Bio
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.
Alison was a senior managing director at both OPTrust, one of Canada’s largest public pension plans, and FCLTGlobal (Focusing Capital on the Long Term), a non-profit organization that mobilizes companies and investors to focus capital on the long term to create lasting value. Her career began at McKinsey & Company, where her work centred on health-care and financial services. She also held several leadership roles in the health-care sector, including on the founding team of the MaRS (Medical and Related Sciences) Discovery District, today North America’s largest urban innovation ecosystem.
Alison has a deep commitment to public service. She co-founded and led the Samara Centre for Democracy, is the co-author of the best-selling book Tragedy in the Commons: Former Members of Parliament Speak Out About Canada’s Failing Democracy (Random House, 2014) and was a senior fellow and instructor at the University of Toronto, as well as president of the Canadian Club of Toronto.
She is also a board member of the Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund and Ridley College. She received the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, and has degrees from Queen’s University and the Harvard Kennedy School.