CHAIR
Janet
Whitehouse
Bell
Canada
Janet
is a life-time resident of Burlington and
a graduate of Sheridan
College.
Her career with Bell started 29
years ago, and she is currently a Regional Director in Community
Affairs. In this position Janet interfaces with the community by
sponsoring consumer and business events, such as the Burlington Sound of
Music Festival, and the Burlington Chamber Business Awards Gala.
She also works on business development with a focus on, health,
education and economic development. In addition to her role as
Chair of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, she currently sits on the
Board of Directors and Advocacy Committee for the Oakville Chamber;
Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation, and is the Chair of the hospital
fundraiser, the Crystal Ball Gala; Halton Chairman's Roundtable on the
Environment; the co-chair of the Hamilton United Way Mayors gala and was
a past Director on the Sound of Music Board.
VICE CHAIR
Francis
Mackan
Horne LLP
After
joining Horne LLP, a Burlington-based accounting firm, in 1998, Francis
became a Partner in 2006. With over 20 years of Public Accounting
experience,
Francis' expertise is in advising owner managed businesses, and he has a
strong expertise in personal and corporate income tax planning for
family owned businesses. He is currently serving as Treasurer of the
Board of Museums Burlington and Treasurer of the Board of the Hamilton
Philharmonic Orchestra. He is an active member of the Burlington Chamber
of Commerce where he has acted as Chair of the Membership Committee and
Board Liaison of the Political Action Committee. Francis graduated from Brock University with a Bachelor of Business
Administration Degree. Francis and his wife Aimee and their family are
long time residents of Burlington.
SECOND VICE CHAIR
Rod Wright
Blair Blanchard Stapleton Limited
Rod
joined Blair Blanchard Stapleton Limited in April 1999 after spending
several years in commercial real estate with a national firm. Rod
specializes in Commercial Real Estate in Burlington. In the past 12
years Rod has been involved in more then 900 transactions for over
6,000,000 square feet. Prior to Rod's involvement in real estate
he worked as a property manager which gives him extensive experience and
knowledge in construction, HVAC and operations of a building. Rod
graduated from the University of Guelph with an Honours degree in
Bachelor of Applied Science.
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
Jason
Safar
Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP
Jason
Safar is a partner in the Tax Services practice. He specializes in high
net worth taxation, working exclusively in the area of tax planning for
Canadian private companies and their shareholders. He has a wealth of
experience dealing with entrepreneurs in all stages of their
professional and personal lives. Jason has taught several levels of the
CICA In-Depth Tax course to tax practitioners across the country. He has
also taught introductory tax courses with the McMaster University
Continuing Education Department. Jason is active with the Burlington
Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the Business Awards Task
Force and Chaired the Political Action Committee. Jason joined the firm in 1992. He
is a Chartered Accountant who received a Bachelor of Commerce degree
from the University of Toronto.
PAST CHAIR
Rosalene Phillips
Mary Kay Cosmetics
Rosalene
brings 14 years business experience as a Senior Director with Mary Kay
Cosmetics. She is also responsible for training, coordinating
and recognizing the sales achievements of over 100 direct report
sales consultants and Directors across Canada. Rosalene has served on
several committees or boards of the following organizations:
President of the Burlington Network Group, Sound of Music VIP Committee,
President of her Condo Board for six years and has been a host
"mom" for six students from South Africa, Japan, Holland,
Denmark through the Rotary Youth International Exchange
Program.
DIRECTOR
Jamie Cunningham
ActionCOACH Business Coaching
Jamie
is a managing partner for ActionCOACH business coaching with offices in
Burlington and Cambridge.
Jamie’s
passion is people and business.
His
experience with marketing and building teams has enabled Jamie to create
significant results for his clients.
With
a strong head for finance, Jamie brings a well-rounded approach to
building businesses.
He
currently owns 3 businesses and maintains a well balanced life enjoying
the outdoors, travel and extreme sports.
Jamie has been a member of the Chamber's Programs
Committee for several years, the last two as that committee's Chair.
DIRECTOR
Philip
Evenden
Integrity Wealth Management
Phil
has been involved in the financial industry since 1983 where he started
with a major Canadian insurance firm. He has held positions in
sales and management and has served as President of an Agents' Marketing
Advisory Council. Phil started Integrity Wealth Management in 2001 and focuses
on helping entrepreneurs avoid personal cash crises through proactive
planning. Phil is very active with the Burlington Chamber and
chaired the Programs Committee in 2005 - 2006. He has lived in
Burlington since 1981 and is married with four children.
DIRECTOR
Tamer Fahmi
Hearth & Home Realty Inc., Brokerage
Tamer E. Fahmi is the Broker
of Record and President of his company, HEARTH & HOME REALTY INC.,
BROKERAGE founded in 1989, He has been a resident of Burlington area
since 1970, a practicing REALTORŪ since 1976 and a business owner since
1989. Tamer has served on a number of boards and committees over
the years most recently as a Former President of the Ontario Real Estate
Association as well as the REALTORSŪ Association of Hamilton
-Burlington. He is currently serving on the Burlington Downtown
Association's Board of Management. Tamer resides in the Tyandaga
area with his wife and business partner Janet; they have been married
since 1985 and are proud parents of two young Burlington citizens.
DIRECTOR
Nigel Jacobs
Taylor Leibow LLP Accountants and Advisors
Nigel Jacobs is the CEO of
Taylor
Leibow LLP Accountants and Advisors, a full service accounting firm.
Nigel is an acknowledged expert in the practice management of
professional services firms and continues to be involved in various
speaking engagements. Nigel
serves on the editorial advisory board of CPA Practice Management Forum,
for which he writes articles on a regular basis.
He is only the second Canadian to win the highly prestigious ACE (Achievement, Commitment and Excellence) award
for the management of an accounting firm in 2004 from the Association of
Accounting Administration (“AAA”).
Nigel was elected by his peers to the Board of Governors of
CMA Ontario in 2006 and is presently fulfilling his
term of office. He is also the
Director of Education of the AAA based in the USA and is the only Canadian on this
Board. Nigel is an active member
of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce and has served as a member of the
Business Awards Task Force for the past four years.
He is a Certified Management Accountant and received his Bachelor
of Commerce degree from the
University
of Cape Town.
DIRECTOR
Jeremy
Okolisan
Byrne
Engineering Inc.
As
the Director of Business Development for Byrne Engineering, a
Burlington-based consulting engineering company, Jeremy Okolisan brings
13 years of management and consulting experience to the Board.
Previously, Jeremy was a Manager at Deloitte Consulting, providing
management-consulting solutions to Canada's largest companies. He
is active in the community serving as chair and committee member for
many Burlington Chamber Task Forces. Jeremy is a Professional
Engineer who received his MBA from Queen's University and his Bachelor
of Applied Science, Mechanical Engineering from the University of
Toronto.
DIRECTOR
Tara Zolnai
TL Design & Marketing
Tara
L. Zolnai is President of a Burlington-based, award-winning marketing
communications company. TL Design & Marketing Inc. helps companies
in Canada and the United States maximize bottom line results by
developing integrated marketing communications solutions that combine
the latest online, e-business strategies with the best of proven
traditional marketing techniques. Tara is an honours graduate in
Business Administration and also holds an honours Computer Applications
Diploma. She has been a frequent speaker on online marketing strategies
and has taught at the Mississauga Enterprise Center, Business Network
International, Halton Women’s Business Network and at Sheridan
College. Tara is active in the community and has been a
major sponsor of “Party in Pink”, supporting the Breast Cancer
Association.
CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE PAST PRESIDENTS
The Chamber is strongly supported by the Past Presidents of the Burlington
Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber's Past Presidents are a group of
business leaders who have the best interest of business in Burlington at
heart. The Chamber is proud to have these individuals as representatives
and ambassadors of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce.
To
learn more about the newly established Past Presidents Council, go to
our Past Presidents page.
