Faculty Advisory Board

President, Sager Food Products Inc.

Tony Fata is President of Sager Foods Products Inc., a manufacturer of vegetable oils, olive oils and other food products. He is also the Lead Independent Director of Saputo Inc. and the Chair of the Corporate Governance and Human Resources Committee of the board. Earlier in his career, Tony was Executive Director of Investment Banking for CIBC World Markets (previous CIBC Wood Gundy) in both Montreal and Toronto, where he was actively involved in various equity and debt issues as well as numerous merger and acquisition transactions. Tony is a member of the Québec Bar and also worked at Norton Rose Fulbright (formerly Ogilvy Renault). He has been actively involved in the community serving on various charitable and not-for-profit organizations including serving on the board of Lower Canada College for 12 years including 4 years as Chair. After graduating from McGill, Tony earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. He is married to Teresa, also a McGill graduate (B.Sc. Chemistry), and together they have two boys aged 18 and 19.

Managing Director, Saturnia Asset Management

Jonathan Amiel is Managing Director at Saturnia Asset Management, a Montreal-based family office where he manages the firm's private equity, real estate and investment portfolios. In addition, he is the Chief Executive Officer of Maroline Inc., the Canadian distributor of Sub-Zero and Wolf kitchen appliances.

Equally committed to public service and community leadership, Jonathan has served as the Chairman of the Board of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation, as a Director of the McGill University Health Centre, as President of the Board of Trustees of Solomon Schechter Academy, and on numerous governmental committees and fundraising campaigns. He is the 2020 recipient of the DGDM Family Foundation Community Award of Excellence for his life-long contributions to the Montreal community.

Jonathan received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and his JD and Bachelor's degree from McGill University. He currently resides in Westmount, Quebec, with his wife Heather and their four children.

Partner, Stikeman Elliott LLP 

Marc Barbeau is Air Canada's Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer and is a member of its Executive Committee. He leads Air Canada’s Law Branch and oversees the company’s legal functions and strategies. 

Prior to joining Air Canada in July 2021, Marc was Chair of Stikeman Elliott LLP and a member of its Partnership Board and Executive Committee. He has practiced for more than 30 years in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and governance, and offered guidance to businesses and their senior leaders and board of directors as they navigated through transformative transactions, partnerships and other pivotal moments.  

Marc holds law degrees from McGill University (B.C.L./LL.B. 1984) and Université de Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (DÉA 1985), and is a member of the Quebec and New York Bars. Marc is on the Faculty Advisory Board and is an Adjunct Professor in Corporate Finance at McGill University’s Faculty of Law, from which he received the James A. Robb Award for his support of its academic endeavours. He served on a pro bono committee of experts that advised the Québec Ministers of Finance that led a long-awaited reform of its business corporations legislation. 

President Emeritus, Jewish General Hospital Foundation

For nearly two decades, Myer Bick was the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish General Hospital Foundation.

Mr. Bick, born and educated in Montreal, holds both a BA and BCL from McGill University. His work experience extends from being the National Program Director of the Canadian Zionist Federation and National Executive Director of the Canada Israel Committee, to his most recent prior position of Vice-President, Management and Operations, Canpro Investments Ltd., an international real estate development firm.

He has devoted much of his time to community service. At present, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Azrieli Foundation; the Segal Centre for Performing Arts; and the Association des fondations de santé et de services sociaux de Québec (AFESAQ).

President and CEO, Woodbridge Company Ltd

David Binet is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Woodbridge Company Limited, the principal investment holding company for Canada's Thomson family. Woodbridge's largest asset is its majority stake in Thomson Reuters Corporation, listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges, and it has numerous other investments.

David is Deputy Chairman of Thomson Reuters, and also serves on the board of directors of Woodbridge, The Globe and Mail, and a number of other companies in which Woodbridge has invested. David is Chairman of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, a London-based charity dedicated to journalism training and promoting the rule of law. David recently completed two terms as Chairman of The National Ballet of Canada, and is also on the board of directors of Canada Council for the Arts, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Business for the Arts, and the Council for Canadian American Relations.

Before joining Woodbridge, David was a partner in the Canadian law firm Torys LLP, where his practice focused on mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance. Prior to that, he was a news reporter.

David attended Queen's University (BA Hons), McGill University (LLB) and Northwestern University (MSJ), and he has received certification from the Institute of Corporate Directors (Canada).

Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Ariel Deckelbaum is a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, in New York City. He is a deputy chair of the Corporate Department and a member of the Mergers and Acquisitions Group, the Private Equity Transactions Group and the Canadian Practice Group. Ariel's practice is diverse with extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, alternative asset management and restructuring transactions. Ariel serves on the advisory board of DealLawyers.com and on the Board of Directors of the New Classroom Innovation Partners and The Lawyers Alliance for New York.

Entrepreneur and Chairman and CEO, Exro Technologies

Mark Godsy is a Vancouver entrepreneur. He has been involved in as many as 50 ventures – many of which are companies that are socially responsible while offering significant commercial opportunity based upon solving a big problem. After leaving the practice of law in the 1980s, Mark was involved in helping to set up a bank for mining companies and several other projects, before co-founding his first company, ID Biomedical. This company became the largest company to come out of UBC where they licensed their initial technology and later became Canada's provider of vaccines and the fifth largest vaccine company in the world.

Mark then co-founded Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, which developed the first coated stent, which has saved million lives worldwide. Currently Mark is active with four companies, of which two are dedicated to the clean technology sector.

Mark grew up in Kamloops and later attended UBC where he got his BA and then went to McGill where he achieved his LLB. Mark has also been involved in many community efforts such as coaching at Blackcomb to mentoring junior biotech CEOs. He describes his life as one of adventure and learning, while seeking to contribute where he can to help make the world a better place.

Partner, Head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group, Stikeman Elliott

Sophie Lamonde is a partner and Head of the Mergers & Acquisitions Group at Stikeman Elliott. Her practice is directed primarily to the areas of mergers & acquisitions and private equity, with a particular focus on cross-border transactions. Sophie's experience includes advising several Canadian and foreign clients in acquisitions, divestitures, reorganizations and general commercial negotiations. She works with businesses in various industries, including retail, manufacturing biotechnology, contract research and communications.

Sophie is a member of the Canadian Bar Association and the American Bar Association, where she participates actively in the Committee on Mergers & Acquisitions as well as the Committee on Venture Capital and Private Equity of the ABA Section of Business Law. She is a member of the Associates Committee and the Montréal office's Gender Balance Initiative.

Sophie is a member of the board of directors of the PalliAmi Foundation and the board of directors of Réseau Capital. Sophie has also lectured in Business Law at the Faculty of Law, McGill University and participated in numerous panels and conferences on mergers and acquisitions.

Partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg

John Lennard is a partner at Davies and works closely with leading private and public companies, as well as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, private equity firms and Crown corporations, on corporate reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate finance matters. He also advises high­net­worth individuals on a wide variety of taxation matters.

In addition to his tax planning practice, John represents taxpayers in tax audit matters and in disputes with the Canada Revenue Agency and provincial taxation authorities, and acts as counsel in tax litigation matters before the courts.

A frequent speaker at tax conferences and contributor to various tax publications, John is particularly well regarded for his thought leadership on the tax and legal issues surrounding financial technology and the budding blockchain industry.

John is a graduate of McGill University, where he completed a Bachelor of Common Law and a Bachelor of Civil Law (Highest Standing in Corporate Taxation), as well as from Laurentian University, with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce.

John serves as Chair of the Young Alumni of McGill Faculty of Law. He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association's Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Committee, and is an active volunteer with Centraide of Greater Montréal, serving as a member of its Major Donor Cabinet and a director of the Foundation Centraide du Grand Montréal.

President, Newport Sports Management

Donald E. Meehan is the President of Newport Sports Management Inc. Mr. Meehan founded the firm in 1981 and has established the company as the most successful player agent business in the hockey industry worldwide.Newport Sports Management Inc. currently represents over 130 players actively playing in the National Hockey League including Rasmus Dahlin, Steven Stamkos, PK Subban, Dion Phaneuf, Henrik Lundqvist, Alex Pietrangelo, Erik Karlsson and Corey Perry to name but a few.

Mr. Meehan graduated from the Faculty of Law of McGill University in 1975. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1977 and since then has been a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Mr. Meehan has been recognized by The Sporting News as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Sport. He has also been recognized by The Hockey News as one of the 100 People of Power and Influence in Hockey and by The Globe and Mail as one of the 25 Most Influential People in Canadian Sport.

Mr. Meehan has also represented the National Hockey League Officials Association as well as numerous coaches, and broadcasters during his career. He is a very active charitable supporter of the Lions Foundation of Canada Dog Guides Program in Oakville, Ontario.

Vice-president, Programming, French-Language TV, Bell Media

Dany Meloul is Vice-President, Programming, French-Language TV at Bell Media since October 2015.

She is at the helm of all activities pertaining to scheduling, planning, original content, and acquisitions for Bell Media's French-Language specialty channels Canal Vie, Canal D, Z, VRAK, and Investigation, as well as pay services Super Écran and Cinépop.

At Bell Media, she also held the position of Assistant General Counsel, Québec and previously, with Astral Broadcasting Group Inc., she was Vice-President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs and Affiliates Relations for the company's specialty channels. Before joining Bell Media, she was Director, Chief Legal Officer and Assistant Secretary of Transcontinental Inc. and Senior Counsel for Alcan Inc. in Canada and in the United States. Dany graduated from McGill University Faculty of Law in 1988 with Civil Law and Common Law degrees, and is a member of the Québec Bar as well as the New York Bar.

Dany is President of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council for the province of Québec. She is also a member of the Board of Directors for INIS (National Sound and Image Institute), ACCT (Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Québec Section), The Fonds Harold Greenberg and The Bell Fund.

Vice-Chair and Secretary of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation Board

Katrin (Kathy) Nakashima is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation in addition to being Co-Chair of its Investment Committee and a member of its Executive, Nomination, and Governance Committees. In 2017, she served as the Foundation's Interim President. She is also a member of the advisory board for the Montreal Children's Hospital (the Council for Services to Children and Adolescents) and its Executive Committee.

Kathy is a member of the Governing Board of Mackay Centre School, a supra-regional school for severely disabled children, and was instrumental in helping the English Montreal School Board obtain $23 million from the Quebec government for new, state-of-the-art premises. She also is a director of UNICEF Canada.

Kathy earned B.Sc. (Honours), and BCL and LLB degrees at McGill University. She practiced law for nine years at a corporate-commercial boutique firm, becoming a co-managing partner at a young age and one of the first women in Montreal to do so. From there, she joined Imasco, a consumer goods and services conglomerate for nine years. As Vice-President and Corporate Secretary, she reported directly to the Chairman of the Board until Imasco was taken private.

Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Patrick M. Shea is a partner at the Montreal office of McCarthy Tétrault LLP. Patrick is an M&A lawyer and is co-head of his firm’s private equity group. Patrick received his Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University in 1995 and he spent the first five years of his legal career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York City. He is a member of both the New York and Quebec Bars. Patrick has taught a number of business law courses at McGill’s Faculty of Law. Patrick also volunteers his time for a number of foundations, charities and other not-for-profit organizations. He has held numerous leadership positions in connection with past capital and annual fundraising campaigns for McGill’s Faculty of Law (including having led a $750,000 campaign in 2009), Princeton University, Loyola High School, McGill University Health Centre and Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal.

Managing Director, Partner, High Tower Advisors

Jordan Waxman is Managing Partner of HSW Advisors, a leading independent, private wealth advisory group operating from HighTower, a national, advisor-owned financial services company serving high-net-worth and institutional clients. Waxman earned the AIF Designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies in 2013 and specializes in tax, wealth transfer and estate planning, as well as in asset risk management, providing creative advice for hedging clients' equity, fixed income, currency, commodity and real estate risks. He advises on the structure and execution of onshore and offshore trust solutions, and counsels on philanthropic planning issues and techniques.

An in-demand financial expert, Waxman has been featured in a number of prominent news outlets including: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, CNBC, Bloomberg Radio, and Fox Business. He has been named as a Top 100 Financial Advisor in the US by Forbes, a Top 100 Independent Advisor by Barrons, Top 300 by the Financial Times and holds numerous other peer and industry-led accolades.

A dedicated alumnus, Waxman has guest-lectured on Investments to BCom students at the Desautels Faculty of Management since 2009. In addition, he is a Director of Friends of McGill Inc. and a member of the Investment Management Expert Panel (New York). As Chair of his 1992 Class Action Committee, Waxman helped spearhead the campaign to raise money for the Michelin Scholarship in the Faculty of Law. He was profiled for Campaign McGill: Going the Distance for McGill.

Waxman is a competitive Ironman, tri-athlete and a marathon swimmer.  He is married to Caren Waxman and they have three children.

Managing Partner, Kugler Kandestin

Arthur Wechsler has spent his entire legal career, of almost 30 years, at Kugler Kandestin. He became a partner in 1998 and was appointed Managing Partner in 2012. He maintains his full litigation practice while overseeing the firm's Management Committee.

Arthur's fields of concentration include Bodily and Personal Injury, Medical Malpractice, Civil and Commercial Litigation, Insurance and Class Actions. Arthur is one of the attorneys at Kugler Kandestin who most often handles cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that the firm's remuneration for services rendered will only be earned upon obtaining compensation for the client. He has represented a countless number of severely injured and compromised clients as well as companies in litigation matters before the Québec Superior Court and Québec Court of Appeal. He has been lead counsel in many significant judgments and settlements in the Province of Québec.

Having been retained as counsel by Québec residents who have sustained serious injuries in other countries, Arthur has worked with attorneys around the world in advancing personal injury cases in other jurisdictions.

He has been consistently recognized in the “List of Best Lawyers in Canada” in the field of Bodily and Personal Injury. In 2014, he was recognized as the leading Personal and Bodily Injury lawyer in the Province of Québec.

Arthur is fluently bilingual, is a lecturer at the McGill Faculty of Law, and gives seminars in the field of Bodily and Personal Injury Litigation and Class Actions.

Partner, Stikeman Elliott LLP

David Weinberger is a partner in the Mergers & Acquisitions, Capital Markets, Securities and Private Equity Groups at Stikeman Elliott.

David has significant experience advising both bidders and targets in hostile and negotiated merger and acquisition transactions. He has advised underwriters and issuers on numerous financing transactions, including IPOs, bought deals and private placements in a variety of sectors including, technology, real estate, diversified products, retail, media, telecommunications, gaming and financial services.

David's private equity practice focuses on advising on investments, acquisitions, going private and exit transactions. David's securities practice includes advising public companies on governance, disclosure, and transactional matters.

Prior to joining Stikeman Elliott, David practiced at another major Canadian law firm where he developed a significant M&A, income trust and REIT practice.

David is a graduate of McGill University, where he completed a Bachelor of Commerce, a Bachelor of Common Law and a Bachelor of Civil Law.

David has received several accolades, including being listed as a leading lawyer in REITs in Chambers Canada 2019; International Financial Law Review's IFLR1000: The Guide to the World's Leading Financial Law Firms 2019 as Highly Regarded in Capital Markets: Equity, Investment Funds and Private Equity; The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory 2019 as a leading lawyer in Corporate Mid-Market, Corporate Finance & Securities, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Private Equity and Lexpert/ROB Special Edition: Canada's Leading Corporate Lawyers, May 2019.