Appointment to Impact Angel Alliance Board of Directors

I’m very pleased to become part of the Board of Directors of Impact Angel Alliance.

Impact Angel Alliance press release at angelalliance.ca

Toronto, Canada, January 11, 2017 – The Impact Angel Alliance (“IAA”) is proud to announce the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors; Dianne Carmichael and Bruce Bennett. “Our newest Board members share IAA’s vision that every business and investor can be a force for good, and that impact can drive versus detract from financial returns. Their experience, perspective, and networks offer tremendous benefit to IAA’s Board, investor-members and supported ventures within Ontario and across Canada,” notes Sean Holt, IAA’s Executive Director.

Dianne Carmichael is an inspirational leader with an exceptional track record of success in social impact and business, spanning multiple industries over 25 years. She currently serves as executive lead of The Organ Project, a non-profit whose mission is to end waitlists for organ transplants. Previously, Dianne served as Managing Director of MaRS Health, working to scale disruptive health technology ventures. She led Best Doctors Canada to become one of the most sought after employee benefits programs, covering over six million Canadians and improving diagnosis 22% and treatment 61% of the time. As Founder & President of UHN Solutions, she developed a public/private funding model that advanced patient care, and, as Chair and CEO of Worldsource Wealth Management, she grew the company to more than $8 billion in assets.

Dianne provides a strong role model for IAA’s mandate to inspire and activate more female impact entrepreneurs and Angel investors. She has been recognized as one of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women by Women’s Executive Network, and named among Canada’s Top 20 Business Women, Top Women to Watch, and Canadian Women Transforming Healthcare.

Bruce Bennett is a successful business executive turned philanthropist, adviser and director to some of Canada’s leading foundations. He currently serves as a director of the Walrus Foundation, which supports writers, artists, and thought-provoking social dialogue. He also serves as a director of Chawkers Foundation, which supports charities working in the field of environmental research, protection, and education.

Bruce previously served as Chair and CEO of Bennecon, a leading North American strategic consulting firm. While at Bennecon over the course of two decades, he worked with over 300 organizations spanning many sectors, including most of the Financial Post Top 100, as well as several crown corporations and government and quasi-government agencies. Bruce continues to advise many corporate executives and boards of directors, leveraging his deep experience in finance, marketing, sales and information technologies.

Also joining IAA, as Advisor to the Board of Directors, is Sara Olsen of SVT Group, who has agreed to serve on matters concerning impact measurement and reporting. “SVT is a pioneer and gold standard in impact measurement program design and deployment,” says Holt. “Sara has worked with some of the world’s largest, most sophisticated sovereign and institutional investors, as well as with hundreds of startups and early stage investors. She has an aptitude for practical, value-added impact measurement system design, and we are privileged to have someone of her experience and credibility advising our Board on such matters.”

In addition, IAA will be moving to co-locate its headquarters with Angel Investors Ontario (formerly ‘Network of Angel Organizations – Ontario’), as it takes up new offices effective February 1, 2017 in downtown Toronto. Angel Investors Ontario is a founding partner of Impact Angel Alliance, and was valuable in helping IAA work in concert with existing Angel groups across Ontario. This partnership ensured IAA programs were synergistic and non-duplicative with those of the established Angel Network and the extended Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs. As IAA embarks on its next phase of organizational development and programming, co-locating with Angel Investors Ontario will help to further improve coordination and collaboration within the Angel Investing ecosystem.