Thomas M. Birks is the President of Birinco Inc. a merchant bank with investment portfolios ranging from private equity to passive investments.

Mr. Birks previously served as the President of Henry Birks and Sons Ltd. from 1985 to 1989 and has extensive global experience having worked in various countries including Australia, Japan and South Africa for Coles-Myer, Mitsubishi Bank, and Van Zwam, Vladykin and Douglas, respectively.

Mr. Birks has served as Chair of the board of directors of Viterra Inc. as well as Chair and board member of numerous corporations (including Prenor Inc., Télécité Inc., Société Générale de Financement and Air Canada), educational institutions, hospitals and foundations.

Mr. Birks graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts and holds a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. He has studied at the University of Lausanne, the University of Fribourg and the University of Paris. Mr. Birks has also attended programs in corporate governance at the Harvard Business School.

Graduate of both the engineering (B.Sc. Industrial Eng.) and business schools (MBA) of the Université de Montreal, Mr. Brosseau joined the CN Investment Division in 1978 and was involved in virtually all areas of activity of the Division. He reported to the President and, in his last year with the Division, he combined the functions of Manager, Oil and Gas, Manager, Private Placements, and Manager, International Investments. As a senior manager of the Division since 1981, he was actively involved throughout in setting overall investment policy for the CN Pension Fund. From 1981 to 1987, he was particularly active in the oil-and-gas industry and set up the pension fund’s wholly owned oil-and-gas subsidiary. He founded Letko Brosseau with Mr. Letko in 1987.

Mr. Jean-André Élie has served on the boards of public and private companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.

He has served on the boards and audit committees of various entities such Alimentation Couche-Tard, Hydro-Quebec, Loto-Québec, Industry Canada, and Office of the Comptroller General under the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. He was also a director of IIROC, the Canadian investment industry’s regulatory body. Over the years, Mr. Élie has also been involved as director of several community and cultural organizations, including the OSM.

After twelve years at Rolland Inc., one of Canada’s important producers and distributers of fine paper, where he held the position of Vice-President, he pursued his career as an investment banker at Burns Fry (today BMO Nesbitt Burns) from 1981 to 1995 where he acted as VP and Director of Government and Corporate Services. He subsequently served as General Manager for a Canadian bank owned by Société Générale (France) from 1998 to 2002.

Mr. Élie is a recipient of the Order of Canada for his ongoing contributions to governance in the arts and for his philanthropy in support of numerous causes. He is also a recipient of the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award (Governor General Award) for voluntarism in the Performing Arts and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal for his contribution to the community.

Mr. Élie has a BA from the University of Montreal, a law degree B.C.L. from McGill University and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.

Graduate of McGill University (B.Com.), Mr. Letko is also a CFA® charterholder. He joined the CN Investment Division in 1972 and was involved in virtually all areas of the CN Pension Fund’s activities. He reported to the President as Manager, Investments. As a senior member of the Pension Fund’s staff, he had responsibilities in the determination of investment policy for the Fund, as well as specific responsibilities for the management of portions of both private and publicly traded equities. He also represented the Pension Fund as a director on the boards of companies in diverse industries including leasing, real estate, oil and gas, and venture capital. He founded Letko Brosseau with Mr. Brosseau in 1987.

Dr. Marien is an orthopedic surgeon. He has been practicing medicine for 38 years in various Montreal hospitals including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal General Hospital and LaSalle General Hospital.

Dr. Marien is also Assistant Professor of Surgery at McGill University. He was awarded the Teacher of the Year Award in 1995.

He has also served as Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of the McGill Combined Orthopedic Lecture Series for Residents.

Dr Marien has been an active lecturer with a particular focus on his specialty, injuries and surgeries of the lower limbs.

Dr. Marien received a B.Sc. (Hon) Biology from Queen’s University and an M.D.C.M. from McGill University.