Canada’s Chartered Directors

The Directors College is pleased to present Canada’s Chartered Directors. The graduates listed below have completed The Chartered Director Program, an intensive individual examination, and have met the other requirements to become a Chartered Director (C.Dir.)

The Directors College and the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés (CAS) of Université Laval have a reciprocal agreement, whereby their respective designations – Chartered Director (C.Dir.) and Administrateur de sociétés certifié (ASC) are recognized as equivalent.

To see the ASC Graduates who also hold the Chartered Director designation please click here.

C.Dir. Graduates

Mrs. Diane Kalina, C.Dir.
President, BioCatalyst Yorkton Ltd


Diane Kalina BSc is the Co-founder and Managing Director of PDC Biotech GmbH, an Austrian biopharmaceutical company that began in Canada and moved to Vienna following a successful seed funding agreement and a 4 million Euro Series A. She is also President and Principal Consultant for BioCatalyst Yorkton Ltd, a company consulting in partnerships and licensing in the pharma and biotech industries. She is a founding member of the Canadian Healthcare Licensing Association and until her move lead its practical course "Architects of Alliances". In her 17 years with Glaxo (now GSK) as head of marketing and Director of Business Development and Licensing and her many years of consulting she has developed and extensive international network and assisted over 30 pharmaceutical and biotech companies with over 60 Canadian and international agreements.

She regularly serves on the boards of biopharmaceutical companies, particularly those for which strategic alliances are a key success factor. Although she is not currently on any boards due to her move to Austria, with the company established in that country she is able to once again accept Canadian directorships. She has served on the boards of 4 public companies Arius Research, BCY LifeSciences, York Medical (now YM Biosciences)and Dimethaid Research(now Nuvo Research.

Back to Directory

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