Lang's Advisory Board

Dr. Mann holds a PhD in Management from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. She is also an Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Strategic Human Resource Management at the University of Guelph. Prior to her role as Dean, Dr. Mann was the Associate Dean (Academic) within the Lang School.

Dr. Mann's expertise includes employment issues, performance management, selection, and compensation.  Her research has been published in the International Review of Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Human Resource Management Review, the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies and more. She has delivered dozens of Executive Training seminars to organizations including Toronto Police Service, Waterloo Regional Police, Ontario Agribusiness Association, Syngenta, Thompsons Ltd., Southwest Ag, and many others. 

Her current research focuses on the application of mainstream management theory to the Agri-Food sector in rural Ontario. It also involves several projects using Statistics Canada’s Workplace and Employee Survey.

Joan Fisk was appointed Chief Executive Officer of United Way Waterloo Region Communities in July 2017. She previously served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Waterloo Wellington Local Health Integration Network, a position she started in June 2011.  She is also the Director of both Gore Mutual Insurance and the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony, Vice President of Membership for International Women’s Forum, Governor of Wilfrid Laurier University and President of Joan Fisk Design. Joan has also held the position of President and CEO for both the Greater Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce and Tiger Brand Knitting Company Limited, where she was also Head Designer.

Joan received a Bachelor of Applied Home Economics and studied Clothing and Faculty of Family and Consumer Studies at the University of Guelph.  She has been the recipient of the YWCA of Cambridge Women of Distinction Award in both Categories of Education and Women in Business.  Joan has also received the Laurier Outstanding Business Leader Award from Wilfrid Laurier University, the Conestoga Board of Governors Award and the Commemorative Medal for 125th Confederation of Canada.

Dr. Mark Goldberg is an entrepreneur with a wealth of experience in drug research and as a regulatory consultant.

He served as President and CEO of GlobalTox, a privately owned international corporation that he founded in 1992 to provide services in product testing and registration, human and environmental toxicology, and risk assessment. GlobalTox was purchased by MTE Consultants Inc. in 2009.  

Dr. Goldberg received a B.Sc. in biology from the University of Western Ontario in 1974 and a PhD in pharmacology from the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University in 1980. He did his postdoctoral work in biochemical and genetic toxicology at the Ontario Cancer Institute.

He joined the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Ontario Veterinary College of the University of Guelph in 1982, and was a tenured faculty member until 1994. He was awarded the University of Guelph's Forster Fellowship, given annually to the university's top researcher in 1987. Dr. Goldberg is the author of more than 50 scientific publications, primarily in the cancer research field.

Dr. Goldberg is board-certified by the American Board of Toxicology, one of only 68 board-certified toxicologists working in Canada. He has also received the Chartered Directors (C.Dir.) designation from The Directors College.

Paul Hanna is Executive Vice President, Member Relations, Governance and Corporate Services for The Co-operators Group of Companies.  In his role, Paul works with the organization's member organizations to ensure strong business and governance relationships are maintained and strengthened.  Paul is also responsible for organizational governance with the Co-operators Group Limited Board of Directors and its many committees in addition to having operational oversight for several other corporate functions including government relations, human resources, legal, sustainability and citizenship.  Prior to hs current role, Paul spent many years as Vice President Strategic Planning with Co-operators.

Paul has 25 years of co-operative experience working in various operational and governance capacities and he currently sits as Chair of ICMIF's Intelligence Committee and serves as a director on the local hospital in Guelph where he resides with his wife Karen and two children.

Paul holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Western Ontario, a Masters in Adult Education from Central Michigan University and the C.I.P. designation.

After obtaining a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Guelph in 1982, Muneer went on to get an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University in 1985.  He has been involved with the technology business since then.  His roles in the corporate technology world have included Vice President Marketing for SAP Canada, Vice President and General Manager for i2 Canada, and President of Hitachi Solutions Canada.  The common thread running through these roles has been the accelerated profitable growth these companies experienced under Muneer’s leadership.

Since 2015 Muneer has been an investor in early-stage technology companies with a particular focus on Enterprise Software. He works with leadership teams in his portfolio companies to help them scale their business and realize successful exits.

His volunteering activities have included participating on the Board of TechConnex, acting as a CEO mentor at Entrepreneur Organization, and being an Executive at Large at the Toronto Cloud Business Coalition. He is also a member of York Angel Investors.

Jim Jarrell joined Linamar Corporation in June 1991 as Director of Marketing. He was previously employed by Magna International in the position of Sales Manager. In November 1993, Jim accepted the position of General Manager of Linamar's Roctel division. In June 1995, Jim was promoted to Group Vice President and assumed responsibility for the start-up of Comtech Manufacturing Ltd..

In 1996, as Linamar's reporting structure changed, Jim assumed responsibility for Hastech, Roctel, Comtech, Vehcom, Diversa Cast and LPP, the engine assembly plant.  Jim was fully responsible for the management of these multiple operations while ensuring customer satisfaction; employee satisfaction and profitability objectives were met.

Jim was promoted to the position of Chief Operating Officer in September 1999 and assumed responsibility for the Linamar Sales Department in November 2003.

On August 11, 2004 Jim was appointed to the position of President of Linamar Corporation in addition to his current duties.

Jaya James, a lifelong Guelph resident and University of Guelph graduate, is passionate about community building and has devoted much of her time to walking with people through life’s challenges and celebrations.

Jaya is the Executive Director of HOPE House a downtown Guelph organization that offers services and programs to community members experiencing poverty that allow them to maintain their dignity and choice, while simultaneously providing them with practical skills developed in a community environment. Her previous work experience includes working for the provincial government as a policy advisor where she has researched food access opportunities and challenges, and working as a commercial banker for a major commercial bank.

Now retired, Warren Jestin was Scotiabank’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President. Before joining Scotiabank in 1979, he spent a number of years working in the Research Department at the Bank of Canada and teaching in the economics departments of several Canadian universities. He earned an MA in Economics at the University of Guelph in 1971 and was awarded his doctorate from the University of Toronto in 1977. He is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council and has been involved with economic policy committees of the Canadian and Ontario Chambers of Commerce and the Toronto Board of Trade. He also is on the Board of the Markham-Stouffville Hospital. In his role as Chair of Scotiabank’s Sponsorship and Donations Committee, Warren works closely with a wide variety of Canadian charitable institutions. Dr. Jestin is a sought-after public speaker on national and international economic issues, and we are extremely fortunately to have him provide guest lectures to our undergraduate students. However, his involvement at the University goes beyond the occasional guest lecture. He has served on the Board of the University of Guelph Heritage Fund and on the Board of Governors for the University of Guelph.

Bill is an experienced business executive with an extensive background in both business and not for profit association management. His career commenced in education where he taught at Ridley College in St. Catharines, Ontario. He then moved into the corporate world in human resources management with such companies as the Bay, Scintrex Inc., Royal Trust, Paul Revere Life Insurance and Glaxo Canada.

Following his career in human resources Bill moved into public affairs management as Director of Government Relations with GlaxoWellcome Inc. During his ten years in this role Bill was instrumental in growing the public affairs function to be one of the leaders in the pharmaceutical industry. He also assumed a leadership role in the successful industry lobby to bring about changes in Canada’s intellectual property protection for brand name pharmaceuticals. He was awarded the industry’s President’s Award in 1998 for this effort. 

In 2000 Bill moved into the world of not for profit and association management as a CEO of such organizations as St. John Ambulance in Ontario, the Ontario Community Newspapers Association and the Chicken Farmers of Ontario. During this period Bill worked on contracts through his consulting firm, Parkelaw Inc. with such clients as R. X .and D., the Ontario Hospital Association, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the Multiple Sclerosis Association of Canada , the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute, The Biotechnology Initiative in Toronto, and the Canadian Assistive Devices Association.

Bill’s volunteer activities have included Chair and CEO of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, President of the Empire Club of Canada, President of the Metropolitan Toronto Lung Association and sitting on the Boards of the Queensway General Hospital, Erindale College in Mississauga, the Joseph Brant Hospital Foundation, the University of Guelph Alumni Association, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the Public Affairs Association of Canada and the John Howard Society of Ontario. He now sits on the advisory board of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Guelph and the campaign team raising 20 million dollars for the University's new athletic complex.

Bill is a graduate of the University of Guelph, Honours BA, and he also holds a B.Ed from Queen’s University, an M.Ed from the University of Toronto and he has post graduate studies in history at Queen’s University. Bill is also a Certified Human Resources Professional.

Bill lives in Burlington. Ontario with his wife Sara who is an executive with Intact Insurance and they have two grown children, Kate and Elizabeth.

Stu Lang is a longtime Guelph-area resident and friend of U of G. Stu played professional football for eight years with the Edmonton Eskimos before joining the family business, CCL Industries. He served as U of G’s head varsity football coach for six years, compiling the best winning percentage in University history, including capturing the Yates Cup in 2015. He is now a team adviser.

In April 2019, Stu and Kim Lang donated $21-million to boost the global reputation and impact of the business school. It is the largest gift in U of G history, renaming the business school to the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, which honours Stu's late father and renowned Canadian business leader, Gordon Lang.

Robin-Lee Norris is a graduate of the University of Guelph and Osgoode Hall Law School. She is a highly skilled mediator who brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her practice in family business succession planning, wills and estates administration, land development, and small business structures. One of Robin-Lee’s strengths is her ability to look at legal issues in a holistic manner and provide integrated advice to her clients on a broad range of topics.

Barry McLean is Principal McLean & Associates Consulting, focussed on unlocking value in small-medium companies in the food and beverage industry through transformative strategies and events.

Mr. McLean was formerly President of Canada Bread, Canada’s largest commercial bakery where he transformed the commercial bakery business from price oriented commodity to value added consumer good and the most profitable retail grocery category. Under his leadership Canada Bread doubled sales and quadrupled profits, moving from a regionally fragmented and functionally siloed organization to a national powerhouse. Prior to Canada Bread, Mr. McLean held progressive roles in product development, marketing and general management at Campbell Soup and Nabisco Canada.

Mr. McLean has a truly unique breadth and depth of skills in food and beverage encompassing the culinary arts, food product development and commercialization and all aspects of general management in complex multibillion dollar organizations with over 20 years in C suite roles.

Mr. McLean holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors (Rotman), MBA Marketing and Organizational Behaviour (Rotman), Honours BSc Food Science with Distinction (University of Guelph) and completed culinary training at George Brown College.

He currently serves as a director of FoodStarter, a Toronto food incubator, and Dare Foods. Previous board roles include Chair Food & Packaged Goods sector United Way of Greater Toronto, Chair Donations Committee The Grocery Foundation, Director American Baking Association, Baking Association of Canada, Healthy Grains Institute and Food Processors of Canada.

Tyler was raised on a 7^th generation dairy farm in Wellington County. 

After completing his Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at McMaster University in 1999, he went on to obtain a PhD in microbiology/immunology from the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in 2005.  In 2007, Tyler completed his MBA at the University of Saskatchewan, in the ‘Science to Business’ program.

With a variety of experiences in research, tech transfer, commercialization, entrepreneurship and industrial liaison, Tyler has invested his passion for agriculture into the interesting role at Ontario Agri-Food Technologies as an enabler of innovation and technology and visionary for the sector.

Harold Whiteside is an accomplished management consultant who has led multiple organizations throughout his career. He was previously President and CEO of Tri-Mach Group and Vice President, Finance of Samuel Strapping Systems Group, a division of Samuel, Son & Co. Prior to joining Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, he served 15 years with Hitachi Mining Trucks as Vice President and General Manager overseeing operations in Canada, Poland and India.

He completed his Management Economics degree at the University of Guelph in 1982, and earned his CMA through the University of Waterloo in 1991.

Harold is an active alumnus of the University of Guelph. His volunteer activities include several years as a director of the UGAA, as well as President in 1996-97. Harold sat as a Senator on the University of Guelph Senate from 1997-2007 and is a past Chair of the Alumni Senate Caucus.