Board of Directors
The RSI management board consists of highly successful and dedicated leaders, entrepreneurs and experts who actively embed sustainability and innovation to advance the ability of business and society to thrive in new realities.
Their experience and expertise make them one of the most formidable cross-sector and intergenerational brain trusts in the country. The power of their combined networks in Canada and around the globe enables them to engage key decision-makers and market leaders to collaboratively discover and deploy solutions to system-level challenges impacting our world.
A knowledgeable and trusted resource, the RSI management board is capable of affecting dramatic and positive changes in the way sustainability is defined and deployed today and in years to come.
She has served on boards, both corporate and not-for-profit, including experience with national and international organizations. Darla served as the executive director of the Ontario Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (OCSI). She was the chair of the Strategy, Policy and Innovation committee for the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) Association and serves on the boards of the Canadian Network of Asset Management (CNAM) and Rethink Sustainability Initiatives (RSI). Darla is chair of Waterlution, a youth focused organization that inspires pattern-making and pattern-breaking change towards a healthy and sustainable relationship with water.
A speaker at various conferences on climate change and municipal infrastructure, Darla is adamant that strategic thinking and public engagement are essential in solving the infrastructure deficit and bridging the gap to sustainable living.
Driven by social and environmental purpose, he launched a series of enterprises centred on alternative energy and impact investment opportunities acting as an ‘on the ground” force for good.
Most recently, he co-founded Good Energy Partners (GEP), with a focus on raising the profile of businesses creating a positive impact on the world, and accelerating capital flows toward a carbon neutral economy. This is perfectly positioned to help companies fast-track the growth of resilient and innovative approaches to impact investing and ‘Building Back Better.’
Previously, he co-founded and led Weave Energy, which offered energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions to help overcome the energy crisis in South Africa. It was there that he learned the concept of Ubuntu that spreads an ethic of shared humanity. This is a principal Patrick has looked to apply in all facets of his life.
Patrick completed his M.B.A. at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from Queens University. He has considerable consulting, business development and fundraising experience in the fields of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and impact investing.
As an executive and/or co-founder he has launched three start-ups – E-Trade Canada, Potentia Solar, and Isla Power – which collectively have raised over $130 M in investor capital, and two of which have seen successful exits for the founders. Nigel has served as chair and independent board member of Efficiency Capital Corp, a spin-off of The Atmospheric Fund, and the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA/CanREA) where he was the President’s Award winner in 2013.
His mission is to co-create and/or accelerate the execution of business strategies with triple bottom line benefits – economic, environmental, and social – serving client enterprises from start-ups to multi-nationals.
Troy’s impressive background in financial services spans decades. During Troy’s career at Scotiabank, he held many notable roles including President and CEO of the Scotiabank Group Mexico, the largest subsidiary of Scotiabank outside of Canada, and Executive Vice President of Canadian Retail Branches and Channels at Scotiabank Canada.
Previous to these roles, Troy was President and CEO of Scotiabank Puerto Rico, where he led the turnaround of a mid-size full-service bank through the toughest US banking downturn since the great depression and completed an FDIC assisted bank acquisition. Troy addressed and repaired FDIC compliance orders and managed the relationship with the New York office of the Fed and FDIC.
Troy also served as Head of Scotiabank’s International Corporate Development at Scotiabank where he identified international acquisition targets linking opportunities to the global strategy, oversaw due diligence, obtained internal approvals, and led negotiations to purchase targets – completing acquisitions totaling $1.3 billion.
Troy has co-founded three successful FinTech companies in the lending space including Lendified, an SME digital online lending company which he took public on the TSXv; Judi.ai, a SaaS platform using AI and machine learning to process loans for financial institutions; and Elevate Export Finance, a finance company providing loans globally to foreign companies to allow the purchase of Canadian manufactured goods.
Troy is a graduate of the Harvard Business School, Advanced Management Program; Western University with a BA; and the Harvard Business School YPO Presidents’ Program.