Headquarters:
1425 North Service Road East, Unit 3 Oakville, ON L6H 1A7
Year founded:
1992
Number of employees:
3,500+
Phone:
289 881 0120
Email:
corporate@ipexna.com
Website:
ipexna.com
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/ipex-management-inc.
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
IPEX
Cheryl Stargratt
Chief Human Resources Officer
Fiona Pace
Director, Talent Management
Saudia Satar
Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition
Leadership
As chief human resources officer for the IPEX Group of Companies, Cheryl Stargratt is responsible for the organization’s People Agenda, which includes human resources, corporate communications and change management. She has held roles in HR for over 25 years and joined IPEX in 2019 in her current role. She holds a Master of Industrial Relations from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Public Administration from the University of Windsor. Stargratt also has a Master’s certificate in Organizational Development and Change Management from the Schulich Executive Education Centre and is a certified Executive Coach and Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Chief Human Resources Officer
Cheryl Stargratt
As director, talent management for the IPEX Group of Companies, Fiona Pace is responsible for the recruitment and development of top talent across the organization. She joined IPEX in her current role in 2018. Prior to this, she served in progressively senior HR roles at Allianz Global Assistance, Hilti, Brookfield Global Relocation Services, and Sobeys. She holds a Master of Human Resources Management from York University, a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Waterloo, and a Certificate in HR Management from Conestoga College.
Director, Talent Management
Fiona Pace
As senior manager, talent acquisition at the IPEX Group of Companies, Saudia Satar is responsible for managing the development and execution of talent attraction strategies, programs and processes to meet the organization’s talent needs. Satar joined IPEX in her current role in 2020. Prior to this, she served in progressively senior roles at Tangerine and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. She holds a Diploma in Business Administration from Sheridan College, a Certificate in Fashion Photography from Ryerson University, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in New Media from Centennial College.
Senior Manager, Talent Acquisition
Saudia Satar
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
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“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”
Erica Kofie, QBE
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Mona Sabharwal
Senior Vice President, Pharmacy Services
Mona Sabharwal joined Rexall in 2016 as vice president, industry and regulatory affairs. She is an expert in pharmacy practice with over 20 years of experience, previously as executive director with pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review and the Ontario Ministry of Health & Long-term Care. She brings extensive knowledge of the industry as a registered pharmacist and health care leader. Mona is an alumna of the University of Toronto.
Senior Vice President, Pharmacy Services
Mona Sabharwal
Ahmed Shariff
Vice President, Information Technology
Ahmed Shariff has celebrated 12 years with Rexall since joining in 2010 as senior director of IT operations and JDE financial systems. Prior to joining Rexall, he brought over a decade of professional experience, notably as IT director, to IBM. Ahmed is an alumnus of the University of Liverpool and holds a Master of Sciences degree in IT.
Vice President, Information Technology
Ahmed Shariff
IPEX is a North American manufacturing company whose purpose is to bring solutions to the world’s water challenges and accelerate the transition to clean energy. While embarking on a hyper-growth strategy, the company saw demand surge during the pandemic, so it bolstered its HR department.
One strategy was expanding the scope and specialization of its talent acquisition team.
Saudia Satar, senior manager for talent acquisition, says, “As we think about diversity in attracting talent, we also reflect internally to ensure we have our talent acquisition teams located across North America. This enables us to have a deeper understanding of the communities, culture and market related to the various regions in attracting the right talent.”
The organization has also made a concerted effort to broaden its workforce.
“We increased our skills and specialization and connected with schools and different community organizations such as ACCES Employment and Women in Manufacturing to reach a broader spectrum of candidates,” Satar explains. “Manufacturing – especially in terms of gender equity – is currently unbalanced. There is opportunity at IPEX to reduce the gap in this area, so we’ve focused on increasing the diversity of our workforce and embedding inclusion into our workplace practices and behaviours.”
IPEX also has a New Graduate Development Program designed for new graduates to gain a comprehensive understanding of the business. Director of talent management Fiona Pace adds, “It includes a mandatory rotation in manufacturing, so that even if grads are going into sales or engineering or another area of our business, they get experience with our manufacturing team. This way, they know exactly what their colleagues are doing on the front lines and understand the business at its core.”
Their HR team has undergone unconscious bias training, as have the executive team. IPEX uses Textio, a tool which reduces bias in the language of job postings to help reach those candidates from communities not as well represented in the manufacturing industry.
IPEX also makes the distance between employees and managers as short as possible.
“Every month, we hold coffee chats with our CEO. We invite a group of employees from different departments and different levels of seniority, and they just have a chat for an hour,” says CHRO Cheryl Stargratt. “It’s an open forum, and employees get a chance to ask questions directly. We get a lot of great feedback this way, so we know areas that may be the ones to address.”
“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”
Erica Kofie, QBE
Joyce Lee
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Mary Kelly
SVP, Merchandising
Debbie Lai
SVP, Marketing, Loyalty & Strategy
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
Joyce Lee joined Rexall Pharmacy Group in 2014 as vice president of finance. Prior to starting with Rexall, she held senior executive roles in notable Canadian restaurant and grocery companies, including vice president, finance at Cara Operations and vice president, financial reporting at Loblaw. Joyce is an alumna of the University of Waterloo and has a Chartered Professional Accountant designation.
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Joyce Lee
Mary Kelly joined Rexall first in 2013, and most recently returned to the company in 2022 in her present role. She is an accomplished CEO and board member with experience in a variety of C-suite roles and has a track record of success across diverse industries that include retail, pharmacy, e-commerce, healthcare services, franchising, and food service.
Mary is an alumna of Ohio State University, graduating with at Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy.
SVP, Merchandising
Mary Kelly
Debbie Lai joined Rexall Pharmacy Group in June 2017. She started her career as a clinical pharmacist at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver. Debbie brings a rich balance of strategic and operational leadership experience established from working across top-tier retail, consulting and healthcare organizations. Debbie is known for her outstanding ability to lead teams, engage diverse leadership teams, drive impactful innovation and align structures and processes to deliver transformative change and sustainable financial results.
SVP, Marketing, Loyalty & Strategy
Debbie Lai
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Sarah M Stewart
Associate Vice President,
Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Karen Bannister, CM
Vice President, Marketing
Dave Longbottom
Chief Technology Officer
Alex Ventura
Head of Marketing
Damian Palovick
Senior Vice President of Underwriting
AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America
Dr. Mary Lavoie
Head of Risk Management and Senior Vice President
AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America
Mark Bernacki
Chief Underwriting Officer
Ryan Armijo
Chief Operating Officer, Underwriting Division
Bob Petrilli
President, Underwriting Division
“Despite the challenging claims environment, QBE’s coverage and risk appetite have remained consistent. Brokers and customers know and understand our risk appetite and the cover we offer, providing them with certainty for the future,” says Erica Kofie, head of cyber proposition. “We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions.”
Kofie adds, “Through 2022, QBE successfully delivered significant growth in the cyber sector, reflecting the depth and strength of our team. We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations.”
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