Board of Directors

Meet our board members

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  Ken Chartrand

  Chair

  Former CEO, Encore Business Solutions

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  Ken Chartrand is the CEO of Encore Business Solutions. Encore provides professional services that help businesses migrate to, implement, support, or customize Microsoft Cloud software.

  Mr. Chartrand leads a talented and creative group of individuals who deliver exceptional outcomes to Encore customers throughout the world. He is responsible for managing the company’s key strategic relationships and contacts with Microsoft, as well as other valuable business alliances. Ken evaluates merger and acquisition opportunities, excels at risk assessment and is respected as a master at contract negotiation. By leveraging these skills, Encore Business Solutions has been very successful at expanding product and service offerings at a winning pace.

  Mr. Chartrand brings twenty years of business management experience to World Trade Centre Winnipeg; twelve years in technology and advisory roles and eight years in operational experience in various entrepreneurial firms.

  He lives in Winnipeg with his wife Lynn and is active in the community volunteering his time by serving on boards specifically in the not-for-profit sector and francophone organizations including Actionmarguerite and the Festival du Voyageur. Ken holds a MBA from the University of Manitoba.

• 

  Helga Van Iderstine K.C.

  Past Chair

  Former Partner, MLT Aikins LLP

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  Helga Van Iderstine is a partner at MLT Aikins LLP practising in the areas of civil litigation and administrative law, with particular focus on regulatory issues, including professional liability, health law, personal injury, public utility regulation and privacy legislation. She has appeared in all levels of courts in Manitoba, the Supreme Court of Canada and before a variety of regulatory boards and tribunals.

  Helga co-led the project resulting in the University of Manitoba’s report: “Responding to Sexual Violence, Harassment & Discrimination at the University of Manitoba: A Path Forward.” The 155-page report is the culmination of a comprehensive, seven-month review of issues related to sexual violence, harassment and discrimination affecting students, staff and faculty members.

  Helga has been a group leader, facilitator and lecturer on civil litigation and discovery for the Law Society of Manitoba’s Bar Admission Course and CPLED program. She has presented on professional liability, medical and legal issues including ethics, civil litigation and damages to students at law, medical students, lawyers and physicians. Helga is a board member of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and a co-chair of the 2020 Pitblado Lectures organizing committee.

• 

  Daniel Damphousse

  Treasurer

  Senior Director, Finance, Red River Coop

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  Daniel Damphousse is the Senior Director of Finance at Red River Coop, a locally-owned co-operative serving the communities of Winnipeg, Gimli, Kenora, Dryden, Selkirk, and Stonewall.

  A CPA, Daniel has over 20 years of experience in mid sized public practice and as a former VP of Finance for a privately held group of construction companies, Daniel has had the opportunity to work in various industries throughout his career.

  In addition to his professional experience, Daniel has been volunteering on various boards of Directors within the community for over 10 years including as a current board member of La Liberté as well as past positions with Sport Manitoba, The Laurel Center, the St. Boniface Chamber of Commerce, Maison Gabrielle Roy and as President of Festival du Voyageur. Daniel is also a spokesperson for the Alzheimer’s Society of Manitoba.

• 

  Norman Dupas

  Board Director

  President & CEO, niva 10 corp

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  Norman Charles Dupas is a seasoned business professional with 30 years of diversified leadership experience as a business owner, marketing/business consultant, and award-winning pharmaceutical sales representative.

  As a visionary executive, Norm conceptualizes unique business, sales, and marketing concepts to provide a competitive edge and capitalize on market niches. With a consistent track record of analyzing and re-engineering organizations of varied sizes in different sectors, he has successfully improved companies’ revenues, efficiencies, corporate image, customer service, employee culture, and bottom line profits. With a financial acumen, he can develop measurable metrics for performance and analyze financial data to identify targeted strategic business and financing plans.

  As a founder, entrepreneur and senior leader of several businesses (Niva 10 Corp., Thermea Nature Spa by le Nordik in Winnipeg, Cottages at Clear Lake, CinDen Nutritionals, and Labelle Florists), he has a proven track record of recognizing opportunities and bringing individuals and groups together for a common cause to form successful enterprises.

  As former General Manager of Rue Principales (main street revitalization project – Provencher boulevard), the French Quarter BIZ and the Chambre de commerce francophone de Saint-Boniface, founding member of Entreprises Riel, founding member of the Chambre de commerce de Ste-Anne, board member of CJP, CCFSB, CCM, AECUSB and current board member of ANIM, Norman has honed his skills in economic and community development.

  Acknowledged for his enthusiasm, sense of humour and motivational personality, Norm can build consensus with and inspire team members to meet organizational objectives and high standards. Norm is fully bilingual in English and French.

• 

  Albert El Tassi

  Board Director

  President & CEO, Peerless Garments LP

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  Albert El Tassi is a well-known businessman and philanthropist who works tirelessly to promote understanding, tolerance and respect not only in Winnipeg but globally.

  Mr. El Tassi started in the shipping department of Peerless Garments Ltd. shortly after his arrival in Canada in 1969. As of June 2006, he has been the President and Chief Executive Officer of Peerless Garments LP, which is a garment manufacturer and importer carrying two main businesses: leather and cold weather garments.

  Mr. El Tassi has helped and sponsored as many as 50 immigrants to Canada, including refugees from war-torn countries such as Vietnam and the Middle East. He was a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal; he is a Member of the Order of Canada; he was named to the Order of Manitoba; and he was named Humanitarian of the Year in 2012 by the Canadian Red Cross, among numerous other honours.

• 

  Cordella Friesen

  Board Director

  President and CEO, YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg

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  Cordella Friesen is the President and CEO of the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg, bringing more than 20 years of senior leadership experience across the non-profit and public sectors. The YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg is Manitoba’s largest child care provider, and has four community hubs offering programs in health, fitness, aquatics, mental health, newcomer programs and programs for youth and children as well as Camp Stephens.

  Previous roles include Assistant Deputy Minister of Cabinet Operations and Planning and the Assistant Deputy Minister of Environmental Stewardship as well as nine years in the provincial government for post-secondary education. She was also one of the leads of the Vaccine Implementation Task Force for the Manitoba government.

  Cordella has expertise in policy and program development, governance, human resources, risk management, and capital and asset planning. She currently serves as a member of Manitoba’s Premier’s Business and Jobs Council, contributing to province-wide strategies for economic growth and community well-being.

  A radical optimist and champion of the collective, Cordella believes that enduring change happens when communities, institutions, and individuals work together. She is a strong advocate for the power of storytelling and the role of shared experience in building empathy and connection.

• 

  Lucile Griffiths

  Board Director

  Associate Vice-President (Finance), University of Manitoba

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  Lucile Griffiths is the Associate Vice-President (Finance) at the University of Manitoba, Western Canada’s first university, founded in 1877.

  With a 25-year career as a CPA, Lucile brings a wealth of experience from her roles as a financial auditor at BDO Canada, a university lecturer, and a financial analyst. Her contributions to USB’s financial growth and community have been marked by excellence, leadership, and a steadfast commitment to the field of accounting.

  Lucile’s professional achievements have been recognized with the Leadership in Learning Award from the Canadian Association of University Business Officers, honoring her outstanding contributions to professional development activities. She volunteers as a finance committee member for various Francophone not-for-profit organizations and actively supports cancer research fundraising efforts.

• 

  Ben Lee P. Eng.

  Board Director

  Principal I Senior Director, Business Development, Stantec

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  Ben Lee is results oriented with a proven success in leading organizations to meet or exceed growth objectives. He has a broad and diverse record of leadership both in business and volunteerism/community service and experience in leading major projects in the manufacturing, aviation, health care and life sciences sectors.

  As former Vice President Global Operations for a Toronto company, Ben also had significant growth of the topline for 5 consecutive years. Ben left his role in Toronto to return home to be closer to family. Ben is currently on the leadership team at Stantec in the Heart of Winnipeg’s downtown. His core focus is top line growth for the Stantec Winnipeg operations and the Region.

  Ben is a strong believer in giving back and dedicates his time to serve on boards and committees in the community. He strives to approach every day with integrity and warmth. Ben has helped to re-focus several not for profit organizations so that they are relevant again and in turn, they now have positive P/Ls. A dedicated volunteer, he’s received numerous awards including the Queens’ Diamond Jubilee, Golden Dragon Citizen of the Year, City of Winnipeg Volunteer, and his member of parliament’s Volunteer Award for his contributions to his community and to Canada. A community builder, Ben’s vision, talents, and generosity benefit the community we all live in.

• 

  Martin McGarry

  Board Director

  President & CEO, Cushman & Wakefield

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  Martin McGarry began his commercial real estate career in 1992 and has been a top producer for the last 27 years.

  In 2004, Martin founded MMI Commercial Real Estate Ltd and has aligned himself with international brands such as DTZ and most recently Cushman & Wakefield.

  His leadership and devotion have produced a team of 100+ staff that is fully committed to providing many levels of service to the client in Commercial Real Estate, Property Management and Advisory Services.

• 

  Manuel Moreno

  Board Director

  Director of Corporate Innovation, Winpak Ltd.

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  Manuel Moreno is a global expert in innovation strategy, industrial design, and consumer-driven growth. As Corporate Director of Innovation at Winpak Ltd., he led the transformation of the company’s innovation pipeline, quadrupling its vitality index and integrating AI-powered design across R&D, marketing, and manufacturing.

  Over the past two decades, Manuel has worked across the Americas, Europe, and Japan, delivering results in both private and public sectors. He helped shape Colombia’s national industrial design strategy, built and led Latin America’s largest design centre, and trained over 900 executives on turning market insight into commercial success. In Europe and Japan, he collaborated with advanced manufacturing and design networks to bring high-end, sustainable products to global markets.

  His leadership includes managing $500M+ innovation portfolios and delivering ROI as high as 636% through targeted design and tech initiatives. He holds a Master’s in Innovation and Project Management and studied AI and machine learning at MIT.

  Manuel brings deep expertise at the intersection of design, technology, and global competitiveness.

• 

  Hamath A. Sy

  Board Director

  Retired Senior Manager, Canadian National Railways (CNR)

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  Hamath Sy is a retired Senior Manager with Canadian National Railways (CNR), and former CNR director of South America based in Monterrey, Mexico. He also served as a Member of the Board of Regents, University of Winnipeg 2017-2021, and lectured a Financial Management course at the Université of Saint Boniface, Winnipeg Manitoba.He was a board member of the Mauro Institute of Peace and Justice at Saint Paul’s College, University of Manitoba, 2018-2023.

  Since retiring, he is a Post-Grad instructor of business, logistics, economics, and enterprise risk management courses at Manitoba Institute of Trade and Technology (MITT).

  In addition to sitting on the WTC Winnipeg Board of Directors, he sits on two other boards: He is a member of Manitoba Social Service Appeal Board (2022) and since August 2022, he is a member of the Public Utilities Board of Manitoba, where he handles the energy file, Manitoba Hydro and gas.

  Hamath Sy is bilingual, he speaks French, English, Spanish (functional) and he volunteers at the African Communities of Manitoba Inc. (ACOMI).

• 

  Claude Vielfaure

  Board Director

  Former President of HyLife

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  Claude Vielfaure, a native of La Broquerie, founded HyLife in 1994 along with his brothers Denis and Paul and businesspartner Don Janzen. Claude and his brothers purchased the family farm in 1980, joining forces with Janzen who had his own farm shortly after.

  Over 30 years, HyLife has grown from 20 to over 4,500 employees across multiple countries. The business grew to export 85% of its pork products, with over 3,000 stores in Japan selling HyLife products.

  In 2022, Claude, along with his brother Denis and partner Don Janzen received the 2022 Manitoba Pork Industry Award in the category of Industry Builder.

  Claude’s tenure at HyLife had him leading the production, genetics, and human resource teams. Now retired from HyLife, Claude has well over 30 years of experience in the agricultural industry and remains involved in the pork industry, serving on several boards, including Manitoba Pork.

• 

  Madeleine Arbez

  EX-OFFICIO MEMBER

  Executive Director, Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba (CDEM)

• 

  Loren Remillard

  Ex-officio Member

  President & CEO, The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce

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  On July 1, 2016, Loren Remillard was appointed President & CEO of The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. Previously, he held the positions of Executive Vice President and Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs.

  Over a decade of service to Winnipeg’s business community, Loren has transformed the Chamber’s policy, government and community relations programs, as well as spearheading the creation and implementation of a redefining strategic plan. He orchestrated the development and launch of Manitoba BOLD and BOLD Winnipeg – grassroots public policy campaigns mobilizing the community behind a compelling vision of our province and city.

  He currently sits on the board of the World Trade Centre Winnipeg, the Chambers of Commerce Insurance Corporation of Canada, and the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Canada. He has served on the Board of Directors for the YMCA-YWCA of Winnipeg and Island Lakes Residents Group. Loren holds a Master of Arts (Political Studies) from the University of Manitoba and a Certificate in Public Participation from the International Association for Public Participation.