Board of Directors
President and Board Chair
John Matthiesen, P.Eng., MBA
Senior Director, Smart Grid & Asset Management, Hatch Ltd.
Vice-Chair and Treasurer
Michelle McCollum, MBA, MRICS
Vice-President, Facilities and Sustainability, George Brown College
As Vice-President, Facilities and Sustainability, Michelle McCollum oversees operations of George Brown College’s Facilities Management department and leads the development and deployment of the sustainability strategy, campus planning and the evolution of the college’s physical footprint.
A highly skilled public sector leader and social responsibility advocate, Michelle has more than three decades of experience in municipal government and education administration in both the United Kingdom and Canada leading capital projects, Public Private Partnerships and managing large real estate portfolios.
After spending over 15 years in municipal government in the UK, Michelle moved to Canada with her family in 2008 and joined the City of Brampton, where she spent nearly a decade leading new construction projects, spearheaded the development and implementation of the city’s strategic plan, and drove organizational transformation.
Prior to her work at George Brown, Michelle was Associate Vice-President, Facilities and Sustainable Infrastructure at Sheridan College.
Michelle holds a Bachelor of Science in Quantity Surveying from Napier University in Edinburgh, an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, is a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and holds a PRINCE2 Project Management Certification.
Director
Zaheer Muhammad, MS, MBA
Vice President, Vertical Markets at Siemens Canada Limited
Zaheer heads the Siemens Smart Infrastructure Vertical Markets in Canada. Next to this, he also leads the Corporate Business Development, Value Co-Creation program and is the Business Head of Mindsphere Application Center at Siemens Canada. With over 16 years of corporate experience with Siemens in multiple countries across the globe, his current focus in Canada is on promoting value-based strategic engagements with customers in existing and emerging verticals such as Data Centers, Battery Manufacturing, Automotive, Higher Ed and Life Sciences etc. Key areas his work touches include Sustainability, Smart Communities, Grid Edge Technologies, IoT, eMobility, bridging Industry-Academia gap and decarbonization of infrastructure.
With an MS in Digital Communications Networks from London, UK and an MBA from Manchester Business School, UK, Zaheer is well equipped with technical and business acumen to successfully lead technology and transformation projects in various industries. He is an Oakville resident and is proudly raising 3 young kids.
Director & Corporate Secretary
Tanya Leedale, BA LLB
Partner, O’Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP
Tanya is a partner with the Oakville law firm of O’Connor MacLeod Hanna LLP. As a Certified Specialist (Corporate and Commercial Law) and having practiced business law for over 30 years, Tanya has expertise at providing legal advice and counsel to those in business. Tanya shares that knowledge and passion with the community through charitable and non-profit work. Boards of Sheridan College, the Oakville Chamber of Commerce, the Oakville Hospital Foundation, Haltech and the Oakville YMCA have all benefited from her committed involvement.
Director
Karena de Souza
As a strategist, futurist and parent, Karena discovered her interest in strategy & futurism in her long career as VP-IT & Communications Officer at Morgan Stanley. After moving to Canada she added Small Business and Entrepreneurial experience as owner/operator of two CertaPro Painting franchises covering Halton Region and Mississauga. Karena speaks to parents, students, employers and educators on the topic of Future of Work. Her focus is helping GenZ understand and successfully embrace the new and evolving Nature of Work.
She published ‘Contours of Courageous Parenting – Can we tilt towards better decisions?’ for parents just like her, struggling to equip their children with decision-making frameworks robust enough to survive unforeseeable futures such as pandemics and climate change.
Director
Denys Linkov
Denys is a technology professional focused on solving real world challenges. His main focuses are Machine Learning and Cloud with experience in both startups and enterprise. Growing up in Oakville, he attended White Oaks Secondary School, followed by a computer science degree from U of T. He previously led TU20, a part of Silicon Halton, and has helped 1000+ students find discover career interests and learn about technology and business in the Halton community. He is passionate about green energy, transportation and creating more livable communities for current and future generations.