Metrolinx welcomes new members to its board of directors

TORONTO, July 20, 2012 /CNW/ - Metrolinx is pleased to announce the recommended appointment of three new members to its board of directors:

• Marianne McKenna, founding partner of Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects
• Professor Bonnie M. Patterson, President and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities
• Howard Lincoln Shearer, Chairman of the Board of Hitachi Power Systems Canada Ltd.

"Metrolinx is delighted to welcome Marianne McKenna, Bonnie Patterson, and Howard Shearer to our board," said Metrolinx Chair Robert Prichard. "They are outstanding citizens and their experience and skills will help Metrolinx fulfill its mission to transform transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area."

The new members have been recommended for appointed by the Government of Ontario, subject to review of the Standing Committee on Government Agencies. Each member will serve a term of three years, subject to renewal.

"It is important to have the right mix of corporate and public sector experience to help deliver an efficient transportation network that will meet the needs of the 6.6 million residents across the region," said Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Metrolinx is the Province of Ontario's regional transportation agency for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. For more information, go to www.metrolinx.com.

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Backgrounder

Metrolinx Welcomes New Members to the Board of Directors

Marianne McKenna
Marianne McKenna is a founding partner of Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects and is internationally recognized for making architecture that advances cultural and educational mandates and catalyses community building. Her projects include Le Quartler Concordia, an integrated vertical campus at Concordia University in Montreal; the Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre at the University of Waterloo; Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis and the Walker Arts Centre at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology.

In Toronto, Marianne's projects include the Royal Conservatory's TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning which earned KPMB its 11th Governor General's Medal; the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and a series of acclaimed workspaces for Torys LLP, Woodbridge Company and CTV Inc. She is currently directing the design of a new building for the Globe and Mail and the renovation and expansion of Massey Hall.

Marianne has judged a range of art competitions and currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Institute of Contemporary Culture for the Royal Ontario Museum. In 2010 she was selected as one of Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 by the Women's Executive Network.

Bonnie Patterson
Professor Bonnie M. Patterson is currently the President and CEO of the Council of Ontario Universities. Professor Patterson previously served as President of Trent University, and Dean of Business at Ryerson University.

Currently, she is a member of the Ontario government's Private Sector Advisory Committee, the Advisory Board for the Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation, and The Roberta Bondar Foundation. Professor Patterson also served as the province's representative on the founding board of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and has participated in many provincial advisory committees, including: the Biotechnology Commercialization Centre Fund; the Health Industries Advisory Committee on Sectoral Strategy Development; and the Centres of Excellence, Ontario Technology Fund.

In 2006, she was recognized by the Women's Executive Network with Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 award. In 2010, Professor Patterson was appointed to the Order of Ontario and as a Member of the Order of Canada for her contributions as a leader in postsecondary education.

Howard Lincoln Shearer
Howard Lincoln Shearer is the Chairman of the Board of Hitachi Power Systems Canada Ltd., and serves on the board of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy Canada Inc.

Prior to joining Hitachi, Mr. Shearer was employed in the high-tech industry by Texas Instruments and Murata Erie. Mr. Shearer is a member of the Board of Directors of the Independent Electricity System Operator, and serves on the boards of the following non-profit and public sector organizations: the Canadian Nurses Foundation, the Principal's Advisory Council (University of Toronto at Mississauga), the Canadian Studies Advisory Committee (University College, University of Toronto), Governing Council of the University of Toronto and the Board of Governors at McMaster University. Mr. Shearer also is a member of other professional organizations, including the Energy Council of Canada, the Canadian Nuclear Association and the Canadian Nuclear Society.

Media Contact:

Mark Ostler, Metrolinx
416-874-5975