Board of Directors

Mr. Manji is the Executive Chair of the Board of RFA Financial. Mr. Manji was the President and Chief Executive Officer and a trustee of Artis REIT. Mr. Manji is the founder and CEO of Sandpiper Group, a Vancouver-based real estate private equity firm established in 2016. Mr. Manji has been involved in over $10 billion in hospitality, seniors housing and multifamily residential real estate transactions and has over 30 years of experience in real estate and seniors housing. Mr. Manji was the founder, Chairman and CEO of Amica Mature Lifestyles Inc. (Amica), a TSX-listed company from 1997 until its sale to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in 2015. He is the Board Chair of Extendicare Inc., a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization, a member of Chief Executives Organization and is the Board Chair of Focus Humanitarian Assistance Canada. He was recognized in 2006 as a recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and was also named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award winner in the business-to-consumer products and services category in British Columbia in 2010. Mr. Manji graduated from the University of Waterloo and received his CPA, CA with KPMG LLP in Toronto.

Ms. Wigmore brings over 30 years of real estate experience and governance expertise. She is a Partner with Hillsdale Investment Management Inc., an independent investment firm with over $10 billion of assets under management. She is also on the board of trustees of Brookfield REIT. Ms. Wigmore has a proven track record of strategic leadership, operational efficiency and value creation having served on the special committee of Pure Industrial REIT which negotiated the successful sale to Blackstone. Ms. Wigmore is a former trustee and Chair of Governance for Pinchin Ltd, former trustee of Pure Industrial REIT and Invesque Inc. and has senior leadership experience in operations and corporate strategy. She holds a Chartered Director designation and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

William Assini is a chartered accountant and was both Senior Vice President and Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for over 20 years, during which he had advisory responsibility for Southwestern Ontario. He left private practice in 2007 to pursue a career as an independent corporate director and is currently both a director and audit committee chair of Investors Group Investment Management, Ltd. and Investors Group Corporate Class, Inc., having previously served on the boards of 48North Cannabis Corp., Mettrum Health Corp. and GoviEx Uranium Inc., amongst other companies and organizations. Mr. Assini obtained his undergraduate degree from McGill University and was awarded his Chartered Accounting designation in the Province of Nova Scotia.

Mr. Bradlow is a Partner at Penfund, a private investment manager with over $3.5 billion of capital under management. Clients of Penfund include pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, wealth managers and family offices. During his 22-year career at Penfund, Mr. Bradlow has completed credit and equity investments and served on corporate boards in multiple industries. Prior to joining Penfund in 2003, Mr. Bradlow worked in the investment banking group at Scotia Capital. He served private and public corporate clients across a variety of industries. Mr. Bradlow has a B.A. (Philosophy) from the University of Western Ontario and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is a former Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors of The Bishop Strachan School where he also served as Chair of the Finance Committee and Co-Chair of the Development Committee. He is a former Director of The Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation and the Canadian Venture Capital Association.

Mario Causarano is a seasoned financial services executive with over two decades of experience in banking and fintech. He is currently President of Open Mind International Strategic Solutions Inc. and has previously held senior leadership roles at major institutions including Scotiabank and TD Bank, where he has driven innovation in digital transformation, risk management, and client-facing technologies. Earlier in his career, he served as President and COO of AGF Trust Company. Mr. Causarano is a CPA and graduated from the Ivey Business School at Western University and has received the ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management.

Peter Churchill-Smith brings more than three decades of experience advising entrepreneurs, business owners, and high-net-worth families through his extensive experience in the wealth management industry. He was previously a Managing Director at Newport Private Wealth, where he focused on comprehensive wealth planning, investment management, and post-liquidity strategies for entrepreneurial families. Prior to joining Newport, Mr. Churchill-Smith was a Vice President at Connor Clark Private Trust, following earlier experiences in commercial banking. He is a founding member of CEO Global Network, a peer organization for chief executives, and is a frequent speaker and writer on financial issues affecting entrepreneurs. Mr. Churchill-Smith holds an MBA degree from the Ivey Business School at Western University.

Ms. Irwin had a 17-year career on Bay Street before moving to the Rotman School of Management. Her capital markets experience covers equity capital markets, debt capital markets and investment banking. Ms. Irwin is a director of Extendicare Inc. and was previously chair of Governance, Compensation and HR at InnVest REIT. She has very strong financial acumen with experience serving on Audit Committees as well as Risk Management, Corporate Governance and Compensation Committees. Ms. Irwin is Adjunct Professor of Finance at the Rotman School of Management, U of T, the Executive Director of the Canadian Securities Institute Research Foundation, Director of the Ontario Finance Authority, advisory member of Sionna Investment Management, and serves on the Independent Review Committee of Starlight Investment Capital. She is the founding President of and advisor to Women in Capital Markets. Ms. Irwin also has her ICD.D and teaches in the program. She has an MBA from Schulich at York University and Hons B.Sc. Engineering from Queen's University in Engineering Chemistry.

Mr. Joyce is President and Chief Executive Officer of Halcyon (formerly Jetport Inc.), a private investment company with holdings in real estate, banking, private equity, and financial services. Over the past 12 years, he has guided Halcyon’s growth and diversification through strategic investments across multiple sectors. Mr. Joyce is the owner and developer of Fox Harb’r Resort in Nova Scotia. He has served on the Board of Directors of RFA since its inception. In addition to his business interests, he contributes to a range of philanthropic engagements through the Joyce Family Foundation, supporting education and mental health initiatives.

Ms. Moss is a corporate director and has held numerous executive and senior management roles with the CIBC over the course of a 17-year period, ranging most recently from the role of executive vice president, strategy & corporate development and member of the operating committee to executive vice president, human resources having responsibility for all global HR functions and senior vice president, general counsel (Canada). Ms. Moss currently serves on the board and is chair of the Compensation, Governance and Nominating Committee of Minto Apartment Real Estate Investment Trust. She also serves on the board of directors and is chair of the fundraising and development committee of the Dreamland Film and Cultural Center in the United States. Corporate boards on which she has served previously include Investment Management Corporation Ontario (IMCO), CIBC Mellon, and American Century Investments in the United States. Ms. Moss received her Honours Bachelor of Arts degree from Queen’s University and her Bachelor of Laws degree from Western University. She completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, holds the ICD.D designation with the Institute of Corporate Directors and holds the GCB.D designation with ESG Competent Boards.

Nora Osbaldeston is a senior partner in the National Financial Services Group at Miller Thomson LLP and has extensive experience across many industries and sectors, acting for domestic and foreign financial institutions and corporate borrowers on a variety of domestic and international syndicated and bilateral financings. She has held several leadership positions at the firm over the years, including serving as the Regional Managing Partner (Ontario), Managing Partner of the Toronto and Vaughan Offices, National Specialty Lead of the Financial Services Group and a member of the firm’s national executive committee. Ms. Osbaldeston is also the lead director of RFA Bank and has chaired the Governance, Conduct Review and Compensation Committee since 2019. In her directorship with RFA Bank, she has provided oversight of governance, board succession and executive compensation, as well as regulatory and conduct matters. Ms. Osbaldeston also serves on the board of Multilaw, a global network of independent law firms, where she chairs the Finance Committee. Ms. Osbaldeston graduated with a B.A. (Honours) from Western University and an LL.B. from the University of Windsor.

Dee Patterson is an experienced corporate director and financial services executive with over 26 years working for Scotiabank, where she was a trusted advisor for many of the bank’s largest clients. Dee has worked across a broad range of industry sectors and geographies, working with both public and private, globally diverse businesses through the various stages of their life cycle. Ms. Patterson currently serves on the boards of RFA Bank (Chair Enterprise Risk Management Committee; member Governance, Conduct Review and Compensation Committee) and York University (Chair Finance and Audit Committee; Trustee of the Pension Plan and member of the Pension Fund Investment Committee). She also is an external investment committee member for Stonebridge Financial’s Stonebridge Infrastructure Debt Fund III LP, an investment grade private fixed income strategy fund focused on Canadian infrastructure-related debt instruments. Ms. Patterson has previously served as chair of several audit, investment and special committees in prior governance roles within the utilities and healthcare sectors. Ms. Patterson holds an ICD.D, from Rotman School of Management, a Master’s in Finance from London Business School, an MBA from York University and an undergraduate in Physiotherapy from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.

Mr. Rodney is a senior executive with over 25 years of leadership experience in real estate, capital markets, and financial services. Mr. Rodney joined RFA in 1997 and is currently the President, CEO and Managing Partner of RFA. He has led the structuring, pricing, and due diligence of over $20 billion in Canadian commercial mortgages and real estate. Mr. Rodney was the Chair of the Board of Artis REIT. He is also Chair of the Board of Trustees of Nexus REIT. Mr. Rodney holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the University of Victoria.

Mr. Royer has served on the Board of RFA Bank of Canada since 2019, and also serves as Chairman of Baylin Technologies Inc. He is a private investor and has served as a Chairman and/or a board director of more than 35 private and public companies as well as not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Royer was a director of Shaw Communications Inc. from 1995 until its acquisition by Rogers Communications Inc. in 2023, and was Chairman and a member of its audit committee. He is General Partner of the Arizona Diamondbacks Baseball Club. Mr. Royer received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Lawrence University.

Mr. Shaikh brings extensive public and private board experience and experience in finance, oil and gas operations and mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Shaikh was previously Director of the Alberta Securities Commission and Chair of the Calgary Police Commission. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (FCA, FCPA), having run an accounting practice for over 30 years. Mr. Shaikh served as director of Amica Senior Lifestyles Inc. (formerly Amica Mature Lifestyles Inc.), Hawk Exploration Ltd., Provident Energy Trust, and has served as chair of numerous audit committees, as a member of numerous compensation and corporate governance committees, special committees, and investment committees, and as lead director on several boards.