SECRETARY
Joanne Nemeroff (President, Montreal Chapter and Chair, Nominating Committee)
Joanne Nemeroff is a notable leader in the retail industry, with over 30 years of experience in the field. She has held executive positions with many Canadian retailers, including Holt Renfrew/Ogilvy, Limited Brands, Sears Canada Inc., La Senza Corp. and Aldo Canada. Nemeroff’s business expertise brings fresh ideas to Weizmann Canada’s National Board.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Francie Klein
Francie Klein is the Chair of the International Events Committee and President of the Toronto Chapter. She has been active and dedicated since 2005, when she became a member of the National Board. She was the Chair of Weizmann Women and Science from 2006-2012, Co-Chair of the 2012 Global Gathering in Montreal, Honorary Co-Chair of the 2014 Global Gathering in New York City and Co-Chair of the 50th Anniversary Gala in 2014. With a Master’s degree in Education and many years of experience in that field, Klein has brought a higher standard of excellence to the Board. Klein has been a docent at the AGO since 2007.
Stan Magidson (Chair, Governance Committee)
Stan Magidson is Chair and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Alberta Securities Commission, and possesses extensive experience in corporate governance and securities law and regulation. Before joining the ASC in July 2016, he was President, CEO and director of the Institute of Corporate Directors and Chair of the Global Network of Director Institutes. Prior, Magidson was a partner for 21 years with a national law firm in the business law group where he advised corporate issuers, investors, financial intermediaries and boards of directors across the country on securities law, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance matters.
Dr. Laurence Rubin
Chair of the National Scientific Advisory Committee, Dr. Rubin has been Involved with Weizmann since the late 1980’s, he has participated in numerous scientific forums and events and supports the Institute in both Canada and Israel. Dr. Rubin is currently a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Staff Rheumatologist and member of the Metabolic Bone Clinic at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto.
PRESIDENT, WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
Prof. Alon Chen
Prof. Alon Chen has been President of the Weizmann Institute of Science since December 1, 2019. Born in Israel in 1970, he recieved his PhD through a direct track from the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2001. In parallel, he attained an MBA from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He conducted postdoctoral research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, in California. Chen returned to the Weizmann Institute of Science in 2005 as a senior scientist, ultimately becoming the head of the Neurobiology Department. Prof. Chen is also a director in the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Germany, and Head of the joint Weizmann-Max Plank lab for experimental neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurogenetics.
MEMBERS AT LARGE
Laurent Amar
Laurent Amar is the co-founder and co-president of VoiceAge Corporation; a Montreal-based company that develops speech and audio compression technologies. Amar is also founder and president of Sipro Lab Telecom Inc., a company that licenses patent portfolios including the ACELP portfolio of “Université de Sherbrooke”. VoiceAge Corporation and Sipro Lab Telecom are world leaders in speech an audio compression. Their technologies are used worldwide and are key to the cellular, IP and land-based telecommunication industries. Amar has more than 25 years’ experience in the development of successful business models for technology transfer in the telecommunications industry.
Stephen Bear
Stephen Bear served as a Senior Partner of McKinsey & Company until his retirement in April 2013. During his 26 years at McKinsey, Bear led the Firm’s practices in Korea and Canada and served for six years as an elected member of McKinsey’s global Board of Directors. Bear has served as a board member of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation (including as Chair of the Board), Street Kids International, the Foreign Investment Advisory Committee to the Seoul government in Korea, and as a member of the United Way of Toronto Cabinet. He also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto.
Bear earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Natal (South Africa) and an MBA from Tulane University in New Orleans.
Anne-Marie Boucher
Anne-Marie Boucher has been an active member of the Board since 2012. As a co-founder of the law firm BCF in Montreal, Boucher brings forth her expertise in the fields of estate planning, wealth management and corporate governance. She has taught tax programs at several universities and is a frequent speaker at tax conferences on estate planning. She also serves as member of the Lower Canada College Board of Governors, the Board of the St. Mary's Hospital Foundation, the McCord Museum, the Jewish Community Foundation and is involved with a number of other charities in Canada, Europe and Israel.
Richard Epstein
Richard Epstein is a Partner at Aird & Berlis, a business law firm in Toronto. Prior to joining Aird & Berlis, Epstein was an entrepreneur, operating various car leasing, automotive and light manufacturing businesses in the Toronto area. As a corporate/commercial advisor, he offers guidance on a wide range of matters and issues, including acquisitions and divestures, financings, restructurings and general growth strategy. Epstein is a member of the firm's Financial Services Group.
Mike Florence, CPA, CA
Mike Florence is currently the president of Rikare Management Inc., an investment company. He was recently president of Sherfam Inc. the parent company of Apotex Inc., a major manufacturer of generic drugs. He is a chartered accountant and spent over 30 years at an accounting firm. He has been on the Board of Directors of Israel bonds for many years. As a member of the Finance Committee, Florence brings forth his strong business experience to the board.
Martin P. Molyneaux
Martin Molyneaux is currently President and CIO of Molyneaux Asset Management which undertakes energy and venture capital investments. He retired as Vice Chairman of FirstEnergy Capital Corp. in April of 2014 after a 30-year career in energy investment banking where he was recognized as one of Canada's leading energy research analysts.
Dr. Arthur Slutsky (Chair, Scientific Advisory Council)
Dr. Slutsky is a highly regarded pulmonary and critical care physician. He is the Keenan Chair of Medicine and a Professor of Medicine, Surgery, and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. He previously served as Vice President: Research at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto and was the Division Director of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Toronto, as well as the Director of the Interdepartmental Division of Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Slutsky is the recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Lecturer in Respiratory Sciences Award, was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2015 and was awarded the CIHR Health Researcher of the Year in 2014.
Harvey Sands
A Charted Professional Accountant with over thirty years of experience, Harvey Sands is currently a Practice Leader of the Real Estate Services Group and of the Aboriginal Advisory Practice Group, at Richter LLP, one of the largest accounting firms in Canada. He is a previous member of Richter’s Board of Directors and Governance Committee and served for several years as a member of the Board for the Montreal Holocaust Museum Centre and for March of the Living Canada.
Harvey obtained his ICD.D designation of the Institute of Corporate Directors and is an advisor to client Family Offices, Family Counsels and business Advisory Boards.
Zachary Schwartz
Zachary (Zach) Schwartz is President of ZSC Inc. and Vice President, Client Relations, at East West Investment Management, a Private Investment Office. He previously worked at a Canadian multi-family office. Schwartz was a founding team member of a NYC-based fintech company, where he remains an advisor.
Schwartz is involved with a number of charitable causes: He chaired the Upper Canada College Young Alumni Network and now sits on the Association Council as Chair of its Wellness Subcommittee; he is Co-Chair of the Weizmann League (Weizmann's Young Professionals group); and he sits on the CAMH Young Professionals board. Schwartz graduated from the University of Western Ontario, where he was a member of the Dean's Honour List.
Dr. Gareth Witten
Dr. Witten holds a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Cape Town and has a professional background in both academia and business. His current role is Executive-in-Residence at the Global Risk Institute and National Pension Hub. Previous positions Dr. Witten has held include Executive Head: Investment Oversight at STANLIB Wealth Management, Head of Institutional Research, Business Development & Portfolio Manager at Peregrine Financial, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. Dr. Witten is also the founder and former Director of Industry Science Solutions Consulting.