Team
Learn more about Employee Ownership Canada, including information about our staff, board of directors, and committees.
Board of Directors and Staff
Joanna Phillips
Director and Chair of the Board
Joanna is Vice President at ESOP Builders Inc. where she works along side her father, Perry Phillips to help businesses implement various types of employee share ownership models. She joined the Association in 2019 as a Board member and as Chair of the 2021 & 2022 Canadian Employee Ownership Conference. She is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) and Certified Value Builder (CVB). She holds an Honors Degree in Business Management Specializing in Human Resources from Western University.
Since graduating, Joanna has worked with various companies in a wide range of industries such as healthcare, insurance, supply chain/ logistics, and marketing. She has excelled in all her roles and has been a trusted guide and advisor to business leaders to ensure continued success of the company. Joanna’s main areas of focus have been talent management and strategy, including succession planning, and education/communication of employee share programs.
Passionate about creating ownership cultures and shared wealth on a broader level, Joanna brings a creative, modern, and focused view to ESOP design and implementation.
Pete Walker
Director
Pete is the Principal Consultant of Boughton Riverview Consulting – a name inspired by the values instilled growing up on the namesake rural PEI farm.
A Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Pete leads business owners through a self-reflection exercise to help them understand the emotional drivers behind their desired outcomes for their inevitable transition away from the business. Then, Pete will guide the owner and their team through the transition to an employee ownership model, or connect them to advisors experienced in third-party sales.
Previously, Pete was an advisor to the federal regional economic development cabinet minister for Atlantic Canada, and Big 5 Canadian bank executive leader known for the high performance of his teams across product, risk and supply chain management domains. He uses this experience to train these vital parts of the employee ownership ecosystem on both business transition best practices and capturing the significant business opportunity employee ownership represents.
Pete is a graduate of Yale University (BA) and Ivey Business School (MBA – Honours).
Justine Janssen
Director
Justine Janssen is a Canadian business leader recognized among Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 and Top 100 Most Powerful Women. A former Dayforce executive who helped scale the company from startup to global public enterprise, she now leads Employee Ownership Canada, advancing employee ownership as a path to stronger businesses and shared prosperity. Justine is passionate about building organizations that keep wealth and opportunity rooted in Canadian communities.
Tiara Letourneau
Director
Tiara Letourneau is CEO for Rewrite Capital Advisors, a private investment and advisory firm dedicated to creating employee ownership for mid-market companies. She has extensive experience in financial strategy and innovation. Previously, she consulted at the UN’s Green Climate Fund on the design of its Private Sector Facility, which was tasked with private sector engagement in the Paris Agreement’s financial climate goals. Prior experience includes strategic consulting in Islamic banking services, microfinance, commercial and retail banking, and First Nations finance in Canada. Tiara holds a Master of Development Studies from the University of KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, and a Master of Finance from Cambridge University.
In 2010, Tiara was awarded an Action Canada Fellowship and chaired the Action Canada Task Force on Canadian Household Debt. She was also awarded a Financial Leader’s Award in 2014 from the People’s Bank of China School of Finance at Tsinghua University, Beijing. She is passionate about reducing inequality and unleashing potential among the underestimated. She is very pleased to join the EOC’s work of creating more employee-owners across Canada.
Jon Shell
Director
Jon was Managing Director of SCP from 2017-2023, leading the transition to our Ownership Agenda. He spent most of his career in the private sector before joining SCP, founding and growing successful companies in both Canada and Australia. Jon co-founded both Save Small Business and the Canadian Employee Ownership Coalition. Jon was first introduced to SCP when Bill supported a volunteer entrepreneurship project he was leading in Kenya in 2008. He received a BA from Queen’s University and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University.
Michael Fotheringham
Director
Mike brings over 20 years of governance, policy and business experience, with a focus on First Nations communities, economic development and social service delivery. As the CEO of Taproot Community Support Services, he leads a diverse team of over 800 staff across BC, AB and ON, with annual revenues of over $65M.
Taproot is proud to be an employee-owned B Corp, deeply rooted in values with the goal of nurturing the inner strength of individuals and families, empowering them to achieve well-being, independence and belonging.
Kyle Shantz
Chief Executive Officer
Kyle Shantz brings more than 15 years of experience in social enterprise, social finance and organizational leadership. His career has focused on developing innovative approaches to financing, ownership and economic participation that create value for businesses and the communities they serve.
Previously, Kyle served as Managing Director of the Centre for Social Innovation, where he helped pioneer the use of community bonds to finance social-purpose real estate. He also served as national Executive Lead at TechSoup Canada, then the second-largest program in TechSoup’s global network by revenue.
Kyle believes the most enduring innovations come from collaboration between businesses and communities, creating genuine wins for everyone by aligning commercial success with broader economic and social benefits. At Employee Ownership Canada, he brings this philosophy to advancing employee ownership as an opportunity for Canadian nation-building: keeping businesses in their communities, building household wealth for workers and families, and giving more people a stake in Canada’s prosperity, while preserving the value and legacy built by Canadian founders and business owners.
Kyle holds a Bachelor of Arts from Queen’s University and a Master of Science in Finance from SOAS. He is currently completing his dissertation for a master’s in sustainability at the University of Cambridge.
Sharlyn Carrington
Director of Communications
Sharlyn Carrington is an award-winning communications strategist with more than 18 years of experience in the public and private sectors. She has advised more than 12 cabinet ministers and two premiers. She has also led multi-million dollar strategies, protocols and public campaigns for initiatives serving vulnerable and underrepresented populations. That work called for political acuity, risk management and a deep understanding of public trust.
Through her consultancy, Sharlyn has been a senior advisor to leadership teams across the nonprofit, higher education and mental health sectors. She has focused on reputation management, stakeholder communications and the systems and protocols that help organizations communicate clearly and credibly, especially during periods of transition or scrutiny.
A recognized voice on equity in communications, Sharlyn co-founded the Anti-Racism in Public Relations Conference, which brought together 600+ international communicators. Her research has added to national conversations on representation in public relations. She holds a Master’s degree in Communications Management from McMaster University.
EOC COMMITTEES
Awareness Committee
The Awareness Committee helps spread the word about employee ownership across Canada. Our volunteers deliver presentations, workshops, and educational sessions to business owners, advisors, and community stakeholders—explaining how employee ownership models such as Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs) and Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) can serve as powerful succession options. Together, we’re building national understanding of how employee ownership strengthens local economies and communities.
Interested in volunteering?
Advisory Council
The Advisory Council brings together leading accountants, lawyers, tax professionals, and policy experts who guide Employee Ownership Canada’s interpretation of new legislation and emerging best practices. This group helps ensure our advocacy efforts are informed, practical, and effective—so that employee ownership continues to grow as a viable, accessible path for Canadian business owners.
We are grateful to our Advisory Council members:
Wes Novotny
Advocacy Committee (Coming Soon)
Our upcoming Advocacy Committee will help advance employee ownership at both the national and provincial levels. This volunteer group will work with policymakers, business associations, and economic development partners to shape policies that make it easier for Canadian businesses to transition to employee ownership.
Want to be part of the movement?