Board of Directors

Samir Manji

Executive Chair
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 a director 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.

Lis Wigmore

Lead Independent Director - Chair of the Governance, Nominating and Compensation Committee
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.

Richard Bradlow

Director - Chair of the Investment committee
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.

Heather-Anne Irwin

Director
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.

Steven Joyce

Director
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.

Jacqueline Moss

Director
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.

Ben Rodney

President and Chief Executive Officer, RFA Financial
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.

Jeffrey Royer

Director
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.

Mike Shaikh

Director - Chair of the Audit Committee
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.