Board of Directors

Officers

Samantha Horn, Chair
Riccardo Trecroce, Vice Chair
Melissa Farrell, Secretary

Directors
Pankaj Arora
Bob Aziz
Sharon Barkley
Charlotte Burke
David Bronicheski
Dr. Meghan Daly
Joan Jickling
Karen McClure
Dr. David McConachie
Ken McDermot
Stacey Nagle
Richard Nunn

Board of Directors Biographies

Samantha Horn is a partner in the Toronto office of Stikeman Elliott LLP where she has practiced corporate and commercial law for more than 30 years. Her practice is primarily in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital financing. Ms. Horn is a former 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. She was appointed as Chair in June 2023.

Riccardo Trecroce is a retired corporate lawyer and business leader. He retired as Executive Vice-President and Chief Legal Officer of Magna International Inc. in June 2020. He brings more than 30 years of experience in general management and as counsel to executive teams and extensive experience in transactions, 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 and was appointed Vice Chair in June 2023.

Melissa joined Halton Healthcare as President & CEO in June 2023. Melissa is a health system leader who is passionate about building integrated care and making sure that people have the support they need from all parts of the health system - this includes hospitals, community services, primary care, mental health, public health, population health and more. 

Prior to joining Halton Healthcare Melissa served as President of St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton where she led an innovative multi-site academic teaching hospital, affiliated with McMaster University. Before her time at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Melissa had a long and distinguished career largely focused in the public sector including her role as Assistant Deputy Minister, Acute and Emergency Health Services for the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

Melissa is currently a Board Member of the Ontario Hospital Association. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and Master’s Degree in Planning from Queen’s University and has continued educational development in leadership programs at Harvard Business School, Ivey Business School and The Rotman School of Management.

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. Bob currently sits on the Boards and several committees of Bruce Power (Board Chair), Brewers Retail (Lead Director), 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.

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.

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.

David Bronicheski 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 (retired).

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 represents the Town of Oakville.

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.

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 is currently the Principal of InnovateIP Consulting and has held senior leadership roles at Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster, LifeLabs Medical Laboratory Services and several Ontario hospitals and government agencies including Cancer Care Ontario, Women’s College Hospital and the Mississauga Halton and Central West LHIN. She also served as the Vice-Chair of Intellectual Property Ontario and is a member of the National Research Council’s International Advisory Committee on TRIUMF. Karen is committed to building a sustainable, patient-centred healthcare system and improving health access and outcomes through the adoption of innovative digital technology solutions. 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 27 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 five 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 represents the Town of Milton.

Richard Nunn has been involved in senior governance roles in the public sector for more than twenty years, serving as a Governor at the University of Toronto from 2004-2013 and as Chair of the Governing Council from 2011-2013. He is currently a director of Halton Healthcare and served as Chair of the Board from 2019-2023. He is currently Chair of UTAM which manages assets on behalf of the University of Toronto. He is also a Council member of ICAEW, an international accounting organization based in London, and was recently appointed as a director of the Ontario Pension Board.

Richard retired as a partner from Deloitte in 2023, having completed a 34-year career in professional accounting. He led the Financial Services Audit and Assurance practice for Canada and served on the Global Financial Services Audit leadership team. He specialized in banking, asset management and pension industries while at Deloitte serving some of the largest organizations including RBC, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and the Public Sector Pension Plan Investment Board.

Richard is a past member of the OSFI Advisory Committee and a past Chair of the Panel Auditors’ Committee of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization.

Richard holds a degree in Banking and Finance from Loughborough University in the UK. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, UK, and he holds the Institute of Corporate Directors designation.

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 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.