Home > Investors > Executive Bios

Executive Bios

Board of Directors

DEREK H. BURNEY, O.C.
Chairman
Senior Strategic Advisor, Ogilvy Renault LLP
Ottawa, Ontario

Mr. Burney joined Ogilvy Renault L P as Senior Strategic Advisor on May 1, 2006. As Senior Strategic Advisor to the firm, Mr. Burney assists clients in dealing with cross-border and domestic issues as well as trade and investment policy matters. Since August 30, 2006, Mr. Burney has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Company. Mr. Burney also serves as a Director of TransCanada Pipelines Limited. Mr. Burney has previously served as Chairman of the Board of NB Power Holding Corporation, Chairman of Confederation College Foundation and Lead Director of Shell Canada Limited. M r. Burney is a Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Trade Policy and Law and Adjunct Professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Relations at Carleton University. From October 1999 until August 2004, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CAE Inc. Prior to joining CAE, Mr. Burney was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bell Canada International Inc. (1993 through 1999). From 1989 until 1993, M r. Burney served as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States. Mr. Burney is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

LEONARD J. ASPER
President and Chief Executive Officer
Toronto, Ontario

Mr. Asper, a lawyer, joined Canwest in 1991 as Associate General Counsel for the Company’s Global Television station in Ontario. Thereafter, he held various positions in corporate development and was Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Asper took over as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company in 1999. He is a Director and Deputy Chair of Ten Network Holdings Limited (Australia) and serves as a director of numerous companies within the Canwest group of companies. He is also a Director of the University of Winnipeg Foundation, Business Council of Manitoba, and Canadian Council of Chief Executives, and founder of The Joshua Foundation, a private charitable trust.

DAVID A. ASPER
Executive Vice-President
Chairman, National Post
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Mr. Asper, a lawyer, joined the Company in 1992 and is currently an Executive Vice-President of Canwest and Chairman of the National Post Company. He is a member of Canwest’s Executive Management Committee and oversees the corporate office functions as well as the Canwest corporate affairs group. He is a member of the Board of Governors of St. John’s Ravenscourt School, an Honourary Director of The Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Institute and a Director of T he Asper Charitable T rust. Mr. Asper is also Chairman and founder of the Daremax Foundation through which Mr. Asper supports numerous charitable causes.

GAIL S. ASPER, O.M.
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Ms. Asper, a lawyer, has been with the Company since 1989; serving as General Counsel until 1998 and as Corporate Secretary since 1990. While her primary responsibilities relate directly to the Company’s Board, she is also President of The Canwest Global Foundation. Ms. Asper is President of The Asper Foundation and The Gail Asper Family Foundation Inc., which are private charitable foundations, and serves as a director on the Boards of a number of major public companies, including Great-West Life Assurance Company, Great-West Life Co. Inc., London Life Insurance Group Inc. and Canada Life Assurance Company. She has served and serves in leadership positions on numerous not-for-profit Boards and is currently V ice-Chair of the Canadian Museum of Human Rights Advisory Committee and Chair of the Museum’s capital campaign. Ms. Asper is a Member of the Order of Manitoba.

RONALD J. DANIELS
Provost and Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Ardmore, Pennsylvania

Mr. Daniels is the Provost and a Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to his appointment to this position in 2005, he was Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Toronto; a position he held since 1995. He is Chair of the Board’s Human Resources Committee. Mr. Daniels is active in public policy reformation and has contributed to several public task forces. H e was chair of the Ontario Task Force on Securities Regulation and was a member of the Toronto Stock Exchange Commission on Corporate Governance.

DAVID J. DRYBROUGH, FCA
Business Consultant and Corporate Director East St. Paul, Manitoba

Mr. Drybrough is a Chartered Accountant. Following his retirement in 1997 from the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers L P (then known as Coopers & Lybrand), Mr. Drybrough served as Vice President; Finance of Winnipeg based Gendis Inc. until January 2004. He is Chair of the Board’s Audit Committee and from March 2005 until August 30, 2006, he served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Company. Mr. Drybrough serves as a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Fort Chicago Energy Partners LP and as a Trustee and Chair of the Audit Committee of Temple Real Estate Investment Trust.

PAUL V. GODFREY, C.M.
President and Chief Executive Officer of The Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club
Toronto, Ontario

Mr. Godfrey is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club, a position he has held since September 1, 2000. From November 1992 until June 2000, Mr. Godfrey was President and Chief Executive Officer of The Toronto Sun. He serves as a Director of a number of major Canadian companies such as Astral Media Inc., The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation and the Grand Prix of Toronto Board of Trustees and is actively involved in many charitable organizations. Mr. Godfrey has received many honours including the City of Toronto’s highest award, the Civic Award of Merit, and is a Member of the Order of Canada.

DAVID W. KERR , CA
Managing Partner of Edper Financial Group
Toronto, Ontario

Mr. Kerr, a Chartered Accountant, retired from Falconbridge Ltd. (formerly Noranda Inc.) in August 2006 prior to which he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kerr is a Director of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., Sun Life Financial Inc., Research in Motion Limited, the Sustainable Development Technology Canada Foundation, the Toronto Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation and the Special Olympics Canada Foundation. He is a member of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, former Vice-Chair of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and former Chair of the International Council on Mining and Metals.

FRANK W. KING, O.C., P.ENG.
President of Metropolitan Investment Corporation
Calgary, Alberta

Mr. King is a Professional Engineer. Following his career in the petrochemical and petroleum industry, M r. King became the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the XV Olympic Winter Games which were held in Calgary in 1988. Mr. King has been in the investment management business since 1981 and is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of Metropolitan Investment Corporation. He was Co-Chair of Canada 125 which was a national celebration of Canada’s 125th birthday. Mr. King is currently Chairman of Networc Health Inc., a Director of Westaim Corporation and a Trustee of RioCan Real E state Investment Trust. Mr. King is active in numerous civic and philanthropic endeavors in the community and is the recipient of numerous honours including the Olympic Order in Gold. Mr. King is an Officer of the Order of Canada. Mr. King served as Interim Chair of the Board’s Governance and Nominating Committee from August 2006 to July 2007.

DAVID A. LESLIE, FCA
Corporate Director
Toronto, Ontario

Mr. Leslie, a Chartered Accountant, is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. He has had a lengthy and distinguished career with Ernst & Young LP, having held a number of senior positions including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; the position from which he retired in June 2004. He is a former member of the Americas Executive Board of Ernst & Young and of the Global Executive Board. Mr. Leslie has also been a Senior Tax Advisor to the federal Department of Finance, Tax Policy and Legislation Branch. He has been active in many community organizations and has held leadership positions in a number of organizations including the Mississauga Board of Trade, United Way of Peel Region, the Mississauga Hospital Foundation and the Dean’s Advisory Council, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto. In addition, Mr. Leslie serves as Chair of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Mr. Leslie has been honored as Mississauga Businessman of the Year and is a recipient of the University of Toronto Arbor Award. He is a Director of Sobey’s Inc., Enbridge Inc., Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc., Empire Company Limited and IMRIS Inc. and a Trustee of the Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust.

LISA M. PANKRATZ, FCA, CFA
President, Mackenzie Cundill Investment Management Ltd.
Vancouver, British Columbia

Ms. Pankratz, a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst charter-holder, is President of Mackenzie Cundill Investment Management Ltd. Prior to her appointment to this position in September 2006, she was President, Chief Compliance Officer and a Director of Cundill Investment Research L td. and Chief Compliance Officer of The Cundill Group from August 2002 to September 2006. Prior to this, she was a corporate consultant and advisor from August 2000 until July 2002. Ms. Pankratz is an advisor to the investment committees of Pacific Blue Cross and BC Life and Casualty Company and formerly has served as a Director of The Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and as a member of the Accounting Policy and Advisory Committee advising the Ministry of Finance for the Province of British Columbia.

Executive Management

LEONARD J. ASPER
President and Chief Executive Officer

THOMAS C. STRIKE
President, Corporate Development and Strategy Implementation

Mr. Strike, a Chartered Accountant, joined Canwest in 1986 and has over the course of his career with the Company held the positions of Chief Financial Officer, Senior Executive Vice-President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Operating Officer (Corporate) and, most recently, President, CanWest Mediaworks International. In his current role, Mr. Strike is responsible for overseeing all of the Company's corporate development activities and strategy implementation. He is also a Director of TEN Network Holdings Limited (Australia).

DAVID A. ASPER
Executive Vice-President
Chairman, National Post

JOHN E. MAGUIRE
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Maguire is responsible for all of the Company's financial and corporate accounting activities. A Chartered Accountant, Mr. Maguire also works closely with the Company's bankers and auditors, and maintains communication with financial communities throughout North America.

RICHARD M. LEIPSIC
Senior Vice-President and General Counsel

As a senior partner with the Winnipeg-based legal firm, Pitblado LLP, Mr. Leipsic provided CanWest with outside legal counsel and corporate development advice for many years before joining the Company in January 1999. Mr. Leipsic is responsible for all legal affairs and is an integral part of the development team. He has practiced commercial law since 1975.

NICK FALLOON
Executive Chairman, Network TEN

Mr. Falloon joined TEN in January 2002 as Executive Chairman, after previously serving as Chief Executive Officer of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited from 1998 to 2001. From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Falloon was Chief Executive Officer of PBL Enterprises and Group Financial Director of Publishing and Broadcasting Limited. In 1990, Mr. Falloon was appointed Financial Director of the Nine Network Australia Limited and General Manager of TCN Channel 9. Before that, he was Group Financial Controller of the Nine Network and, earlier, Chief Management Accountant.

RICK HETHERINGTON
President, European Operations

Rick Hetherington oversees the operations of CanWest MediaWorks International in the Greater European region, including Turkey. In addition to overseeing the operations in Turkey, he has spearheaded the company's radio development in the UK. CanWest is the first foreign firm to be licensed by the UK radio regulator.

In 1998 Rick Hetherington set-up, launched and ran what is regarded as the most successful new national terrestrial European TV network launch of the past decade. TV3 was the Republic of Ireland's first Independent National Television Network. TV3 became the second highest rated of all channels in the country, with a 98% national reach, a 15% market share and was solidly profitable. Rick was TV3's CEO from start-up until its sale. TV3 was sold in August 2006.

KATHY DORE
President, Canwest Broadcasting

Ms. Dore was previously President, Entertainment Services for Rainbow Media Holdings Inc., where she was responsible for U.S. cable networks AMC (American Movie Classics), IFC (Independent Film Channel) and WE (Women's Entertainment). Prior to that, M s. Dore was President of Bravo Networks (U.S.) until its sale to NBC in 2002. At Bravo, Ms. Dore oversaw development of award-winning series Inside the Actors Studio and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

DENNIS SKULSKY
President and CEO, Canwest Publishing

Dennis Skulsky is the President and CEO of CanWest Publishing. Appointed to this role in May of 2006, Mr. Skulsky oversees the Company's print and online assets, which include 10 metro dailies, the National Post, 30 community newspapers, and the CanWest News Service. A seasoned media executive, Mr. Skulsky has held numerous senior management roles in Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver prior to taking on this role and was previously the President and Publisher of the Pacific Newspaper Group for six years. He's always been actively involved in the communities he's lived and was recognized with a British Columbia Citizen Achievement Award in 2006. He's also on the board for two prominent industry associations- The International Marketing Association and the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

JOHN P. CULLIGAN
Senior Vice-President, Corporate Development

Mr. Culligan has primary responsibility for the Company's business acquisition and divestiture projects. He has been actively involved in the Company's international and domestic media investment endeavours since joining CanWest in 1999. He has played a key role in the IPO of CanWest MediaWorks Income Fund, as well as the Company's investment in several radio stations in Turkey. Mr. Culligan has spent more than 17 years engaged in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions in a varied number of industries throughout the world. He holds both an MBA and a CFA charter.

GRACE PALOMBO
Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Prior to joining Canwest, Ms. Palombo held various senior positions in the areas of Human Resources, Legal and Corporate Communications with Husky Injection Molding Systems, Canada Life Financial Services, Westcoast Energy/Union Gas and Bombardier Aerospace. Ms. Palombo holds a LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto and a B.A. from York University. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and is a member of the Audit Committee, the Administrative Affairs Committee and the Board Development Committee. She is also a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, The Canadian Bar Association, the Women's Law Association and the Women's Executive Network.