Meet the team.

Hugh Hyndman is a graduate of Computer Science from the University of Toronto. He has worked in the software industry for his whole career, with engineering and management positions in Toronto, London, Singapore, and Mexico. While in Singapore, Hugh created a joint-venture company with Singapore Airlines that delivered software solutions to the ASEAN region.

In 1989, Hugh co-founded and managed Affinity Systems, a Mississauga- and Rochester-based software engineering company specializing in high-performance, low latency, software products. He sold his company to First Derivatives plc in 2015, a publicly-traded Northern Irish company specializing in front-office trading systems. Hugh led First Derivatives into new market verticals focusing on high-tech manufacturing. Hugh recently retired but is still active in developing software.

Hugh has served on the Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin Board for six years, presiding as Board Chair for four. He left the board for two years because of business commitments and re-joined in 2020. He is a member of two subcommittees of the board: Finance & Risk, and Planning & Development.

Hugh’s previous volunteer experience was with the Oakville Literacy Council, Scouts Canada, Acton Soccer Club, and Shred-for-Youth, and he is currently active in supporting the Bruce Trail Conservancy.

He and his wife Jane are long-term residents of Mississauga and Halton, living in Port Credit, Oakville, and now on their farm in Halton Hills. They have two grown sons and an uncountable number of animals.

Jeff Williams is a seasoned senior executive and general manager of large and successful global enterprises.  Over his career, he has led large tech-enabled service businesses to world-class performance levels. He is an experienced leader providing transformative, innovative, and strategic leadership to corporate and high-growth environments. He is a strong market, revenue, profit, and relationship builder. He is a motivational expert and servant leader who takes senior executive teams to new heights. He is a leader who has consistently demonstrated success in all market-facing and operational disciplines in B2B environments.

Jeff is a senior executive at DXC Technology.  DXC runs mission-critical systems with the latest technology innovations to deliver better business outcomes and new levels of performance, competitiveness, and experiences for its customers. DXC is a Fortune 500 company and represented in the S&P 500 Index.

Jeff is President of Alliance-One Services, a DXC Company that is the Insurance vertical market leader in business process services and enterprise technologies. Alliance-One serves 92% of the top Insurance companies in the Americas. Jeff is also President of ESIT, a DXC Company that owns and operates the company’s private and public sector businesses in Canada. Jeff’s primary responsibilities are to drive client satisfaction, to lead financial and operating performance, to grow leadership teams, and to the brand. In this role, Jeff has responsibility for a $1.2 billion dollar P&L, 10,000 colleagues and over 300 clients.

Prior to DXC, Jeff held executive roles at Alight Solutions, a world leader in Human Resource solutions. His roles included EVP – Global Professional Services, President – Alight Canada, EVP – Outsourcing and he also served as the company’s Chief Marketing Officer.  Prior to joining Alight, Jeff held senior executive roles at companies that included ADP and firms acquired by Blackstone, Concentrix, Vodafone, and Rogers.

Jeff is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School, earned his Master of Business Administration from a globally top-ranked program – The Ivey School at Western University – and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration and Political Science from Brock University.  He is currently Vice-Chair of his local Habitat for Humanity affiliate.

Having previously lived in the US and Europe, he and his wife Susan now reside in Oakville, Ontario with their twin teenagers – Kevin and Sabrina.

Robert is a CPA, CA, and holds a Master of Accountancy from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business. He has over 20 years of industry experience, in a broad range of business activities, in numerous and progressively more senior roles. He has worked in senior financial and strategic positions with emerging technology enterprises, multinational aerospace design, development and manufacturing, high-end audio-video firms and international dealership structures.

Currently, he is a professor in the Faculty of Business at Humber College, as well as a part-time Chief Financial Officer for a number of small and medium-sized clients. Previous to joining Habitat Halton-Mississauga, Robert held the chair position at the St. Julia Elementary School Council over the past eight years.

Robert is a long-time resident of Mississauga and has participated in numerous Habitat for Humanity builds during his time at Honeywell.

As Chief Human Resources Officer, Moneris Solutions Corporation, Denise Hayes is responsible for ensuring the overarching strategic approach in HR aligns with the business strategy on behalf of the corporation. Ms. Hayes, and her team, define the overall HR strategy including talent attraction, development and retention to fulfill Moneris’ Employee Value Proposition and drive an overall rewarding employee experience.

Since joining Moneris in 2014, Ms. Hayes has transformed the HR function. She has been instrumental in launching a culture journey that continues to evolve, fostering a culture of collaboration and creativity at Moneris, while building effective talent and HR programs that continue to contribute to the enhancement of employee engagement. She has set the tone for Moneris to be repeatedly recognized as a leading employer in Canada.

Ms. Hayes is a seasoned HR leader, with over 25 years of experience in HR strategy at the executive level. Prior to joining Moneris, she held executive HR roles in the healthcare and HCM sectors, where she helped prepare these organizations for immense growth and expansion.

Ms. Hayes graduated from the Ivey Business School at Western University with an executive MBA. She has also successfully completed the Directors Education Program from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management, and holds the ICD designation. Ms. Hayes has volunteered on non-profit boards, including the Living Arts Centre and Mohawk Shared Services.

Jim Spitali is the Senior Vice President of Operations at Sagen (formerly Genworth Canada)  Jim is responsible for developing and executing strategies that optimize operational effectiveness while improving the customer experience. His focus is on driving productivity and operational efficiencies through innovation.

Jim has more than 17 years of experience in the financial services sector. Prior to joining Genworth Canada in 2015, Jim held various positions in Retail Banking, Wealth Management, and Sales Strategy with CIBC and Meridian Credit Union. Jim has a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Brock University and an MBA from Dalhousie University.  He has served as a Board Director with Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Niagara.

Jim and his wife Megan have lived in Burlington for over 9 years and currently reside in Oakville with their daughters Mila and Sienna.

Mike has been a Habitat volunteer since 2003 and has served as a Board Director on various committees and task forces since 2009.

After receiving an Honours Bus Admin (finance) degree from Wilfrid Laurier University he pursued follow-up studies in corporate finance at Harvard Business School. He is also certified in Not for Profit Board Essentials at The Institute of Corporate Directors Rotman School of Management. He has a professional background in corporate lending and investment banking. His 25-year career with TD Bank included executive leadership positions in several operating units in the U.S and Head Office Toronto. He has owned and operated a commercial finance company and has acted as a corporate financial consultant for many years.

Mike has served as a Board Director on several National Health Charities including Diabetes Canada and The National Diabetes Trust as Chair of the Audit Committee, as well as Vice-Chair of The Diabetes National Advocacy Council.

In 2014 Mike was recognized among 65,000 volunteers at Diabetes Canada as National Volunteer of the year. He and his wife Jan are avid travellers and reside in Burlington.

Safety Manager Kiewit Corporation – Eastern Canada District. Habitat build volunteer since 2011 assisting with site builds and on-site safety.  Currently sitting on the following:

• MOL’s (Ministry of Labour) prevention council which advises the Minister of Labour.
• Board of directors for the IHSA (Infrastructure Health and safety association.)
• Chair of the OHBA (Ontario Home Builders Association) health and safety committee. (BOD)
• Section 21 committee representing management for low-rise residential.
• Member of the Construction Legislative Review Committee (CLRC).
• Member of the Conestoga College Occupational Health, Safety and Wellness Program Advisory Committee.

Former teacher in South America with IBEU (Instituto Brasil-Estados Unidos) and CELEP.  Received award for safety professional of the year from the CSSE (Canadian Society of Safety Engineering).  Attended the Mayville state College & University of Regina in the faculty of education.

Lynn Fergusson, a founding Partner at Social Impact Advisors, helps non-profit and social purpose organizations across Canada focus on their results and achieve a meaningful social impact.  She is a strategy coach/facilitator in the McConnell Foundation’s “Innoweave” program, helping non-profits and cross-sector collectives improve their impact.  In addition, Lynn teaches Strategic Philanthropy & Leadership at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, where she has also taught Corporate Social Responsibility & Sustainability in the MBA program. Her background includes various leadership roles at GE, including on the National Executive and leading the employee volunteer organization in Canada.

Lynn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Honours Business Administration from Ivey, an MBA from Schulich and a Certificate in Adult Training & Development from OISE (University of Toronto).  She was a proud member of the Habitat for Humanity Halton board from 2008-2014 and is delighted to return to the expanded Habitat affiliate.

Social Impact Advisors is a Certified B Corp, meeting higher standards of transparency, accountability and performance, using the power of business to solve social and environmental problems and offering a positive vision of a better way to do business. Social Impact Advisors is among B The Change’s 2018 Best For The World Honorees.

Mike is President and a founding Partner of COREinternational, which focuses on unleashing human capability and accelerating profitable, sustainable results for large complex businesses, and is a recognized leader in strategic organization design.  Along with management of the business, he provides advisory services in a variety of industries and sectors, including communications, financial services, pharmaceutical, biotech, retail, transportation, automotive and natural resources.

Mike has a Master of Business Administration, Finance & Human Resource Management from the University of Windsor, as well as bachelor degrees in Social Work, and Sociology from McMaster University.  Mike has a long history of volunteerism.  He has been an HFHHM board member since 2011 as well as a member of the HR & Governance committee.  Mike and his wife Lisa are Burlington residents where they raised 3 children. In his spare time, he is an avid runner, skier, and cyclist.

Ameeta is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA) with over 20 years of extensive regulatory, compliance, audit, risk management and international work experience. She has provided strategic advice, leadership and operational advisory support throughout her career. At PriceWaterhouseCoopers, she specialized in the audit of investment companies, after which she joined the Bermuda Monetary Authority, operationalized a compliance monitoring regime, risk assessment programs, managed a $100M fixed income portfolio and conducted investigations and enforcement work. She later joined Fidelity Investments International where she developed its local regulatory regime.

Ameeta is currently the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Social Venture Connexion (SVX) where she has been for more than 5 years. Ameeta oversees compliance with corporate policies, relevant laws and regulations, as well as governance and financial operations for SVX. She is responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance of compliance policies, operational procedures and internal control processes as well as all financial matters including preparation of financial budgets and forecasts.

She also holds a degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Western Ontario and the CSC, PDO, EMPC and CCO. Ameeta is on the Board of both the Verge Breakthrough Fund and the Oakville Community Foundation, and she Chairs the Program Related Investments Committee of the OCF.

SVX is a financial services firm that designs strategies, manages products, and raises capital for impact ventures, funds, organizations and investors. SVX works with ventures and funds across sectors by preparing them for investor due diligence, providing advice for their capital raising strategy, providing access to the SVX platform to manage their investments, and connecting them to investors.

Director, Construction Operations. Sami is a civil engineer with over 15 years of experience in the construction industry.  He was previously employed as a General Site Superintendent by EllisDon where he managed the construction operations of multiple sites.

Sami has specialized knowledge of structural foundations gained from working as a Superintendent for GFL.  Sami holds a Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Engineering from the University of Toronto and is a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO).

Phil is a well-rounded property executive with thirty-five years of international experience leading teams of all sizes in the successful development, delivery and operations of projects containing hospitality, leisure, multi-family residential and retail projects. They’ve ranged in size from small specialty projects to super-regional mixed-use developments located in Canada, China, India, the UAE and the USA.

He was the Founding Chair of the Nipissing Habitat for Humanity affiliate based in North Bay, Ontario and, along with the other Board members, led the delivery of several builds from 2000 to 2006.

He is looking forward eagerly to contributing his knowledge and energy to the ongoing success of the Halton-Mississauga-Dufferin Affiliate.

 

Senior International Retailer.  Lora Tisi has over 35 years of experience as an International Retailer, leading several team’s brand and business growth, including revenue and profit-building, Merchant and Brand leadership.

Most recently, as President of the RW&CO Brand for Reitmans (Canada) Limited, delivering 18 Consecutive quarters of sales and margin growth. Menswear results were particularly strong, with Product and Brand collaboration with NHL Superstars, such as PK Subban, Erik Karlsson, Morgan Reilly and Mark Scheifele, resulting in significant sales and market share increases across both genders.

In 2000, Lora became President of American Eagle Outfitters and launched the Brand across Canada. The team was successful with the banner launch, opening 46 stores, coast to coast in 108 days, exceeding first-year profit targets, and becoming the “Brand of Choice” for Canadian teens.

Prior to American Eagle, Lora spent 17 years building the four-banner, two-country, 900 store chain, The Northern Group. By leveraging the marquis brand, Northern Reflections, total sales grew to C$1Billion. Unquestionably, the US store’s result is a proud achievement, as this success eclipsed any other Canadian apparel entry into the US for sales, growth and profit.

Currently, Lora is exploring her mixed-race Six Nations Indigenous Ancestry, creating change, hope, unity and Self Determination for Indigenous Peoples, mentoring several Indigenous Companies and serving on the Board of Directors for the Indigenous Advanced Education Skills Council as well as the Board of Governors for Niagara College.