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. Susan Payne, C.Dir.
Corporate Director, Independent


Sue is currently independent Corporate Director. After retiring as President and CEO of ACA co-operative Limited, she took some time off to spend with her teenage children and follow up on her passion for governance. Although she took a temporary leave from the full time corporate world she continues to sit on Boards and give back to her community in the form of governance with not for profit organizations. Sue had been with ACA Co-operative, a poultry processing company from 1996 to 2008. Sue began her career at ACA as the Director of Finance and Administration and Corporate Secretary to the Board and in 1999, she became President and CEO until she left in November 2008. Subsequent to taking on the CEO role at ACA, the company purchased CRI in Newfoundland, in which Sue took on the role of Chairman of the Board until she left ACA in November 2008. In her capacity of CEO she also became a director of Eastern Protein Foods Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary throughout 2000-2008.

Prior to her career at ACA, Sue worked as the Director of Finance at Camp Hill Medical Centre and an Assurance Manager at Price Waterhouse in Halifax, NS.

Sue was awarded her FCA designation from The Nova Scotia Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2008. She obtained her chartered accountant (CA) designation with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nova Scotia in 1989. Her undergraduate degree in Business administration was earned at Acadia University.

Outside her business life Sue has served on a number of Boards.
Current Board appointments include Lawtons Advisory Board, Brigadoon, Acadia Business School Advisory Board and the CICA's Risk management and Oversight Board.
Sue is the Past President of the Institute of Chartered Accontants of Nova Scotia(President 2005-06, Vice-President 2004-05, Treasurer 2003-04, Secretary 2002-03) and has served on the council and various committees for the majority of her CA career.

In the past Sue sat on not for profit boards such as the Nova Scotia Community College Board, as Chair of the finance and Audit Committee (4 years)and has been a governor of the College for 6 years with her term expiring in June 2007. She also serves as a governor on the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council for the past 6 years and 3rd term ending in June 2007.

Her crown corporation experience includes the Agrapoint International Board (2005-2009) which included positions of Chair of the Finance and Audit committee and member of the Governance committee. Agrapoint is a Crown corporation of Nova Scotia reporting into Department of Agriculture.

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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