Mr. Frank Swedlove is the former President & CEO of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA). Mr. Swedlove is currently President of Swedlove Consulting Inc., a public policy consulting company.
Mr. Swedlove served as the first Chair of the Global Federation of Insurance Associations (GFIA) from 2012 to 2014. Prior to his involvement in the insurance industry, Mr. Swedlove had a lengthy career in public service.
In 2006 and 2007, Mr. Swedlove was President of the Financial Action Task Force, the international body headquartered in Paris responsible for the fight against global money laundering and terrorist financing.
Mr. Swedlove served as a senior federal official. In his position as Assistant Deputy Minister of the Financial Sector Policy Branch of the Department of Finance, Mr. Swedlove was the principal advisor to several Ministers of Finance regarding policy development on financial institutions and Canadian financial markets. He played a key role in issues throughout the sector and in international trade in financial services.
In 2001, Mr. Swedlove was responsible for the financial sector review exercise, culminating in the total revamping of financial sector legislation. He was the first Chair of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, the Chair of the Negotiating Group on Financial Services in the Uruguay Round of the WTO, and lead negotiator for Canada in financial services at the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations.
Mr. Swedlove is a recipient of both the Queen’s Golden Jubilee medal for public service and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal for service to the insurance industry.
He was elected to the Board of Directors of Assuris in 2018 and as Chair of the Board of Directors in 2021.
Alain Brunet was the Senior Vice-President and President Insurance at National Bank of Canada between 2006–2013. He was responsible for insurance activities of the following companies: National Bank Life Insurance, National Bank Insurance Firm, National Bank Assistance, National Bank General Insurance, Natcan Reinsurance and Innovasur (as Co-President). He also participated in the activities of the Personal and Commercial banking sectors of National Bank and was President of National Bank pension plan committee and oversaw corporate insurance programs at the bank.
Mr. Brunet worked, until 2006, for The Standard Life Assurance Company, he held various management positions in actuarial, sales and marketing over a 21-year period. As a member of the executive committee, Mr. Brunet acted as Senior Vice-President for retail markets and Senior Vice-President for sales and marketing for insurance and retail investments, group insurance and retirement. He was a board member of Standard Life pension plan, Standard Life Mutual Funds, Performa and Standard Life of Canada.
Mr. Brunet currently acts as a private investor and mentor in a technology start-up, Knova Web Technologies promoting a secure file sharing service TagMyDoc.
Mr. Brunet is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries. Mr. Brunet graduated from Laval University’s actuarial program and attended Harvard Business School Program for Management Development.
Mr. Brunet was elected to the Board of Directors of Assuris in 2019.
Brenda Eprile, FCPA, ICD.D, is a seasoned corporate director and angel investor having been the chair of two publicly listed companies on the TSX and NASDAQ. She served on various board committees, chairing Audit, Governance and Human Resources and Compensation committees.
Ms. Eprile led Westport Fuel Systems Inc.’s board through a significant restructuring including retiring long-term debt, completing a US public offering, the sale of its industrial business and the completion of the final phase of R&D for its breakthrough technology, HPDI 2.0.
As chair of Home Capital Group, she led the board in responding to a severe liquidity and regulatory crisis. Ms. Eprile was involved in securing Berkshire Hathaway as a strategic sponsor and in settling major regulatory and class action litigation. Additionally, she oversaw a revamping of the board and the hiring of a new CFO and CEO.
Ms. Eprile’s background includes running the risk consulting practice for PwC Canada and building their national regulatory consulting practice assisting financial services firms, public companies, and regulators.
Prior to her twenty-year consulting career, her experience includes twelve years as a securities regulator with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) as Executive Director and Chief Accountant.
Ms. Eprile was elected to the Board of Directors of Assuris in 2021.
Jamey Hubbs is the former Vice-Superintendent, Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.
Jamey Hubbs is a corporate director with extensive experience in banking, capital markets, prudential regulation, and risk management.
Mr. Hubbs held senior roles at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions with his last roles being Vice Superintendent overseeing the responses to the risk environment and Assistant Superintendent for the Deposit-taking Supervision Sector.
Mr. Hubbs was a board member of the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation. He served as Executive Vice-President, Co-Head of Global Markets for HSBC Securities Canada. Mr. Hubbs is currently Vice-Chair of the Global Risk Institute and a Senior Fellow of the CD Howe Institute.
Mr. Hubbs holds a BA, from the University of Waterloo, a master’s Certificate in Project Management from Schulich School of Business and the ICD.D. designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Mr. Hubbs was elected to the Board of Directors of Assuris in 2024.
Marie-Josée Martin is the former President and CEO for Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada.
Throughout her career, Ms. Martin held progressively more senior roles at Blue Cross Life, including Appointed Actuary, where she was responsible for the valuation of reserves and capital adequacy, and most recently Vice-President and Chief Actuary. Ms. Martin also worked for Medavie Blue Cross where she held the position of Vice-President, Actuary.
Ms. Martin is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and of the Society of Actuaries and holds a BMath Honors degree from the University of Waterloo.
Ms. Martin served as a Director on the Board of Blue Cross Life and the Board of the Canadian Drug Insurance Pooling Corporation and was a member of the Advisory Council for the UPEI School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences. She obtained her ICD.D designation in 2019.
Ms. Martin was appointed to the Board of Assuris in 2022.
Paul Petrelli is the President & CEO of Assuris. Prior to his appointment in 2021, Mr. Petrelli held a wide variety of senior leadership roles at Sun Life.
Most recently, Mr. Petrelli was responsible for the global M&A, securities, technology and intellectual property legal teams, corporate secretarial and legal operations. His extensive experience also includes being Sun Life’s Global Head of Compliance, CFO of its Canadian business and Head of Investor Relations.
Mr. Petrelli obtained his B.A. (Honours) from the University of Toronto in 1991, his LL.B. from the University of Windsor School of Law in 1995 and was admitted to Law Society of Upper Canada as a member in 1997. He also obtained a Master of Law degree from the University of Toronto School of Law in 2019, specializing in Innovation, Technology and Law.
Mr. Petrelli was appointed to the Board of Directors of Assuris in 2021 coincident with becoming President & CEO.
Jacques Potvin is the former Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary at Industrial Alliance (iA).
Mr. Potvin started his career at iA in 1990 as an actuary and over the years was promoted to roles with increasing responsibility, including Vice President Marketing, Individual Insurance and Annuities, Vice President and Head of Risks Management and most recently Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary and member of the Corporation’s Executive Committee.
In his last role, Mr. Potvin was responsible for the sound financial management and long-term financial sustainability of iA along with the corporate financing activities. Mr. Potvin oversaw the actuarial, risk management, accounting and tax services, investor relations, legal services and material resources.
Mr. Potvin holds a Bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Science from Laval University.
Mr. Potvin was elected to the Board of Directors of Assuris in 2024.
Dr. Janis Sarra is a Presidential Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Peter A. Allard School of Law. Her publications include ten books and more than one hundred articles in the areas of corporate finance, corporate governance and management, securities law, and commercial insolvency law.
Dr. Sarra currently serves as the Editor and Chair of the Annual Review of Insolvency Law. She was formerly a Director of the Canadian Insolvency Foundation and Director of the Canadian Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals Association (CAIRP).
Dr. Sarra was previously a Director of the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies at UBC, and until 2007, was the Associate Dean of the Peter A. Allard School of Law.
Dr. Sarra held several positions within public policy development such as, the World Bank Insolvency and Creditors’ Rights Task Force, the Working Group on Insolvency of Non-Bank Financial Institutions, and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Working Group on Corporate Groups and Cross-Border Insolvency Law. She is currently a member of the Canadian Delegation to UNCITRAL Working Group V on Insolvency Law.
Dr. Sarra holds five degrees from the University of Toronto in Political Science, Economics and Law.
Dr. Sarra was elected to the Board of Directors of Assuris in 2017.
Jean Vincent, CSM, FCPA, FCA, GFAA (Quebec) is President and a founding member of the National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association (NACCA). NACCA is a network of over 50 Indigenous Financial Institutions (IFIs) dedicated to stimulating economic growth for all Indigenous people in Canada.
Mr. Vincent is also President and CEO of the Native Commercial Credit Corporation (SOCCA), a company that provides commercial financing to indigenous businesses in the start-up or expansion phase as well as President and CEO of the Aboriginal Savings Corporation of Canada (ABSCAN), offering savings and loan products to Indigenous people in the real estate, institutional and commercial sectors.
Mr. Vincent is a trustee of the First Nations Market Housing Fund dedicated to empowering First Nations communities by providing them with the tools needed to secure homeownership on reserve lands.
Mr. Vincent is a trainer and speaker at the First Nations Leadership School and a founding member of the Aboriginal Financial Officers Association of Canada and vice-president of its board of directors.
Mr. Vincent was vice-grand chief of the Huron-Wendat Nation from 2008 to 2018.
Mr. Vincent has worked for the National Bank of Canada and for the Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada.
Mr. Vincent has a pilot’s license and is a member of the Canadian Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Mr. Vincent holds the titles of Fellow of the Order of Chartered Professional Accountants of Quebec and Certified Aboriginal Financial Manager (CAFM). He is also the recipient of the Meritorious Service Cross – Governor General of Canada.
Mr. Vincent was elected to the Board of Directors of Assuris in 2024.
Mark Zelmer has more than 30 years of experience dealing with financial sector policy and regulatory issues. He was formerly Deputy Superintendent of Financial Institutions at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). Prior to that, he worked for the Bank of Canada and the International Monetary Fund.
Among his many accomplishments, Mark was an active contributor to the global regulatory reform agenda in the wake of the financial crisis. As a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision from September 2008 through June 2016, he chaired the development of several macro-prudential components of the Basel III framework and led a peer-review assessment of the European Union’s adoption of Basel III capital requirements. He also served on the Financial Stability Board’s Standing Committee on Supervisory and Regulatory Cooperation from July 2014 to June 2016 and co-chaired its work on structural vulnerabilities associated with the global asset management industry.
Mark has been busy since his retirement from OSFI in 2016. Among other things, he helped assess the soundness of the Japanese banking system for the International Monetary Fund’s review of the Japanese financial system in 2017 and is currently conducting an independent review of the prudential oversight of a medium-sized bank for Her Majesty’s Treasury in the United Kingdom. He has also served as a senior fellow for the CD Howe Institute and co-authored a paper published by that institute in 2018 on international standard-setting.
Mark holds a Master of Science (Business Administration) degree from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from Queen’s University.
Mr. Zelmer was elected to the Board of Directors of Assuris in 2017.
