Board of directors

Susan Armstrong joined the OMAI Board of Directors in September 2020.

Prior to this, Armstrong was the president and CEO of CDSPI, an organization that offers insurance and investment products, services, and advice to the Canadian dental community. She served as the senior vice-president at Swiss Reinsurance Company Canada, where she led the finance, information technology and compliance functions. Her previous roles also include senior vice-president and chief financial officer at CIBC Insurance, and vice-president and chief financial officer at Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company.

She brings a wealth of corporate director experience in the insurance and health-care sectors. She is currently vice-chair of the board of Lawyers’ Professional Indemnity Company (LAWPRO) and previously served as chair of the Audit and Conduct Review Committee of Securian Canada. Armstrong also serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of CAMH.

Past roles include serving as chair of the board of Michael Garron Hospital and serving on the boards of West Park Healthcare Centre, McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, The George Hull Centre for Children and Families and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute.

Armstrong has a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Toronto. She is a fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Rob Ritchie brings more than 35 years of experience in the insurance, pension and financial services industry to the OMAI Board. In 2022, he retired as the CEO of Halifax Regional Municipality Pension Plan. Prior to that role, Ritchie held various roles in the insurance industry, including executive vice-president of wealth management at Great-West Life Canada, chief investment officer at Canada Life U.K. and president of London Capital Management Ltd. He has served on a number of boards and is currently a member of the board of directors of Equitable Life and a member of the governing body of the Halifax Regional Municipality Pension Plan. Ritchie holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MBA from the University of Toronto.

David is an experienced and accomplished Chief Executive Officer and Board Director. He is the past President and CEO of three different energy delivery and regulatory organizations.

David is a graduate and long-standing Faculty Member of the Directors College of Canada and is a frequent speaker on the topics of energy transition, strategic planning, governance best practices and regulatory excellence. He has provided numerous national and international presentations and workshops, and has authored cases, articles and books on governance and regulatory oversight. He has been a frequent guest Faculty Member, of the Harvard Kennedy’s School’s executive program, on leading regulatory strategies.

David has served as Chair, Vice Chair and/or Committee Chair on over a dozen boards of directors, across a wide spectrum, including energy companies, research and technology companies, regulatory authorities, insurance and healthcare organizations. He currently serves as Chair of Call2Recycle Canada, Vice Chair of the CWB Group, Board Member of the Ontario Medical Association, the Edison Welding Institute and the Independent Electricity System Operator.

Professionally, David is a Chartered Professional Accountant (“Fellow”) and a Chartered Director. He currently chairs three finance and audit committees.

Gordon Graham joined the OMAI Board in September 2020, bringing more than 20 years of financial sector and board experience with him. Graham is the CEO of asrTrust, an employee life and health trust providing benefits for auto sector retirees. In the past, he held leadership positions at AccertaClaim Servicorp Inc. and e-route Inc. as president and CEO. He was the vice-president of market regulation and provincial affairs at Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association.

Graham is the board chair at Stelco Retiree Health Care. He has also served on other boards, including Hospice Toronto and Advocis Canada. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history and politics and an  MBA, both from Queen’s University. Graham has a law degree (LLB) from University of Windsor and is called to the Ontario Bar. He also holds an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Dr. Paul Hacker is a community-based palliative care physician in Ottawa and Lead Physician of Community Palliative Medicine Associates. He is an OMA Board Director and also holds the position of Vice Chair of the Board Finance and Audit Committee. Dr. Hacker has held various other leadership positions within the OMA, including co-Chairing the OMA Governance Transformation Task Force. He has a teaching appointment at the University of Ottawa, Department of Family Medicine. He enjoys being a technology early-adopter and in his free time, he enjoys spending time at his cottage and taking orders from his wife, three children and cat Suzy. He has been known to be easily distracted by dogs and babies.

Dr. Akanksha Kulshreshtha is a resident physician in the obstetrics and gynecology program at the University of Toronto. She completed her undergraduate education in the health sciences program at McMaster University and her medical school training at the University of Toronto. She will be pursuing a fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of Toronto in 2023.

Prior to her journey in medicine, Dr. Kulshreshtha obtained her MBA from McMaster University and pursued her CA/CPA designation as a senior associate in the audit and assurance group at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She was also elected vice-president of finance for the University of Toronto Medical Society.

Dr. Kulshreshtha is passionate about women’s health advocacy. During the pandemic, she worked with the South Asian COVID Task Force and the South Asian Health Network to provide culturally appropriate and comprehensive messaging on COVID-19 and vaccine hesitancy. Dr. Kulshreshtha aims to reduce health-related disparities and strengthen and empower women in the South Asian community.

Dr. Alissia Valentinis is a family physician at Taddle Creek Family Health Team (FHT), one of the first community-based FHTs, which was awarded Family Health Team of the year. Dr. Valentinis is also the senior medical director at TELUS Health MyCare and a lecturer in the department of family medicine at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Valentinis brings over 18 years of clinical experience along with an entrepreneurial spirit, which led her to create the startup MDHomeCall, a house-call service that focused on caring for homebound patients. She has served many years on the boards of both MDHomeCall and the Taddle Creek Family Health Team, where she was an executive board member and sat on the governance and recruitment committees.