Leadership

CIGI’s Board of Directors provides oversight and governance of the organization’s financial stability, executive leadership and overall strategy. It includes global policy experts who provide intellectual guidance to CIGI on the broad scope of its research activities. The board consists of a chair, a treasurer and other directors, two of whom are designated by the Government of Canada, through the Department of Finance and Global Affairs Canada, respectively.

CIGI’s senior management implements the organization’s strategic plan and directs all aspects of its research program and operational activities.

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  • Paul Samson
    President of CIGI

    Paul Samson is president of CIGI. He has 30 years of experience across a range of policy issues with partners from around the world. He is a former senior government official and also served for many years as co-chair of the principal G20 working group on the global economy.

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    Shelley Boettger
    Chief Financial Officer and Director of Operations

    As CIGI’s chief financial officer and director of operations, Shelley Boettger provides corporate leadership and strategic guidance on all financial aspects of the organization. Shelley is responsible for the management of CIGI’s financial systems and investment portfolios, as well as for managing operations and providing financial advice to senior leadership.

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    Goran Dulava
    Director, Human Resources

    Goran Dulava is director of human resources at CIGI, where he leads the organization’s people and culture strategies, overseeing talent management, compensation and benefits, organizational development and employee experience initiatives.

  • Dianna H. English
    Director, Programs

    As the director of programs, Dianna H. English is at the nexus of CIGI’s policy research and operations while driving outcomes aligned to the organization’s strategic goals and priorities.

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    Tracey Forrest
    Research Director, Transformative Technologies

    Tracey Forrest is research director of transformative technologies at CIGI. She is a professional engineer and adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo, with domain experience across quantum, energy and technological innovation. She has held senior leadership roles with organizations and initiatives that support the impactful development and deployment of technology.

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    Noel Gruber
    Director, Communications and Public Affairs

    Noel Gruber is the director of communications and public affairs at CIGI. She is a public relations leader experienced in strategic communications for research, academic and non-profit organizations.

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    Emma Monteiro
    General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

    Emma Monteiro is CIGI’s general counsel and corporate secretary.

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    Odun Olowookere
    Research Director, Digital Economy

    Odun Olowookere is research director of digital economy at CIGI. His professional experience spans areas such as commercial litigation, corporate finance, financial transactions, energy infrastructure development regulation, and fintech and banking regulation. With an interdisciplinary background in law and finance, Odun’s work focuses on how technological change is reshaping money, monetary institutions and the global financial system.

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    Aaron Shull
    Research Director, Digitalization, Security & Democracy

    Aaron Shull is research director of digitalization, security and democracy at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). He is recognized as a leading expert on complex issues at the intersection of public policy, emerging technology, cybersecurity, privacy and data protection, and democratic resilience.

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    Jim Balsillie
    CIGI Founder and Chair of the CIGI Board of Directors

    In addition to his commitment to CIGI, Jim Balsillie is the founder of the Centre for Digital Rights, the Balsillie School of International Affairs, the Arctic Research Foundation and Canadian Shield Institute, and co-founder of the Institute for New Economic Thinking in New York, the Council of Canadian Innovators based in Toronto, and the Digital Governance Council in Ottawa.

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    Anil Arora
    Chief Statistician of Canada, Deputy Minister (Ret’d); Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School; and Global Digital Consultant, World Bank

    Anil Arora is a CIGI board member, adjunct lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School and former Chief Statistician of Canada where he led the modernization of Statistics Canada’s digital governance, technical and data infrastructure. He also co-authored and helped steer the Government of Canada’s data strategy. Anil dedicated his professional career to partnering with the business sector, academia and all orders of government.

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    Alison Gillwald
    Executive Director, Research ICT Africa (RIA)

    Alison Gillwald (PhD) is the Executive Director of Research ICT Africa (RIA), an African digital policy, regulatory and governance think-tank that works across 20 African countries.

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    Elissa Golberg
    Embassy of Canada to the Republic of Italy

    Elissa Golberg is a member of CIGI’s Board of Directors and the Ambassador of Canada to Italy, Albania, Malta, San Marino, and Permanent Representative of Canada to the UN Agencies in Rome (IFAD, FAO, WFP). Prior to this, she was Assistant Deputy Minister for Strategic Policy at Global Affairs Canada (2017-2021), the department’s Champion for Innovation and Experimentation, and Head of Performance Management and Results. 

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    Patrick Halley
    Assistant Deputy Minister, International Trade and Finance Branch, Canadian Department of Finance

    Patrick Halley is a member of CIGI’s Board of Directors and the assistant deputy minister of the International Trade and Finance Branch at the Canadian Department of Finance.

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    Melissa Hathaway
    President, Hathaway Global Strategies LLC

    Melissa Hathaway is president of Hathaway Global Strategies LLC and a member of CIGI’s Board of Directors.

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    Alison Loat
    Managing Director, Sustainable Investing and Innovation, OPTrust

    Alison Loat is a member of CIGI’s Board of Directors. Alison has 25 years of experience building, growing and leading high-impact, purpose-driven businesses and organizations and is an experienced director with board service in listed and private equity, and in the public and charitable/educational sectors.

    Previously a senior managing director at both OPTrust, and FCLTGlobal, Alison co-founded the Samara Centre for Democracy. She is the co-author of the bestseller Tragedy in the Commons.

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    Maureen O’Neil
    Former President, Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement

    Maureen O’Neil is the former president of the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement.