Debra Brown, President and CEO

Debra is President and CEO of Brown Governance and has authored a variety of nationally and internationally published works on corporate governance. She has planned and facilitated global, national and multi-stakeholder governance conferences and seminars, and spoken on a variety of corporate and personal development issues. Her book "Orange Alert" is available here, and her earlier book "Changes" is now available on Amazon.com.

On the national level, Debra has been a participant in the Public Policy Forum’s roundtable on the governance of Crown Corporations and has been featured in connection with her corporate governance work on Canada’s national business news produced by The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). Internationally, Debra has done governance and leadership work with the Government of China and the Yeltsin Democracy Fellowship Foundation. Prior to forming Brown Governance, she spent several years in the Canadian financial sector, working most recently as CEO.

David Brown, Executive Director

David is sought out by the media for his experience in governance and leadership and is a keynote speaker to sold-out audiences across North America. Over the past decade, David has worked directly with the boards and CEOs of over 100 leading corporations, from one-time evaluation, selection and strategy assignments, to ongoing intensive development, governance reviews and coaching.

David is co-founder, Executive Director and faculty member of The Directors College, Canada’s first and only director development program leading to a formal university accreditation, the C.Dir. He has authored a variety of nationally and internationally published works on corporate governance, multi-stakeholder initiatives and public policy. He has organized, facilitated and presented at global, national and corporate conferences and seminars, speaking on strategic and leadership issues.

David has developed corporate governance expertise in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
Internationally, David and Brown Governance have provided training to the Chinese Government's State Enterprise Ministry and Russian executives enrolled in the Yeltsin Democracy Fellowship Foundation.

Prior to forming Brown Governance, David worked for several years in Canada's financial sector. This included senior corporate positions in Alberta with two of Canada's major banks and as CEO of one of Ontario's leading community credit unions. David also has public sector experience as a member of a project team for Ontario's Crown agency insuring deposits.

Pierre Vanasse, Executive Vice-President

Pierre is a renowned speaker and author on finance, accounting, risk management and corporate governance. He has worked hands-on in senior positions in the financial services industry, has board experience and has led a major international financial research program.

Pierre now trains boards, executives and Audit Committees.

He has authored or co-authored more than 40 published reports on governance, risk management, SME financing, taxation and public policy over the last 15 years. He has organized, facilitated and presented at workshops, conferences and seminars, speaking on risk management and governance, corporate finance, financial literacy, financial sector developments and taxation issues. He has also managed the finance, risk management, public policy and governance knowledge areas of the Conference Board of Canada, including custom research projects, custom research, networks and conferences.

Internationally, Pierre has managed major international projects and meetings for CIDA in Asia and the Magreb region of Africa, in addition to developing international networking opportunities for Canadian business in Asia, Europe and Latin America. In addition, he has provided training based on Canadian practices to the Moroccan and Chinese Governments on financial sector and taxation matters. This experience has allowed Pierre to develop a high level of comfort and expertise with multi-cultural situations, and an ability to work effectively across cultures.

Prior to joining Brown Governance as Executive Vice-President, Pierre worked for 15 years in research and management with the financial services research Program of The Conference Board of Canada, and for 5 years prior to that, was working in Canada's financial sector. Pierre is currently a member of the Board of the Trillium Childhood Cancer Support Centre and has served on the faculty of The Directors College.

Sheila Norris , Senior Associate

Sheila is a Certified Executive Coach and human resource consultant with extensive experience in organizational and leadership development. Sheila has facilitated significant change management initiatives in both the public and private sectors, and has designed and implemented management processes and human resource/organizational development infrastructure for both large and small organizations. She has also conducted scientific research, managed technical projects, designed and delivered college and university level programs and workplace training, and achieved regulatory approval for a medical device start-up. These wide-ranging experiences have provided a rich base from which Sheila draws when coaching and helping clients focus their development as leaders.

Sheila holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a Masters of Education from Queen's University, as well as her certification in executive coaching from Royal Roads University .

Diana Beattie, Senior Associate

Ms Beattie is an accomplished executive with a track record of achieving results in strategic planning, governance and human resources management. She is an analytical and strategic thinker, and has excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Diana is one of 560 women in Women in the Lead / Femmes de Tete, a directory of women qualified for appointment to corporate boards in Canada.

Ms Beattie has a valuable combination of senior executive experience, extensive volunteer community leadership, and relevant academic credentials.

As a Vice-President of the Royal Canadian Mint, a fully commercial Crown corporation that operates for profit and transacts business globally, Ms Beattie led the development of the corporation's long term vision complete with major strategies and initiatives, and developed annual three year business plans including financial and non financial objectives, strategies and performance measures. She assisted the Board of Directors in improving its performance and effectiveness through leading edge governance practices.

Ms Beattie recently graduated with distinction at the University of London (Birkbeck College) in the UK with an MSc in International Corporate Governance and Business Ethics. Diana is the second Canadian to hold this prestigious degree. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario.

Vicki Weichenthal, Associate

Vicki has many years experience in governance and administration, team management, customer care and account management. She successfully fulfilled the corporate secretariat function for an Ontario municipality. Vicki has earned awards for her work in the call centre environment for leadership and innovation.

Graduating from Algonquin College with a Business & Commerce/Secretarial diploma, Vicki is continuing with distance education to earn a Business Studies Certificate that includes marketing, accounting and economics.  She has worked in the municipal, insurance and real estate industries and most recently worked as a technical support manager.

Vicki, who resides in Arnprior with her husband, joined the Brown Governance team in 2008.

Jake Skinner, Information Technology Manager

Information Technology Manager, Systems Administrator, Web Designer, Software Development Director, Programmer, Network Administrator, Researcher, IT Trainer and Database Administrator are just some of the hats that Jake wears. He has long kept Brown Governance's technology nearly as up to date as it's Governance knowledge.

Beyond his technology expertise he has made significant contributions to the corporate governance research work of Brown Governance. Jake was co-author of the 2002 Governance IdeaBook published by The Conference Board of Canada, as well as a major article entitled "The Seven Deadly Sins of Enron."