The Directors College Faculty

Our faculty of professionals, corporate directors and academics covers the full range of governance, accounting, law, regulations and human dynamics. Modules are delivered through a combination of lectures, interactive working sessions and case studies.

Faculty Directory

Mr. David Weiner
Retired - Senior Partner, NATIONAL Public Relations


David Weiner is one of North America's pre-eminent corporate communications professionals, specializing in reputation, issues and crisis management. He is a founding partner of the Toronto office of NATIONAL Public Relations, Canada’s largest communications consulting firm, from which he retired last year.
He has counseled senior management and boards of leading North American and international companies on some of the most complex, contentious, high profile communications assignments in recent years. He has managed assignments for clients in more than a dozen countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. A multi-skilled practitioner, Mr. Weiner applies a broad management perspective – together with a well-honed understanding of business, government, and socio-economic trends – to client challenges.
Prior to joining NATIONAL, Mr. Weiner was a corporate counselor with Burson-Marsteller, specializing in strategic analysis and business development. He previously held senior public relations responsibilities in the para-public and non-profit sectors, with experience in government relations and public interest advocacy.
He earned an MBA (Honours) from the Richard Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario), and is a past director of the Ivey Alumni Association and past President of its Toronto chapter.
He has served on the faculty of the Directors College since its founding. He was Visiting Professor of Managerial and Corporate Communications at Tsinghua University, Beijing, in a program funded by the World Bank, as well as in MBA and EMBA programs at Beijing Institute of Technology and Beijing National Accounting Institute. He has also taught classes at Thunderbird Business School, Ivey Business School, and Sauder School of Business, as well as custom courses for corporate executives. He has contributed articles to textbooks on communications and to leading business and academic publications, and been a guest speaker at business and professional conferences.

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What our graduates say?

“I thought the entire program was very well developed and comprehensive. You never know what to expect when you sign-up for these programs and this exceeded my expectations and was a great learning opportunity.”

James Scongack, Head of Corporate Affairs, Bruce Power LP

“I found the Chartered Director Program to be an excellent forum to understand how strong governance complements effective management. The ability to create and execute an effective strategy is significantly enhanced by a robust process inclusive of board engagement where the right questions are asked and expected outcomes are identified. I truly enjoyed the setting which fostered a strong level of interaction that was supported by quality presentations and material. As CEO of a Shared Service Organization set to deliver benefits to its members, I see the advantage of having a number of our board members participating in this program.”

Tony Di Emanuele, MBA, C.Dir., President and CEO, Mohawk Shared Services

“I found the Directors College to be an excellent survey of the important matters of which a director must be aware in today’s corporate environment. The quality of the presentation and materials was first-rate and the perspectives gained were invaluable. I would highly recommend the Directors College.”

The Honourable John Manley, P.C., O.C., C.Dir., Former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister

“The changes that impact corporate governance are establishing a pattern of increased accountability for the delivery of long-term value to customers, shareholders, employees and society. Proper corporate governance is now being defined to include knowledge of critical elements such as risk management and the measurement of strategic performance. At the end of the day, each board will be judged on its ability to effectively deliver value, rather than on its structure. The Directors College innovative program fills a unique and important gap in providing knowledge and insight as to how this expectation can be met. CMA Canada is pleased to be a sponsor of this timely initiative.”

Steve Vieweg, C.Dir., Director, Executive Development, I.H. Asper School of Business – University of Manitoba

“As an organization focused on educating corporate secretaries, the ICSA believes in furthering the potential of board members to better contribute to building effective governance structures. Given the key role of directors and corporate secretaries in applying proper boardroom practices, corporations need to ensure that these individuals meet a professional standard. The Directors College curriculum covers all the formal regulatory issues for directors and also addresses the informal skills of building effective and appropriate relationships with senior management. We see significant benefits to this program and ICSA is pleased to endorse it.”

Lynn Beauregard, Executive Director, Chartered Secretaries Canada

“The Directors College has developed a director education program which goes well beyond the fundamentals to address the structures and the behavioural components of principle-based governance. I am proud to be associated with the Directors College and I am honoured to lend my name to the College’s graduate award. ”

Gilbert Bennett, Director and Recently-Retired Chairman of the Board, Canadian Tire Corporation Limited

“Our strategy is to raise the horizons and potential of directors by deepening and enriching their knowledge and application of advanced skills. Increasing the effectiveness of existing directors and broadening the pool of potential directors will contribute to the professionalism of boards across Canada.”

David Beatty, Managing Director, Canadian Coalition for Good Governance