the financial and healthcare sectors and has worked with organizations including Cancer Care Ontario, Women’s College Hospital and the Mississauga Halton and Central West Local Health Integration Networks. She also serves on the National Research Council’s International Advisory Committee on TRIUMF, Canada’s subatomic physics research centre and serves as Executive Lead of the Program Investment Committee on Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster’s Board. Karen is committed to building a sustainable, patient-centred healthcare system and improving health access and outcomes through digital technology. She received her Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, and currently resides in Halton Hills, Ontario. .

Since joining Halton Healthcare in 1993, Dr. McConachie has held several critical medical leadership roles and maintained a busy clinical practice. Dr. McConachie has been instrumental in shaping the current OTMH medical model of care and has led transformational changes in many programs and departments. He has extensive credentialing and physician performance management experience, has mentored several medical professionals, and has been an active member on a number of internal and external committees including Pharmacy and Therapeutics, Intensive Care and Mississauga Halton LHIN-CV Steering Committee. Dr. McConachie will continue his clinical practice as a Cardiologist and Intensivist, bringing his expertise to all three hospitals. Dr. McConachie is dedicated to exemplary patient and family focused care, the growth of our collaborative culture and the on-going development of an inclusive medical staff team across all of our hospitals and community locations.

Ken McDermot (BBA) is a proud Milton community business leader and deeply cares about community healthcare. He is the owner and General Manager of PuroClean in Milton, a Regional Director and Advisory Board Member for PuroClean Canada and has been instrumental in growing PuroClean to 35 locations across Canada.

Ken is the past Chair and a current member of the Georgetown Hospital Foundation Board.

Ken joined the Board in 2016 and represents the Town of Halton Hills.

Stacey Nagle is a partner in Deloitte’s Audit and Assurance practice and has 25 years of experience. She has served as the Global Lead Client Service Partner for one of Deloitte’s largest Canadian clients. She’s worked in Canada and the US and is a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants.

Her extensive public company experience spans serving companies in the asset management and manufacturing industries; however, she has served a number of different industries during her tenure. She is the leader for the Toronto Audit Practice’s Consumer business, manufacturing and TMT group. Stacey previously served as a board member and the Treasurer for 5 years for Ernestine’s Women’s Shelter, an organization that provides a safe haven for women and their children who are fleeing from domestic violence. Stacey is also a member of the Canadian Performance Board of CPA Canada.

Stacey served as a Community Representative on Halton Healthcare’s Finance & Audit Committee in 2020/21. As a Board Director she will represent the Town of Milton.

Ricardo Trecroce is a senior lawyer and business leader. He recently retired as Executive Vice-President and Chief Legal Officer for Magna International Inc. He brings more than 30 years executive experience as counsel to executive teams and extensive experience in corporate governance, strategy and compliance. Mr. Trecroce has been recognized for providing clear and practical advice, leading effective negotiations and fostering an ethical corporate culture.

Mr. Trecroce joined the Board in June 2020.

Board Meetings

The Halton Healthcare Board of Directors generally meets on the second Thursday of every month from September through to June. Members of the public are permitted to attend the open meeting as observers only. If you would like to attend an open meeting please contact the Board Liaison for details.

Become a Board Member

If you are interested in becoming a Board Director you may send your resume to the Board Liaison Office at any time to be kept on file until a vacancy arises.

Contact the Board

You may contact the Board Chair in writing at:

Richard Nunn, Halton Healthcare Chair
c/o Board Liaison Office
Halton Healthcare
3001 Hospital Gate Oakville, ON L6M 0L8

You may contact the Board Liaison at:

Anne-Marie Radford
Board Liaison Office
Halton Healthcare
3001 Hospital Gate
Oakville, ON L6M 0L8
Email: aradford@haltonhealthcare.com

Please direct all media enquiries to the Communications & Public Affairs Department.