News
New Directors Appointed to CFI Board
July 18, 2005
Ottawa, July 18, 2005— John Evans, Chair of the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), today announced the appointments of Claude Benoit, Gary Glavin, and Ross McCurdy to the CFI Board of Directors.
“I wish to congratulate these exceptional new Directors,” said Dr. Evans. “Their unique mix of qualifications, background and experience will serve us well and ensures that the CFI will continue to help the Government of Canada achieve its objectives.”
The CFI is governed by a Board of Directors which makes final decisions on infrastructure projects to be funded based on a rigorous merit review process. Directors are appointed for a three year term and determine the strategic objectives of the CFI in the context of the funding agreement with the federal government. It approves annual plans and is responsible for formal evaluations of its programs whose results are posted on the CFI website. The Board of Directors signs a Statement on Ethics to deal with any conflict of interest issues.
Claude Benoit is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Old Port of Montreal and Director of the Montreal Science Centre. Between 1994 and 1997, she was Director of the McCord Museum in Montreal. Her background in biology and education coupled with her sense of entrepreneurship and innovation has allowed her to participate in the development and the delivery of projects which uniquely portray today’s Canada and Quebec. She was appointed Member of the Order of Canada and received the McNeil medal by the Royal Society of Canada in 2004.
Gary Glavin is a Professor within the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. He is currently on interchange with the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, where he serves as Deputy Scientific Director. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation (SHRF). He has won numerous awards for teaching and is the author of over 140 peer-reviewed papers. He has been invited to give presentations around the world on gastrointestinal pathology and pharmacology.
Ross McCurdy is Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Ocean Nutrition Canada. He was formerly President and CEO of InNOVAcorp, a crown corporation mandated to help Nova Scotia companies commercialize new technologies. He has held executive positions in both the public and private sectors. He was a founding partner and President of Fenwick Laboratories Limited and was an associate professor at Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Medicine as well as an adjunct professor at the Technical University of Nova Scotia.
A complete list of CFI Directors along with biographical information is available here.
The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent corporation created by the Government of Canada to fund research infrastructure. The CFI’s mandate is to strengthen the capacity of Canadian universities, colleges, research hospitals, and other non-profit research institutions to carry out world-class research and technology development that benefits Canadians.
For more information:
Alastair Sinclair
Coordinator, Media Relations
Canada Foundation for Innovation
(613) 996-3160
(613) 447-1723 (mobile)
