Kathy Fazel is the new Chair of the Board of the Foundation of Greater Montréal

Montreal, May 27, 2021 – At their Annual General Meeting held yesterday, the Foundation of Greater Montréal’s (FGM) members named Kathy Fazel Chair of the Board of Directors. FGM is the largest community foundation in Quebec and the sixth largest in Canada. The AGM also renewed the Board of Directors and took stock of a tumultuous year. It also looked ahead to the milestones and new projects that are on the horizon for the Foundation.

A tumultuous 2020

2020 was a year in which FGM continued to increase its impact in Greater Montreal. Notably, it played a key role in our community’s response to COVID-19. The Foundation distributed $33 million in grants to more than 770 charitable organizations in the region. This is a new record, and testimony to the scope of the needs triggered by the pandemic. On the financial front, the Foundation’s assets under management climbed to over $373 million. We can notably thank the contributions of more than of $46 million and a remarkable gross rate of return of 11.33% for that feat. To find out more about the year’s results, and the impact FGM is having in the community, please download the Foundation’s 2020 Annual Report.

The members ratified the nomination of Kathy Fazel, Vice-Chair, as the new Chair of FGM’s Board of Directors. Kathy Fazel is currently Vice-President and Investment Counsellor with RBC PH&N Investment Counsel. She was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013. Also the winner of the Inspiration-Andrée-Corriveau Award from the Association of Quebec Women in Finance in 2020, Ms. Fazel is an individual who combines excellence, skill and civic engagement in everything she takes on.

“Having now been involved with FGM for five years, including 2020, which has been a demanding, but rich learning experience, I am proud to take the reins of the Board of Directors,” she stated. “We have been able to put together an experienced team, from diverse backgrounds and with a deep understanding of the issues and challenges Greater Montreal will face in the coming years. I am especially proud to see so many women contributing their skills and leadership to FGM. We’re just getting started!”

Board members Karen Macdonald and Toni Dilli were named, respectively, to the posts of Vice-President and Treasurer. These appointments follow the departures of the outgoing Chair and Treasurer, the Hon. Jean-François de Grandpré and Mr. Laurent Giguère, who have completed their last terms at FGM. There will thus be somewhat of a return to origins for the Foundation. In early 2000, its members named two women to head its very first Board of Directors.

“I particularly want to thank the outgoing Board members, the Hon. Jean-François de Grandpré and Mr. Laurent Giguère. These two FGM pillars have presided over unprecedented growth over the last few years. Thanks to their leadership, the Foundation has been able to position itself to fulfill its mission. It became a major player in philanthropy in Greater Montreal. That is the path we plan to continue on,” Kathy Fazel added.

Two newcomers

As well, two new directors will bolster the current team with their diverse skills. Corinne Charette is a Senior Fellow at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business. She specializes in the development of digital strategies and the management of personal information. Ms. Charrette holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Concordia University, and has several years’ experience both in the private sector and Canada’s public service. She was most notably the Government of Canada’s Chief Information Officer at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. She has also worked as Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of the Spectrum, Information Technologies and Telecommunications sector (SITT).

She has also held senior leadership posts with Transat, FINTRAC, CIBC and KPMG. Since 2018, she has been an independent member of the Board of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ). She heads its information technology committee. She has also, since 2018, represented Quebec as an independent member of the Board of ENCQOR. This is a private-public partnership in the area of 5G very-high-speed telecommunications; where she serves as Vice-President of the Board and heads the audit committee.

Jane Rabinowicz is Executive Director of SeedChange, one of Canada’s oldest charitable organizations. Founded in 1945, SeedChange works with 30,000 farmers in 11 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Canada to spread sustainable and equitable farming and agricultural systems. Ms. Rabinowicz is also co-founder and Vice-President of the Silver Dollar Foundation, and Vice-President on the Board of Directors of MakeWay.

She previously held leadership positions with Équiterre and Santropol Roulant, and sat on the Boards of Directors of Centraide of Greater Montreal, the Girls Action Foundation, Food Secure Canada and the Centre for Community Organizations. Ms. Rabinowicz is also the co-founder of Farmers for Climate Solutions, a major national multiparty political initiative, part of the 2020 cohort of the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference, and part of the first cohort of the Academy for Systems Change.

Visit FGM’s website to learn more about the Foundation’s full Board of Directors and committees composition for the 2021-2022 term.

Source: Foundation of Greater Montréal
For more information: Simon Delorme, Project Manager for Communications
Phone: (514) 866-0808 ext. 107
Email: simon.delorme@fgmtl.org

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