Board of Directors

Jim Eisenhauer, Chair
(appointed as a director, January 2005)Lunenburg:  President, ABCO Group Limited

• NSBI Investment Committee

Janice Stairs, Vice Chair
(appointed as a director, September 2009)Halifax:  General Counsel, Namibia Rare Earths Inc.

• NSBI Audit Committee

Dan Christmas (appointed June 2010)Membertou:  Senior Advisor, Membertou Band Council & Membertou Corporate Division

• NSBI Audit Committee

Before assuming his current role, Mr. Christmas served Nova Scotia’s Mi’kmaw Nation in various leadership positions. He was Band Manager for the Community of Membertou for five years, and Director of the Union of Nova Scotia Indians for 10 years.

Mr. Christmas also identifies himself as a small business owner and Cape Bretoner, and strives to bring a community perspective to the board. He is an active member of many national, provincial, and local agencies in a variety of fields, including aboriginal treaty rights, justice, education, health care, and human rights.  Mr. Christmas is Chair of the Cape Breton Partnership and Co-Chair of Laurentian Energy Corporation.

Bert Frizzell (appointed September 2011)Halifax: President and CEO of The Shaw Group

• NSBI Investment Committee
  

Mr. Frizzell is on the Board of Governors of Acadia University and is a Director of Heritage Gas. His past positions include: director of Masonry Canada; director of the National Concrete Masonry Association (USA); director of Concrete Masonry Producers Association of Canada; and treasurer and past chair, Clay Brick Association of Canada. Mr. Frizzell is a graduate of Acadia University and Harvard Business School’s Executive Management Program. In 2008 he received his FCGA (Fellow of the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada).

Ray Ivany (appointed December 2010)Wolfville:  President & Vice-Chancellor, Acadia University

• NSBI HR Governance Committee     

Before becoming the President and Vice-Chancellor of Acadia University, Mr. Ivany, was Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia and principal of Ivany and Associates. He was President and CEO of the Nova Scotia Community College from 1998 to 2005. Prior to that he served as executive vice-president of the University College of Cape Breton.

Mr. Ivany has served on a range of boards, including the National Round Table on the Environment and Economy, and has advised various levels of government through such appointments as the Nova Scotia Premier’s Fiscal Management Taskforce. Mr. Ivany is also a recipient of the Top 50 CEO Hall of Fame award (inductees are five-time Top 50 CEO award winners).

• NSBI HR Governance Committee

Mr. Lewis is a respected educational, community and business leader in the province. He taught and served at the Nova Scotia Community College in various leadership roles, including more than 10 years as Principal of the Strait Area Campus.

In August 2011, Sandra McKenzie was appointed Acting Deputy Minister for the new department, Economic and Rural Development and Tourism.  She joined the Department of Economic and Rural Development in March 2010 as Chief Operating Officer and was appointed Associated Deputy Minister in January 2011.  Sandra has extensive government experience, with more than 23 years spent working for the Province of Nova Scotia, mainly in the fields of adult education, workforce development, and policy and planning primarily with the Department of Education.

• Chair, NSBI HR Governance Committee

Ms. Dyer Mann is a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society and former Partner with executive search firm Caldwell Partners International Inc. She is a recognized business leader and community volunteer, having served on numerous boards and committees.

• Chair, NSBI Investment Committee

• NSBI Investment Committee

Prior to his current role, Mr. Rath was President and COO of Halifax Cablevision Ltd., a cable television business with systems in Halifax, Yarmouth, Liverpool and Shelburne from 1985 to 1995.

Mr. Rath also brings business expertise to NSBI through his role as the Vice-President of Truro Centre Ltd. and as Past Chair of the Truro Industrial Society. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Erdene Resource Development Corp.

Ronald E. Smith (appointed May 2011)Yarmouth:  Former Senior Vice-President and CFO of Emera Inc. and subsidiary, Nova Scotia Power Inc.

• NSBI Investment Committee
  

Mr. Smith has an extensive background in the financial, telecommunications and energy sectors. A former Chief Financial Officer with Aliant Telecom Inc. and its predecessor, Maritime Telephone & Telegraph Ltd., he later served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Emera Inc. and its major subsidiary, Nova Scotia Power Inc.

Mr. Smith has recently completed terms as Chair of the Acadia University Board of Governors and the Nova Scotia Voluntary Planning Board and continues to serve on both boards.  He is currently a member of the boards of directors of AuRico Gold Inc. and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and serves as a trustee of the Nova Scotia Association of Health Organizations pension fund. Mr. Smith also serves as a member of the Canadian Accounting Standards Oversight Council.  He is a former National President of the Canadian Association for Community Living and former Chair of the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council.

• Chair, NSBI Audit Committee

Ms. Tower brings 15 years of experience in the retail and financial services industries to NSBI. Her former experience includes working with Grant Thornton, A.I. Tower and Ernst & Young. She has consistently demonstrated powerful leadership skills, with a focus on results, coupled with solid financial acumen.  It is this experience that earned her the designation of a Fellow Chartered Accountant.

Nancy is also a community leader, serving as a past member on the Board of Trustees of the QEII Hospital Foundation, as Chair of CAA Atlantic. She is also the former President of the Nova Scotia Institute of Chartered Accountants. 

• NSBI Investment Committee