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. Don McCreesh, C.Dir., H.R.C.C.C.
Chair, Educators Financial Group


Don is a corporate director and consultant following a career as an HR professional with five major international blue chip corporations. Subsequently, he has served on a number of corporate boards and is currently Chair of Educators Financial Group; a director of Oakville Hydro, and member of both the HR and Governance / Risk Committees; and, Chair of the Independent Review Committee of CST (Cdn Scholarship Trust Plans). He has previously served as Chair of Brainhunter Inc. (TSX:BH); Lead Director of Rand Technology (TSX:RND) and Chair of both the Corporate Governance and HR Committees; and a member of the Independent Review Committee for CA Bancorp mutual fund. He participates in the development of other directors as a faculty member and director in residence at the Directors College, both at the Director Program and the HRCC Program, where he led the program design. At the Chartered Director graduation ceremony in February, 2006, Don was awarded the inaugural “Gilbert Bennett Gold Standard Award” in recognition of outstanding achievement in the Chartered Director Program.

As a consultant, President of The Garnet Group Inc., Don focuses on governance, executive compensation, and personal and organization performance issues. He has a particular interest and expertise in the governance, strategic direction and organization issues facing not for profits and charities across Canada. In the past he has delivered over 65 governance workshops and interventions across Canada.

As a corporate officer and global head of Human Resources (Nortel Networks, CIBC and Celestica) during his final 11 years as a corporate executive, he provided the key management interface with those organizations’ respective MRCC / HR / Compensation committees and had significant interaction with the full boards of directors of these corporations. In these business leadership roles, Don experienced business, human resource and organization challenges throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Don has been an active leader in voluntary sector governance for over four decades having served as a leader on the boards of 13 different not for profit organizations. He currently serves as Vice Chair of Camp Oochigeas, providing in-hospital and year round programming to children with cancer. He is Past Chair of Imagine Canada (formerly the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy), where he Chairs the National Standards Initiative implementing governance, fundraising, accountability and management standards across Canada’s voluntary sector. In the past Don has served as the Chair of the YMCAs of Hamilton-Burlington, Greater Toronto and YMCA Canada and has served 11 years on the Executive Board of the World Alliance of YMCAs. He also led the Peel Region United Way Campaign and has served on the boards of the United Ways of both the Peel Region and the Greater Toronto Area.

Don has an MBA and BA, Psychology from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.

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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