Leadership

CIGI’s Board of Directors provides oversight and governance of the organization’s financial stability, executive leadership and overall strategy. It includes global policy experts who provide intellectual guidance to CIGI on the broad scope of its research activities. The board consists of a chair, a treasurer and other directors, two of whom are designated by the Government of Canada, through the Department of Finance and Global Affairs Canada, respectively.

CIGI’s senior management implements the organization’s strategic plan and directs all aspects of its research program and operational activities.

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  • Paul Samson
    President of CIGI

    Paul Samson is president of CIGI. He has 30 years of experience across a range of policy issues with partners from around the world. He is a former senior government official and also served for many years as co-chair of the principal G20 working group on the global economy.

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    Shelley Boettger
    Chief Financial Officer and Director of Operations

    As CIGI’s chief financial officer and director of operations, Shelley Boettger provides corporate leadership and strategic guidance on all financial aspects of the organization. Shelley is responsible for the management of CIGI’s financial systems and investment portfolios, as well as for managing operations and providing financial advice to senior leadership.

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    Goran Dulava
    Director, Human Resources

    Goran Dulava is director of human resources at CIGI, where he leads the organization’s people and culture strategies, overseeing talent management, compensation and benefits, organizational development and employee experience initiatives.

  • Dianna H. English
    Director, Programs

    As the director of programs, Dianna H. English is at the nexus of CIGI’s policy research and operations while driving outcomes aligned to the organization’s strategic goals and priorities.

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    Tracey Forrest
    Research Director, Transformative Technologies

    Tracey Forrest is research director of transformative technologies at CIGI. She is a professional engineer and adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo, with domain experience across quantum, energy and technological innovation. She has held senior leadership roles with organizations and initiatives that support the impactful development and deployment of technology.

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    Noel Gruber
    Director, Communications and Public Affairs

    Noel Gruber is the director of communications and public affairs at CIGI. She is a public relations leader experienced in strategic communications for research, academic and non-profit organizations.

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    Odun Olowookere
    Research Director, Digital Economy

    Odun Olowookere is research director of digital economy at CIGI. His professional experience spans areas such as commercial litigation, corporate finance, financial transactions, energy infrastructure development regulation, and fintech and banking regulation. With an interdisciplinary background in law and finance, Odun’s work focuses on how technological change is reshaping money, monetary institutions and the global financial system.

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    Aaron Shull
    Research Director, Digitalization, Security & Democracy

    Aaron Shull is research director of digitalization, security and democracy at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). He is recognized as a leading expert on complex issues at the intersection of public policy, emerging technology, cybersecurity, privacy and data protection, and democratic resilience.

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    Jim Balsillie
    CIGI Founder and Chair of the CIGI Board of Directors

    In addition to his commitment to CIGI, Jim Balsillie is the founder of the Balsillie School of International Affairs, the Centre for Digital Rights and the Arctic Research Foundation, and co-founder of the Council of Canadian Innovators.

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    Anil Arora
    Chief Statistician of Canada, Deputy Minister (Ret’d); Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School; and Global Digital Consultant, World Bank

    Anil Arora is a CIGI board member, adjunct lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School and former chief statistician of Statistics Canada where he led the modernization of Statistic Canada’s digital governance, technical and data infrastructure. He also co-authored and helped steer the Government of Canada’s data strategy. Anil dedicated his professional career to partnering with the business sector, academia and all orders of government.

  • Scott Burk
    Co-Founder and Former President of Wealhouse Partners, and Treasurer of the CIGI Board of Directors

    Scott Burk is a chartered financial analyst and the co-founder and former president of Wealhouse Capital Management, a Toronto-based investment management firm. He has been a member of CIGI’s Board of Directors since 2007 and serves as the treasurer.

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    Alison Gillwald
    Executive Director, Research ICT Africa (RIA)

    Alison Gillwald (PhD) is the Executive Director of Research ICT Africa (RIA), an African digital policy, regulatory and governance think-tank that works across 20 African countries.

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    Elissa Golberg
    Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Italy

    Elissa Golberg is a member of CIGI’s Board of Directors and the Ambassador of Canada to Italy, Albania, Malta, San Marino, and Permanent Representative of Canada to the UN Agencies in Rome (IFAD, FAO, WFP). Prior to this, she was Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy at Global Affairs Canada (2017-2021), the department’s Champion for Innovation and Experimentation, and Head of Performance Management and Results. 

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    Patrick Halley
    Assistant Deputy Minister, International Trade and Finance Branch, Canadian Department of Finance

    Patrick Halley is a member of CIGI’s Board of Directors and the assistant deputy minister of the International Trade and Finance Branch at the Canadian Department of Finance.

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    Melissa Hathaway
    President, Hathaway Global Strategies LLC

    Melissa Hathaway is president of Hathaway Global Strategies LLC and a member of CIGI’s Board of Directors.

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    Alison Loat
    Managing Director, Sustainable Investing and Innovation, OPTrust

    Alison Loat is a CIGI board member and a senior managing director at a Canadian public pension plan, where she leads the fund’s climate change program.

    Previously the senior managing director of Focusing Capital on the Long Term (FCLT) Global and a manager at McKinsey & Company, Alison co-founded the Samara Centre for Democracy. She is the co-author of the bestseller Tragedy in the Commons and has 20 years of board experience in public, private and non-profit organizations.

    She received both the Queen’s Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals for her service to Canada and holds degrees from Queen’s University and the Harvard Kennedy School.

  • Maureen O’Neil
    Former President, Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement

    Maureen O’Neil is the former president of the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement.