WDBA is led by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and governed by a board of directors who are responsible for overseeing the business activities and other affairs of WDBA. The board is comprised of up to nine members, including the CEO. All directors are approved by the Government of Canada with the Chair and CEO holding office for five years and the directors holding office for up to four years.

Tim Murphy

Mr. Murphy is an experienced infrastructure lawyer, company director and law firm manager with extensive experience in government. As a lawyer, Mr. Murphy has advised national and international clients in more than 100 infrastructure projects in Canada.

He has served on a variety of public company and volunteer boards of directors, including his current roles as Chair of the Board of Toronto Community Housing Corporation and as a director of Morguard REIT and Soulpepper Theatre. He previously served as a director of Legal Aid Ontario, and has also served as one of four members of the executive leadership team of McMillan LLP for the last six years.

Mr. Murphy’s extensive experience in the public sector includes his roles as Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Canada, Chief of Staff to the Finance Minister of Canada, Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario, and as a strategic advisor to governments at all levels.

He has served as an adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law teaching the Law and Policy of Public Private Partnerships at the JD and LLM levels. Mr. Murphy is also a member of the national public affairs firm McMillan Vantage Policy Group and is a leader of the firm’s Project Finance and P3 Group.

Mr. Allsop brings over 30 years of senior executive experience in a number of industries, including finance, banking and private equity. Mr. Allsop is currently a Partner with TVG Partners LLC, a U.S. based, real estate-focused private equity firm. 

Mr. Allsop was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of HSBC Securities (Canada), as well as a director of HSBC Global Asset Management (Canada) Ltd. He has also served in senior leadership roles at HSBC in investment banking in Toronto and London, including as Managing Director and Head of Global Infrastructure Fund Coverage. Mr. Allsop has a strong governance background and extensive experience in investment banking, accounting and consulting, and infrastructure lending domestically and internationally.

Originally from Windsor, Ontario, Mr. Allsop holds a Honours Business Administration from the Ivey Business School at Western University and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. He is a member of the Board of Governors of St. Clement’s School in Toronto, Ontario.

Karla Avis

Member of the Audit Committee and Member of the Project Oversight Committee

Karla Avis-Birch works for GO Transit, where over the past 6 years she has progressed from Project Financial Engineer to Manager, Controls and Standards, culminating in her recent career achievement as Vice President, RER New Stations and Off Corridor Infrastructure – Capital Projects Group. Within this role, she leads the development and quality control of design standards, provides oversight and guidance for project controls, is the functional administrator of the project management system, and oversees a business liaison team that includes procurement, realty, and legal.

Ms. Avis-Birch has a Bachelor Civil Engineering from Ryerson University and a P.Eng certification and is a past President of the Board of Directors for the Women in Transportation Seminars (WTS) Toronto Chapter.

Marie Campagna

Chair of the Audit Committee, Member of the Governance and Human Resources Committee and Member of the Project Oversight Committee

Marie Campagna has over 30 years of progressive experience in the public and private sectors. Her career has been rooted in finance and operational support and spanned many sectors including healthcare, automotive, logistics and pharmaceuticals.

She joined Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in 2012 and currently serves as the Vice President Corporate Services, New Business Development and Chief Financial Officer.

Since February of this year Ms. Campagna has served on the Board of Directors for Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. In addition, she is the Board Chair of Utilismart Corporation, Chair of Transform Shared Services Organization and a Member of the Board of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Campagna has also held many Board and committee positions with Essex Power Corporation, CMA Ontario and CMA Canada over the past 20 years.

Ms. Campagna holds a CPA (CMA) designation, a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Windsor, and is a Fellow and life member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario. In June 2015, she successfully completed the Directors Education Program and achieved her Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) designation.

 Judi Cohen

Chair of the Communications and Outreach Committee, Member of the Governance and Human Resources Committee and Member of the Project Oversight Committee

Judi Cohen is an accomplished business leader with over 35 years of executive level operational and profit and loss experience in the private and public sectors. Cohen has held senior leadership positions in diverse specialties related to transit, transportation, environmental assessment and compliance, public consultation strategy for large infrastructure projects, and property management at several organizations. Her public sector experience, from 1978 to 1997, included Transport Canada and the Toronto Transit Commission, while her private sectors executive level experience, from 1997-2013, included Vice President roles at Hatch Associates, UMA/AECOM, SNC-Lavalin and Teranet and Metrolinx.

Mrs. Cohen’s prior board experience included serving on the Toronto Police Services Board from 2005 to 2011, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Board, from 2004 to 2017, the Canadian Urban Transit Association Board, from 1985-2000, the Toronto Star Community Editorial Board, and has served as Chair of the Engagement and Change Board from 2014 to 2017. She is a graduate of the ICD Board Governance Course for Not-for-Profits and has significant provincial and federal board training for Crown Corporations. She has chaired numerous board committees including Governance and Human Resources of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Board.

Mrs. Cohen is currently a Freelance Travel Writer and Wellness Travel Expert. She is on the Executive of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) Toronto, and is an active volunteer in the not-for-profit sector.

Mrs. Cohen holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition as a Health Coach.

Ms. Reidel is President and Chief Executive Officer of ENWIN Utilities Ltd. and brings more than 34 years of senior executive and board director experience in the public and private sectors. She has also served in a variety of senior executive and operational roles with the Corporation of the City of Windsor, including: City Manager/Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and General Manager of Corporate Services.

A native of Windsor, Ontario, Ms. Reidel has a strong connection to the region. She is a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Windsor, the Board of Directors of the Motor City Community Credit Union, and previously held a number of volunteer appointments, including the United Way Centraide-Windsor Essex, the Windsor Public Library Board, and the Windsor Essex Children’s Aid Society.

Ms. Reidel is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds an ICD.D. from the Institute of Corporate Directors, as well as degrees in Commerce and Education from the University of Windsor.

Mr. Smith brings over 35 years of experience in commercial, institutional, residential, and industrial construction, delivering a wide range of construction projects. In his executive capacity in the construction industry Mr. Smith was responsible for the successful completion of some of Canada’s major infrastructure projects.

In 2019, Mr. Smith started MPa (Major Project Advisory), a consulting service that provides commercial best practice guidance and leadership development support to clients in the development and construction sector.

Mr. Smith has served on a number of boards of directors, including the Canadian Construction Association, and the Ontario General Contractors Association.

 

The Audit Committee is responsible to ensure transparent and accurate reporting of financial information; effective risk management practices; internal control; and the corporation’s standards of integrity and behavior. While the Auditor General of Canada is the corporation’s external auditor, the Audit Committee oversees WDBA’s internal audit function.

Marie Campagna

Committee Chair

Jeff Allsop

Committee Member

Judi Cohen

Committee Member

Tim Murphy

Ex Officio

 

The Communications and Outreach Committee assists the Board with respect to WDBA’s communications strategies and stakeholder relations efforts.

Judi Cohen

Committee Chair

Karla Avis-Birch

Committee Member

Tim Murphy

Ex Officio

 

The Governance and Human Resources Committee is responsible to develop effective corporate governance practices and to advise WDBA on a range of human resources issues to ensure that that appropriate strategies and plans are in place for the attraction, retention and succession of employees. The committee also will periodically review the corporation’s compensation structure and philosophy and human resource policies.

Helga Reidel

Committee Chair

Marie Campagna

Committee Member

Tim Smith

Committee Member

Tim Murphy

Ex Officio

 

The primary purpose of the Issues Resolution Committee is to assist the Board in providing direction and oversight to contract management.

Tim Smith

Committee Chair

Karla Avis-Birch

Committee Member

Jeff Allsop

Committee Member

Tim Murphy

Ex Officio

 

The Operational Readiness Committee assists, advises, and makes recommendations to the Board on matters concerning the future operations of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

Karla Avis-Birch

Committee Chair

Judi Cohen

Committee Member

Helga Reidel

Committee Member

Tim Murphy

Ex Officio