The Alto team

Fiona Blondin is a member of the Northwest Territories’ Yellowknives Dene First Nation and the granddaughter of George Blondin, a highly regarded Indigenous author, storyteller and leader.

Ms. Blondin has more than 25 years of combined experience in the energy, mining, and public sectors and in private consulting for First Nation, Inuit, and Metis communities. She contributes a wealth of knowledge and insight to Alto’s Board of Directors.

As Vice President of Indigenous Strategy at Cormorant Utility Services, she is a respected advocate for Indigenous rights and well-being and has worked closely for many years with First Nation and Metis communities.

She sat on the Board of Directors of KWG Resources, an exploration-stage mining company participating in the discovery, delineation, and development of chromite deposits in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario.

Ms. Blondin attended British Columbia’s Douglas College. She is a recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in acknowledgment of her work with First Nations.

J. Robert S. Prichard has led a career in the fields of higher education, law, business, and civil service.

He is the non-executive Chairman of Torys LLP and a director of ONEX Corporation, Wittington Investments Limited and Alamos Gold. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of Barrick Gold Corporation, President Emeritus of the University of Toronto, and the Visitor at Massey College.

At the University of Toronto, Mr. Prichard was a professor of law from 1976 to 2001, the Dean of the Faculty of Law between 1984 and 1990, and the President of the University from 1990 to 2000. He also taught at the law faculties of Yale and Harvard. He chaired the Council of Ontario Universities and the Council of Canadian Law Deans.

Mr. Prichard went on to become the President and Chief Executive Officer of Torstar Corporation from 2002 to 2009 and Chairman of the Board of Bank of Montreal between 2012 and 2020. He previously sat on the boards of numerous other major Canadian corporations, among them George Weston, Brookfield Asset Management (formerly Brascan) and Four Seasons Hotels. He was made a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors in 2016 for his contributions to good governance in Canada.

Before joining Torys, Mr. Prichard was President and Chief Executive Officer of Metrolinx from 2009 to 2010, and Chairman of its Board from 2010 to 2018.

He attended Swarthmore College, earned his MBA at the University of Chicago, and holds law degrees from the University of Toronto (LL.B.) and Yale (LL.M.). Recognized by appointment as an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Member of the Order of Ontario, he has been the recipient of honorary degrees from several colleges and universities in Canada and the United States.

Marie-France Poulin is Vice President of Canada Group, the Poulin family’s private equity firm specializing in business and real estate investments. She is a shareholder and the co-founder of Kalia, a company specializing in the design, manufacturing and distribution of high-end bathroom and kitchen products and accessories.

Previously, Ms. Poulin worked for the family-owned business Maax from 1985 until it was sold in 2004. Having contributed to the growth and consolidation of this publicly traded corporation and major North American manufacturer of bathroom, spa products and accessories, and kitchen cabinetry, she rose through the ranks to hold increasingly senior management positions within the company.

Marie-France Poulin is a seasoned director who sat on various boards, including those of Hydro-Québec and the Laurentian Bank. Until recently, she also chaired the Boards of Directors of the Port of Québec, Université Laval and the YWCA de Québec.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Ms. Poulin is involved in her community and has participated in numerous fundraising campaigns for community organizations. She holds a bachelor’s in business administration from Université Laval (1985) and a certification from the Collège des administrateurs de sociétés (2007).

Marie-José Nadeau is a corporate director and an energy expert. She is a director of ENGIE (France), where she chairs the Appointments, Compensation and Governance Committee, and is also a member of the Audit Committee and the Strategy, Investment and Technology Committee. She is a director of Trans Mountain Corporation, where she chairs the Human Resources, Compensation, Nominating and Governance Committee. Finally, she is a director of the US-based Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI).

Ms. Nadeau was Chair of the World Energy Council from 2013 to 2016 and Executive Vice-President and Secretary General of Hydro-Québec from 1993 to 2015. She has previously been a director of Metro, Chair of EPRI’s Advisory Council and Vice-Chair of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and has held numerous other board positions.

She holds a law degree and a Master of Laws in public law from the University of Ottawa. In 2009, the Quebec Bar awarded her the distinction Advocatus Emeritus in acknowledgment of her contribution to the legal profession. In 2016, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada for her exceptional contribution to numerous organizations involved in the arts and education fields.

Michael Keenan served as a Deputy Minister in the Government of Canada for ten years, until he retired after a public service career spanning 35 years and seven departments.

Michael was the Deputy Minister of Transport from 2016 until 2023, after serving as the Associate Deputy Minister at Natural Resources Canada from 2013 to 2016. Before that, he led the policy development at Environment and Climate Change Canada, reformed leadership training programs for senior government executives at the Canada School of Public Service, led economic analysis and research at Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, and provided policy advice at the Privy Council Office, Finance Canada, and the British Columbia Ministry of Finance.

At Transport Canada, he led an organization of 6,000 employees through a comprehensive digital service transformation while supporting the Minister of Transport in delivering on the biggest modernization of transportation safety standards in a generation in the air, rail, and marine sectors.

Through his work at Transport Canada, he gained extensive experience in managing complex governance issues. He was responsible for overseeing a portfolio of several dozen Crown Corporations, agencies, tribunals, and transport authorities, and supporting the Minister of Transport in making over 300 merit-based appointments to these bodies.

Michael had the opportunity to lead the organization’s response through multiple safety and security crises involving the transportation system (e.g. national security threats, COVID pandemic, extreme weather), gaining insights into managing fast-moving emergencies while advising governments and forging strong relationships with security partners, industry operators, and community leaders.

He has extensive experience working with stakeholders in multiple sectors to find creative solutions to complex regulatory and policy challenges. He has had the opportunity to learn from and work intensely with various Indigenous Groups on groundbreaking initiatives to advance reconciliation on issues related to energy, the environment, and transportation.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Saint Francis Xavier University and a Master’s degree in Economics from Queen's University.

Robert Fonberg has led an extensive career in the public and private sectors. Since 2013, he has acted as an advisor to start-ups and mid to large scale clients on a range of strategic issues across diverse business verticals.

He was a long-serving Deputy Minister in the Government of Canada. First appointed Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet in the Privy Council Office in 2000, he went on to serve as Deputy Minister of International Trade, Associate Secretary at the Treasury Board and, from 2007 to 2013, as Deputy Minister of National Defence. During the most intense operational period for the Canadian Armed Forces since the Korean War, Mr. Fonberg was involved in all aspects of the Department, from deployments of the Canadian Armed Forces to defence policy renewal to international defence relations. In this role, Mr. Fonberg played an essential role in decision management for defence and military procurement, notably on large capital projects.

Mr. Fonberg was the Chair of the Board of Digital Public Square from 2018 to 2022 in addition to having been active in the academic and think-tank community. He is currently Distinguished Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. He was formerly a Fellow with Global Solution Networks, a mentor with the Trudeau Foundation, Chair of the Government of Canada’s Workplace Charitable Campaign, and a member of the Board of Export Development Canada.

Robert Fonberg is trained as an economist. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto and a graduate degree from Queen’s University.