Executive Management Team & Board of Directors
Laurie Goldberg, Executive Chairman and CEO
As Executive Chairman and CEO of Groupworks, Laurie is responsible for providing leadership and overall strategic direction to the corporation and its subsidiaries. He was selected to serve as Chairman of the Board of Groupworks in November of 2009. Prior to Groupworks, Laurie served as President and CEO of People Corporation. In this role, he oversaw both the continued growth of People First HR Services as well the acquisition of Health Source Plus. As a result of People Corporation's activities, the organization began its transformation from a regional firm to one with a national presence. Laurie's past experience includes the position of Chief Operating Officer and Office of the President of Assante Corporation, a TSX listed company. During his tenure with Assante, he led the organization from approximately 100 employees to become one of the largest non-bank owned financial companies in Canada, with some 2500 employees and advisors, managing approximately $22 billion in client assets. Assante's portfolio also included a leading sports and entertainment services organization in the U.S. In 2003, the Canadian Operations of Assante were sold for almost $1 billion. Prior to joining Assante, Mr. Goldberg was Managing Partner with Arthur Andersen (now Deloitte). Mr. Goldberg graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) Degree from the University of Manitoba and is a Chartered Accountant.
John Gallivan, President
Mr. John Gallivan serves as President of the Corporation. Prior to serving as President, Mr. Gallivan served as President of Gallivan & Associates, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Groupworks Financial Corp. During his 25 years in the industry he has practiced in both the estate planning and employee benefit areas and is a Life member of Million Dollar Roundtable. For the past 11 years he has developed a number of buying group strategies to provide health and dental benefits for post-secondary students at 27 universities, colleges and technical institutes across Canada.
Bonnie Chwartacki, Executive Vice President
Ms. Bonnie Chwartacki, Executive Vice President. Prior to this, she served as Vice President of People Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Prior to that, she was a Partner with Connor, Clark & Lunn, Capital Markets Inc. Ms. Chwartacki has held a senior sales leadership position with AIC Ltd. as Vice President of Sales, Western Canada, and was Regional Sales Manager for both Great West Life and UNUM Canada (now RBC Insurance). Ms. Chwartacki has served on the Executive Board for the Life Underwriters Association for both the Winnipeg and Calgary Chapters and holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) Degree from the University of Manitoba.
Brevan Canning, Vice President Finance
Mr. Brevan Canning, Vice President Finance. Prior to this, he served as Vice President Finance of People Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Prior to joining People Corporation in 2005, Mr. Canning held Corporate Development roles at both CanWest Global Communications and, prior to that, at Band-X Ltd., both of which provided him significant international accounting experience. Mr. Canning is a graduate of the University of Cape Town with a Bachelor of Business Science degree and a graduate from Oxford Brookes University with a Bachelor of Science Degree and is Certified General Accountant.
Sean Cleary, Vice President Corporate Development
Mr. Sean Cleary, Vice President Corporate Development. Mr Cleary is focused on strategic acquisitions, capital markets activities and strategic planning. Mr. Cleary has held a number of senior executive, finance and corporate development roles including, Managing Director of Rathlin Capital, Senior Vice-President of Quest Securities (now Quest Capital), Chief Financial Officer of Caratax, a public flow-through share fund and President of PanGeo Pharma (now Pendopharm). Mr. Cleary also has significant corporate finance experience with Deacon Capital (now Dundee Securities) and JP Colin Securities. Mr. Sean Cleary holds an MBA degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts (History) from the University of Western Ontario.
Gery Barry, Director (Independent)
Mr. Gery Barry is President & CEO of Barry-Global Strategic Services, a firm offering expertise in health insurance and health care quality management. He most recently served as Chief Strategy Officer of Aetna, Inc. (US:AET) a leading U.S. based provider of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, and disability insurance, and employee benefits. Prior to Aetna, Mr. Barry was President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. Prior thereto, Mr. Barry was President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Health (formerly Ontario Blue Cross). Mr. Barry currently serves on the Louisiana HealthCare Quality Forum Board of Directors, chairing the Quality Measurement Committee; and is a member of the Board of Trustees of CML Healthcare Inc. (CLC.UN). Mr. Barry holds a Bachelor of Science (Honors Mathematics) from the University of Notre Dame, and a Masters Degree (Applied Mathematics) from Rutgers University. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
Scott C. Anderson, Director (Independent)
Mr. Scott Anderson is the principal of The Catalyst Company since 1998, a management and consulting business that facilitates the financing and success of Canadian emerging growth companies. Mr. Anderson has extensive board experience on both public and private boards. Mr. Anderson was formerly President and COO of Rider Travel Group, an industry leader specializing in corporate travel services. He joined Rider Travel in 1987 as the CFO having held a similar position at Vickers & Benson Advertising. Prior to that, Mr. Anderson was an auditor at Arthur Anderson in Toronto. Mr. Anderson holds a B. Comm. from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Accountant.
Mark Monaghan, Director (Independent)
Mr. Mark Monaghan is an independent board member and business consultant with significant capital markets and business development experience in Canada and internationally. He is the former President of Quest Securities Corporation., a wholly owned subsidiary of Quest Capital Corp., merchant banking firm, where his primary responsibilities concern equity transaction origination and execution. Mr. Monaghan has many years of investment banking and corporate development experience with Canadian investment banking firms and public companies. Mr. Monaghan holds a B.A. in economics from Queen's University and a B.Comm. from the University of Windsor.
Robert Sillcox, Director (Independent)
Mr. Robert Sillcox is widely recognized as the former Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of OMERS. Mr. Sillcox has significant investment experience gained from both the buy/sell and management areas of the investment, banking, insurance and pension industries. Mr. Sillcox has also served as Chairman of both the Pension Investment Association of Canada (PIAC) and the Pension Investment Committee (Canada) of the Financial Executives International (FEI), as a member of the President's Investment Advisory Committee of the University of Toronto, and as a member of the Advisory Committee of State Street Global Advisors Canada. He currently sits as an independent Board Member of Glenmount International and HelpCaster Technologies and is a Trustee of Ridley College (St. Catherines, ON). Mr. Sillcox is a graduate of Williams College (BA), Williamstown, Massachusetts.