Tomorrows Are Made Here Campaign Cabinet

The Tomorrows Are Made Here Campaign is supported by the knowledge and experience of its Honorary Co-Chairs and Cabinet members, each a respected business and community leader. We are honoured to count on their guidance, support and active involvement in ensuring the success of our transformational campaign. 

JAMES ALEXANDER

James Alexander served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the JGH Foundation from 1999-2003 and as President of the JGH Board of Directors from 2005-2007. Among the highlights of his term as JGH President was the launch of the Segal Cancer Centre in 2006 and a dramatic increase in the variety and volume of patient services in newly expanded and renovated areas of the hospital, including Pavilion H.

Mr. Alexander joined the JGH President’s Advisory Committee in 1995 and subsequently held positions on almost every major hospital committee, including Finance, Audit and Governance.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Alexander had spent 10 years at Steinberg’s Ltd. and managed an importing company. In 1993, he co-founded Palomino, a personal investment firm. He has also played a significant role in various charitable organizations.

DAVID AMIEL

David Amiel has been actively shaping the Montreal Jewish community and beyond through multiple leadership roles for over a decade. He currently serves as Board Chair of the JGH Foundation, as a member of the Executive of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Foundation, as well as being a member of the Board of Governors of Lower Canada College. He served as Chair of the Young Leadership Campaign of the Combined Jewish Appeal in 2011, Co-Chair of the New Gifts Initiative in 2012, and Chair of the Montreal Young Adult Division (YAD) in 2013. He has previously served as Board Chair of Federation CJA and as a Board Member of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal. Additionally, Mr. Amiel is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Foundation (2019-) and has sat on the Board of Directors for Camp B’nai Brith, Hillel Montreal and the Chevra Kadisha Synagogue. Today, Mr. Amiel is President of Saturnia Holdings, a family investment office, where he oversees strategic management for the firm and serves as an advisor to the management teams of the firm’s portfolio of companies.

STEPHANIE AZRIELI

At 88 years old, Stephanie Azrieli has had a fulfilling and exciting life as a wife, mother, educator, librarian, artist, world traveller, grandmother, great-grandmother, and ardent lover of the Jewish people, Israel and her community in Montreal. She has played an important role within the Azrieli Foundation whose mission is to improve the lives of present and future generations through Education, Research, Healthcare and the Arts mainly in Canada and Israel.

She spent a decade as a school librarian and pursued painting in her late 50s, with her works in collections all over the world. She enjoys reading, knitting, painting, playing bridge, travelling, and spending time with her family.

ANNE-MARIE BÉLANGER

Anne-Marie Bélanger serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the JGH Foundation and sits on its Governance Committee. She is the Founder and Senior Partner of Excellence Juricomptable. Over the past 25 years, she has completed many investigative mandates concerning financial fraud. During the course of these investigations, she was responsible for overseeing the overall projects, while supervising and leading teams of professionals. She has also accumulated a vast experience in fraud risk assessment mandates.

Ms. Bélanger has also been a member of the Board of Directors of many organizations, including La rue des Femmes, a non-profit committee helping women in difficulty. Ms. Bélanger has also written and given many presentations on forensic accounting and damage quantification. In particular, she taught the course Operational Risk Management (Introduction to Forensic Accounting) offered by the Université de Sherbrooke’s Faculty of Administration for the graduate level, CGA program in both 2012 and 2013.

SYLVIE DEMERS

Sylvie Demers serves as Secretary of the Board of the Directors of the JGH Foundation and has fulfilled many voluntary roles within the Foundation over the years. She is past Senior Vice President of Branch Banking in Quebec at TD Bank Group.

In 2018, the Quebec Business Women Network nominated her as a finalist for the Quebec Business Women Awards in the Executive, Managerial or Professional, Private Company category. In 2019, Ms. Demers also distinguished herself by being appointed to the Board of Governors of Finance Montréal, then by being invited as a speaker at the Cercle de la finance internationale de Montréal. Added to this is her term as chair of the Quebec Committee of the Canadian Bankers Association. She won the Top 25 of the financial industry in the category of National financial institutions and the Financial Personality of 2019 of the Quebec financial newspaper Finance and Investment.

Over the years, Sylvie has assumed the honorary chairmanship of various fundraising campaigns for the Breakfast Club, Sainte-Justine Hospital and the Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Research Center. Since 2017, she has been Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Foundation (MMFA).

PAUL DESMARAIS, JR.

Paul Desmarais, Jr. has been Chairman of Power Corporation since 1996. He also served as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Power Corporation from 1996 until his retirement in February 2020. He is Chairman of Power Financial and also served as Executive Co-Chairman from 2015 to March 2020, Co-Chairman from 2008 to 2015 and Executive Chairman from 1990 to 2005.

He is a Director and member of various Board Committees of many Power group companies including Great-West Lifeco Inc. and its major subsidiaries, and IGM Financial Inc. and its major subsidiaries. He is also Chairman of the Board of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert. He was a Director of LafargeHolcim from 2008 to 2020, of Total SA from 2002 to 2017, of GDF Suez from 2001 to 2014, and of Imerys S.A. from 1998 to 2008.

He received the Insigne d’Officier de l’Ordre de la Couronne of Belgium in 1994. In 2005, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, and an Officer of the Ordre national du Québec in 2009. In 2012, he was named Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in France.

BRENDA GEWURZ

Brenda Urman Gewurz is a distinguished leader in both real estate and Jewish communal life. Professionally, she has served as Vice-President of Marketing and Sales for Proment Corporation for the past 30 years.

She has been a leader in the Jewish community since the early 1980s. She was Hebrew Academy’s first female President; served as President of the Bronfman Jewish Education Centre; has been on the Board of Directors of Federation CJA; served as Vice President of Jewish Federations of Canada – UIA; served as President of the Jewish Community Foundation (JCF); is presently a member of the Board of Directors of Ometz; and is the immediate Past Chair of CIJA Quebec, among other roles.

She was awarded the distinguished leadership award at Federation CJA, the Manny Batshaw prize for community leadership, and The Samuel Bronfman Medal. Ms. Gewurz is a member of the Board of Ensembles Quebec, and also a member of the campaign cabinet of the Montreal General Hospital.

KEN HARRIS

Ken Harris serves as a Board member of the JGH Foundation and is the Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Plusgrade, a leading software company in the global travel industry and one of Canada’s largest private technology companies. Under Mr. Harris’ leadership, Plusgrade has delivered billions of dollars of new revenue opportunity to over 200 travel suppliers across 60 countries and was honoured with the prestigious Deloitte Technology Leadership award as the global leader in its sector. In 2020, Mr. Harris was named to Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, an annual recognition of exceptional achievements.

GERALD ISSENMAN

Gerald Issenman is Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the JGH Foundation and is President of Côte-St Luc Building Corporation, a Montreal-based real estate company.

Mr. Issenman has been a member of the JGH Foundation Board since 2013. In addition to serving as Vice-Chair, he is Chair of the Strategic Planning Committee, a member of the Fundraising Projects Review Committees and a former Secretary of the Board.

Mr. Issenman has been actively involved in the JGH Foundation’s Ride to Conquer Cancer and Le Week-End, participating every year since 2010, co-chairing in 2014 and consistently finishing as one of the top fundraisers.

HARVEY LEVENSON

Harvey Levenson is Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Directors of the JGH Foundation and is President of Commonwealth Home Fashions, a Montreal-based designer and manufacturer of home products.

Mr. Levenson joined the Foundation Board of Directors in 2011. He has served the JGH in many capacities, including co-chairing the Power to Heal Campaign between 2011 and 2017 and co-chairing the Weekend to End Breast Cancer in 2008.

ALAN P. ROSSY

Alan P. Rossy is a member of the Board of Directors of the JGH Foundation and is President and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Copley, comprised of entities that purchase, develop and lease residential and commercial real estate in Quebec and Ontario. Alan is a founding family member of the national retail chain Dollarama and served as its Executive Vice-President for over 15 years. He is an active philanthropist who, through his private Foundation, supports the Canadian Arts, Education and Health organizations.

In 2012, he was awarded The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for significant contributions and achievements by The Right Honorable Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Mr. Rossy served as a board director of Aimia Inc. (previously Aeroplan), and of Canadian Tire Corporation. He is currently Chairman of the Veritas Foundation Board and on the Board of Directors at Selwyn House School. He serves as a Director of the National Arts Centre Foundation in Ottawa.

LILLIAN VINEBERG-GOODMAN

Lillian Vineberg-Goodman is President of Rockwell Investments. She was the first woman to become Chair of The Board of Governors of Concordia University. She was honoured with the title of Board Member Emeritus in 2012.

In 2006, she was awarded the Humberto Santos Award of Merit for lifetime contribution of exceptional leadership and service to Concordia University and the Community. In 2002, the Students Union of Concordia University made her an Honorary member of The Golden Key International Society. In 2002, she received the Queens Jubilee Medal.

Ms. Vineberg-Goodman was the first woman to serve on the Town Council of Hampstead. She served as Chair of the Finance Portfolio for 25 years. In 1997, she was honoured by the Union des Municipalities du Quebec for her service to the citizens of Hampstead. At the JGH, Ms. Vineberg-Goodman serves as an active member on the Board of Governors. She also serves on The User Committee. She chaired The Revision Committee, which is the Committee of last resort for a medical complaint. She served as Board Representative preparing the Accreditation of the hospital under Dr. Hartley Stern.

Lillian was the 2017 Honouree for the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC).

JONATHAN I. WENER, C.M.

Jonathan Wener served as President of the Board of Directors of the JGH from 2000-2003. He founded the Montreal-based Canderel Group in 1975. He has helped fund and personally supported – as president, co-chair or member – numerous hospital boards, community organizations, foundations and research centres, including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Foundation, the Festival des arts de Saint-Sauveur, Kehilla Montreal, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer, Concordia University, Federation CJA, and the Fraser Institute, where he is Vice Chair of the Executive Committee. In January 2015, Mr. Wener was appointed Chancellor of Concordia University, his alma mater.

During his tenure as president of the JGH, Mr. Wener initiated an unprecedented $200-million capital campaign, spearheaded the acquisition of the neighbouring Soeurs de Sainte-Croix site, and helped create the renowned Segal Cancer Centre. Today he is a trustee of the JGH Corporation and member. In 1989, he launched the Défi Canderel, which has raised over $26 million for the cancer research centres at McGill University and the Université de Montréal since its inception.

In 2003 Mr Wener was honoured to be appointed a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2009, he was inducted into the Club des entrepreneurs of the Conseil du patronat du Québec. He was presented with the Fraser Institute’s prestigious T. Patrick Boyle Founders Award in 2012 and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013. In September 2017, he was awarded the Samuel Bronfman Medal for outstanding community service. In May 2018, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Montreal.

EDWARD WILTZER

Edward Wiltzer served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the JGH Foundation from 2016-2019 and served on the Board for close to 20 years. He is the retired founder, President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Mark Edwards Group of Companies, a leading marketer and wholesaler of private labels.

Mr. Wiltzer served as Co-Chair, together with the late Morton Brownstein, of the JGH Foundation’s Power to Heal Capital Campaign from 2003 to 2011. His exceptional efforts in this nine-year campaign, which surpassed its $200 million goal, earned him the JGH Distinguished Service Award as well as the Foundation’s Allan Bronfman Distinguished Leadership Award in 2011 – the highest honours bestowed by both institutions. He was the Chair of the Hospital’s Board of Governors.

Mr. Wiltzer has also taken an active role in various Foundation events, including serving as Co-Chair, together with his wife Heleena Wiltzer and Ms. Alice Raby, of the highly successful Tree of Life campaign and the Peace of Mind campaign. He and Ms. Wiltzer have also volunteered with the medical team for the Weekend to End Women’s Cancers for many years. He is past Chair at Federation CJA and leads the Executive at Chabad Lifeline, a non-sectarian organization dedicated to helping individuals and families affected by addiction. He was Past President of Congregation Beth Tikvah, Past Vice-President of Camp B’nai Brith and a former board member of Miriam Home.

Mr. Wiltzer was awarded the prestigious Samuel Bronfman Medal from Federation CJA in 2019.