Board governance and strategic advisory

Board governance and formation

For a company forming its first board, or reshaping one for public markets, I build the full governance architecture. That includes the board charter; charters for the audit and risk, compensation, governance and nominating, sustainability and HSE, and digital, AI and cybersecurity committees; the core policies; a skills matrix; a governance calendar; and a budget model to run it.

I then stay with the company through adoption. That is where the practical decisions arrive: the listing venue, directors' and officers' insurance, the corporate secretary role and the corporate structure that will hold the board.

I give particular weight to the committee that governs technology, AI and cybersecurity. These risks are often left with management. A board that understands them can govern them.

Strategic advisory

I work alongside CEOs and executive teams when the usual approach does not fit the situation. That can mean choosing a route to a Canadian public listing, preparing for an investor audience, or entering Latin America with a Canadian company's strengths, including its experience with Indigenous community engagement.

I also represent clients at industry events, such as the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada convention, and report back with the intelligence and introductions they need.

Digital transformation and AI adoption

I build practical roadmaps for AI and digital adoption. The first question is what has to be true for this to work, with your people, in your operating reality, and the roadmap follows from the answer. My background runs from managed networks at a Northern Ontario telco through Bell, EMC, Savvis and OpenText, so I have seen these programs from the vendor side as well as the client side.

How engagements work

I work in two ways, and many clients use both.

A fixed-scope governance package

We agree the scope, the deliverables and the price at the start, and fees are paid at milestones. Each document includes one round of revisions at your request, and the finished work becomes yours on final payment. Changes beyond that round are agreed and billed separately, so the scope stays clear.

An advisory retainer

A monthly retainer with a set number of advisory days covers implementation, director recruitment and onboarding, regulatory monitoring and advice as decisions arise. It usually runs for a minimum of twelve months. If I also hold a board seat with the client, the retainer is disclosed as a related-party arrangement and I recuse myself from related votes.