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

Mr. John P. Ryan, C.Dir., H.R.C.C.C., A.C.C.
Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants


John Ryan has been instrumental in the development of Canada’s regulatory policies for his profession. In 2002, he was appointed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada to the Minister’s Advisory Committee on the Regulation of Immigration Consultants. As a member of this committee, he participated in drafting recommendations around the implementation of a regulatory regime for immigration practitioners. In 2003, he became the founding Vice-Chair of the Board of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC), an independent, not-for-profit body responsible for regulating the activities of professional immigration consultants. He rose to the position of Chair of CSIC’s Board of Directors in 2005, and became Acting CEO and Registrar of the organization in 2007. John gave up the role of Chair in 2010, when he took up his current post as CEO and Registrar.

To further develop his expertise in corporate governance, in 2007 John completed the Directors Education Program offered by the Institute of Corporate Directors in collaboration with the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, and the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia. He is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and has attained their institute-certified director accreditation ICD.D.

In 2009, John added to his corporate governance qualifications by obtaining the Chartered Director (C.Dir.) designation from The Directors College (a joint venture of McMaster University and the Conference Board of Canada) as well as its corollary designation, Administrateur de sociétés certifié (ASC) from le Collège des administrateurs de sociétés de l’Université Laval. In 2010, Mr. Ryan was named the winner of the Gil Bennett Gold Standard Award by The Directors College. This award is named in honour of former Canadian Tire Chair Gil Bennett and is presented annually to a Directors College graduate who demonstrates dedication to raising the bar for professional standards in corporate governance, both through their work in the Chartered Director program and in their experience as directors.

In 2011, he earned the designation Audit Committee Certified (A.C.C.). He has also completed studies in financial literacy for directors and executives, the effectiveness of small- and medium-sized boards, and alternate dispute resolution.

In 2012, John obtained the Human Resources and Compensation Committee Certified (H.R.C.C.C.) designation from The Directors College (a joint venture of McMaster University and The Conference Board of Canada).

John has also aggressively pursued international corporate governance education by completing both the Directors College program at Stanford University’s Rock Centre of Corporate Governance and the Master Class with National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). The NACD John as a National Board Leadership Fellow in 2011.

John currently sits as an independent director on a number of Private and Not for Profit Boards.

Back to Directory

Follow Us

LinkedFollow TDC on LinkedIn

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