Lawrence L. Herman, Cassidy Levy Kent LLP (Ottawa & Washington) and Herman & Associates (Toronto), has practiced international trade and investment law and policy in government and in the private sector for over 45 years. He advises governments, State agencies and international organizations on trade, economic sanctions and investment issues. He has served on numerous federal government advisory bodies, is a Senior Fellow and member of the National Policy Council of the C. D. Howe Institute, a Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a member of the Executive of the Canada-US Law Institute. Larry was vice-chair of Jazz FM 91 and chair of the Toronto Summer Music Festival over a number of years.

Chris Lorway is the President and CEO of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Chris brings senior leadership experience across a broad range of artistic disciplines in both Canadian and international contexts. Well-positioned to strengthen Banff Centre’s position as Canada’s creative leader in arts, leadership, and convening, Chris has a proved record as a global influencer in arts and culture.

Chris is a Canadian citizen, born and raised in Cape Breton, and comes to Banff Centre from his recent position as both Executive and Artistic Director at Stanford Live in California. His artistic and community programs draw on the breadth and depth of Stanford University to connect performances to the significant issues, ideas, and discoveries of our time in a season featuring over 200 performances and events across four primary venues.

Prior to his role at Stanford Live, Chris was Director of Programming and Marketing at The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall, where his focus was on developing a cohesive brand identity for the institution and ensuring that programming in the halls reflected the diversity of the city of Toronto.

Prior to that position, he was the inaugural Artistic Director of the Luminato Festival, where he commissioned or co-commissioned nearly 50 new works from Canadian and International artists.

Before his return to Canada in 2007, he was a consultant in the United States with AMS Planning and Research and AEA Consulting. These two roles offered him detailed insight into the governance and operations of major cultural organizations, including Carnegie Hall, New York City Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the West Kowloon Cultural District and San Francisco Opera.

Prior to his consulting experience, he worked for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, where for two seasons he was part of the Lincoln Center Festival team. It was there he was introduced to

some of the world’s top artists and companies. He also had roles in marketing and development at Lincoln Center and worked on the first phase of the $1.5 billion campus redevelopment project.

As CFO of Ipsos Canada, Victoria is responsible for the finance and accounting functions of the Canadian business, including driving growth and optimizing financial operations.

Victoria is a seasoned finance executive with more than 20 years of experience in corporate strategy, compliance, and financial planning and analysis, including driving operational effectiveness and leading business transformation, in professional services organizations.

Prior to joining Ipsos, Victoria worked at Colliers, a global commercial real estate services firm, where she led the finance function of its Canadian business, including enterprise strategic planning and ESG initiatives. Before that, she spent the bulk of her career at KPMG in corporate strategy, and in client service as an external auditor of TSX- and SEC-listed companies with a focus on the Mining sector.

Outside of the professional realm, Victoria is actively involved in the community, serving on the Board of the Bata Shoe Museum, including the Finance Committee, former Board member of the Design Exchange Museum, and a Business Mentor with the national charity RiseHelps. She is bilingual in English and French.

Janice Price became President of The Banff Centre on March 16th, 2015. She most recently served as CEO of the Luminato Festival, Toronto’s Festival of Art and Creativity, an organization she led since its inception in 2006. As the Festival’s Founding CEO, Price helped Luminato become one of the world’s largest and most respected annual multi-arts festivals. The Festival reaches over 800,000 audience members annually, and in its first eight seasons, the Festival commissioned 75 new works. Previous to Luminato, Price was the President and CEO of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia from 2002-2006, and prior to that position, she was Vice President of Marketing and Communications and then Interim Executive Director at New York’s Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Prior to her professional engagements in the United States, Price held senior positions at a number of Toronto arts organizations, including the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts and The Corporation of Roy Thomson Hall and Massey Hall. From 1992 – 1996, Price was the Director of Marketing and Special Projects for the Stratford Festival.

Janice Price also served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Festivals and Major Events (FAME) coalition of large Canadian festivals and as a member of the board of Festivals and Events Ontario where she served on the advocacy and education committees. She is also a member of the National Board of Culture Days.

Irfhan Rawji is the Founder & CEO of MobSquad, an innovative Canadian start-up that ensures high-caliber software engineers with US work visa challenges remain working with their current company, but are near-shored from Canada. Irfhan is also a Principal with Totem Capital Corporation, a Venture Partner with Relay Ventures and an Adjunct Professor at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia.

Irfhan is actively involved in civic affairs as Board Chair of Glenbow Museum, Board Member of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, and Board Member of Venture for Canada. Additionally, Irfhan serves as Chair of the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Impact Fund Advisory Committee, as an advisor to the Canadian government’s Impact and Innovation Unit within the Privy Council Office, and as a member of the New Economy Advisory Committee of the Alberta Securities Commission. Irfhan is also on the National Advisory Committee of The Walrus, is an Advisor to the Canadian Urban Institute, and is co-Chair of the Board of Governors of Look Forward.

Irfhan holds an MBA with High Honors from Harvard Business School and also holds a BCom with Honours from the University of British Columbia. He is a recipient of The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, the Heart & Stroke Foundation’s Award of Merit, the Sauder School of Business’ Teaching Excellence Award, Business for the Arts’ Arnold Edinborough Award, and is a member of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 (2017).

Greg A. Reed is a director of the National Arts Centre Foundation and a former director of the National Ballet of Canada. Following a 20-year career with international consulting firm McKinsey & Company in New York, London, and Toronto, he served as the CEO of both an investment firm and a private bank. Greg holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.Sc. in Computer Science from the University of Toronto.

David G. Smith served as Chief Executive Officer of Keyera Corp. from 2015 until his retirement in 2020 and was a senior executive with Keyera since the company’s inception in 1998.  Mr. Smith has more than 38 years of experience in the energy industry in Canada. He began his career with Imperial Oil Limited in 1982 and joined Gulf Canada Resources Limited in 1991.   

Mr. Smith is a director of the United Way of Calgary and Area. He holds a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo, a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University and the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors. David has served on the board of Arts Commons since 2015 and became Chair of the Arts Commons Board in 2022. 

Ms. Watson has more than 25 years experience as a senior fundraising executive, political advisor, and consultant. For more than 20 years she worked at Canada’s National Arts Centre (NAC). During her years as CEO of the NAC Foundation, she raised more than $125 million to support creation, learning and performance initiatives across Canada. Prior to joining the NAC, she served as the Director of Communications at Export Development Canada, and held senior communications roles in the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons and Canada Post Corporation.

David Binet is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Woodbridge Company Limited, an investment holding company for Canada’s Thomson family. Woodbridge’s largest asset is its 55% stake in Thomson Reuters Corporation, listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges, and it has numerous other investments.

David is Deputy Chairman of Thomson Reuters, and also serves on the board of directors of Woodbridge, The Globe and Mail (Canada’s national newspaper), and a number of other companies in which Woodbridge has invested. David is Chairman of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a London-based charity dedicated to journalism training and promoting the rule of law. David is also Chairman of the Board of The National Ballet of Canada and on the board of directors of Canada’s National Ballet School.

Before joining Woodbridge, David was a partner in the Canadian law firm Torys LLP, where his practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance. Prior to that, he was a news reporter. David attended Queen’s University (BA Hons), McGill University (LLB) and Northwestern University (MSJ) and he has received certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors (Canada).

Winnipeg, Canada 

Dorothy Dobbie was a member of Parliament from 1988 to 1993. She served as parliamentary secretary and co-chaired the Joint House Senate Committee on the Renewal of Canada. She is immediate past president of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians and current president of the International Peace Garden.

She is a writer and owner of Pegasus Publications Inc., publisher of magazines and tabloids, among them Beyond the Hill for the Former Parliamentarians. After hosting a garden radio show for 20 years, she and some partners recently started Lifestyles 55 Digital Radio. 

Mrs. Dobbie was the first woman president of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, was chair of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Summit, is a past member of the Nature Conservancy Canada, former chair of Tree Canada among many community volunteer roles. 

She is a member of the Order of Canada, among other awards and honours.