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

Ms. Joy Thomas, C.Dir.
President & CEO, CMA Canada


Working within public and private industry and for the not for profit sector, Joy has over twenty years experience at a senior-level in corporate accounting and strategic leadership.

For the past decade, she has worked for CMA Canada – in both the provinces of Nova Scotia and Alberta. She has been an active contributor on many national committees for CMA including: the Chief Executive, Public Affairs and Accreditation. In addition Joy is an integral member of several key national task force teams involved in strategy formulation and enterprise risk management.
As President and CEO of Alberta, she is responsible to the board for the strategic direction and overall leadership for affairs of a membership of over 6,600 CMAs. Prior to CMA Canada, Joy worked within the manufacturing, retail and communications sectors in Halifax, Nova Scotia where she provided expertise in cost, management and financial accounting.

Joy is a Certified Management Accountant and was awarded the E.L. Whitman Gold Medal for outstanding academic achievement upon graduation in 1993. In 2005, she was named a Fellow of the Society of Management Accountants of Canada (FCMA). The FCMA is a prestigious, national honourary designation that recognizes CMAs who, by their achievements, bring distinction to the profession and serve as a role model for others.

Joy is a member of the Canadian Association of Society Executives, Financial Executives International (FEI) and Women's Executive Network (WXN). She has been active on several boards including FEI – Atlantic, YMCA – Greater Halifax/Dartmouth, and Audit committee member of Interuniversity Services Inc., Halifax.

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What our graduates say?

“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