Board of Advisors
Our dedicated board of advisors are business leaders who offer a diverse skillset and range of experience to help drive forward the Saltire Foundation's mission to cultivate the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders. They are pivotal to growing the Foundations profile in Canada and engaging dynamic companies to create entrepreneurial opportunities for Scotland's top university talent in Canada.
Alan Brown
Alan Brown is the Founder and CEO of A. Brown + Company Ltd., which provides independent strategic advice to leaders amongst corporate, institutional and government clients globally.
He spent the majority of his career in investment banking, latterly at Deutsche Bank where he led the Natural Resources Group since its formation in 2007, with responsibility for Deutsche Bank’s corporate finance activities across a number of global sectors.
A native of Scotland and a GlobalScot, Alan relocated from London to Toronto in 2016, is a Director of Entrepreneurial Scotland Foundation and Chair of Saltire Foundation Canada.
Mark Bain
Mark Bain is a partner at Torys, where he acts as head of the Public-Private Partnerships practice, and co-head of the Infrastructure and Energy practice. He is also Chair of the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships and Chair of Infrastructure Project Finance Association’s Canada Council.
Mark is consistently recognized as one of Canada’s leading infrastructure and project finance lawyers. He has acted on over 80 major public-private partnership transactions across Canada and internationally. His experience spans many infrastructure sectors including power, water, broadband, transport, rail, public transit, ports, healthcare, education, justice, pipelines, indigenous projects and urban redevelopment.
Mark was born in Edinburgh and is now based in Toronto.
Neil Blair
Neil Blair is the President & Managing Director of KPMG Corporate Finance Inc. and on the KPMG Canadian Board of Directors, KPMG LLP. He leads KPMG's Canadian Corporate Finance practice and has extensive experience in the areas of M&A advisory, debt advisory services and business strategy reviews. He has been involved in a wide range of Canadian, UK, cross-border and international projects, and advises Canadian corporations on M&A strategy, sell-side mandates, buy-side mandates and financing. Neil has represented some of Canada’s largest corporations and private equity funds. He has particular expertise in mid-market private company transactions and complex non-core carve outs.
Neil holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Economics from the University of Durham, UK and is a Member of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (“ICAS”). Neil was born in Scotland and now lives with his wife and 2 sons in Toronto.
Leah L. Carey
Leah Carey is an Accredited Member of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) and for the past decade has developed a boutique art advisory and appraisals practice. Her firm specializes in appraisal services, art advisory for buying and selling as well as fine art collection management.
Leah was Managing Director of Sotheby’s Canada concentrating on business development in the Canadian and International art fields. Leah was also with Christie’s International auction house in New York and Montreal advising private, corporate, and institutional clients on consigning to auction.
Leah holds a Masters of Letters Degree in Art History from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, specializing in the Italian Renaissance, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Western Ontario, London. Leah lives in Toronto.
David Lawrence
David Lawrence is currently Chairman at C4X Discovery, a successful UK drug discovery biotech focussing on inflammation and immunology, and is an NXD at Glen Clova Scientific, a UK private biotech creating a new class of active biologics. He began his career at GSK and has held senior and executive roles at leading companies such as Chiron Vaccines, which was acquired by Novartis, Acambis plc, which was acquired by Sanofi, and Valneva, where he led its US IPO. David also co-founded Synpromics, a synthetic biology company, where, with the scientific founder, he recruited the senior leadership team; Synpromics was acquired by Ask Bio in 2019 (Ask was then acquired by Bayer).
David has global experience and, amongst his interests, is a keen mountaineer and golfer. His wife hails from the Montreal area and he has two adult children.
John Ewing
John Ewing is a Co-Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners. Ewing Morris is a value-driven boutique investment firm that specializes in fundamental analysis of small/mid-sized public companies.
John was born in Canada with Scottish heritage. Beyond the Saltire Foundation, John's community involvement includes the University of Guelph (Chair of the Investment Committee), Beat the Streets Toronto and Scouts Canada.
Bill Mackrell
Bill Mackrell is the Chief Operating Officer & VP Equipment Financing at Pitney Bowes Inc. Based in Canada, he also serves as the Country lead for the Canadian business.
Bill graduated from the University of Toronto in 1985. He immediately joined PB Canada in a sales role. He now has over 36 years of experience with the technology company that is focused on meeting the mailing, shipping, and financing needs of clients globally.
Born in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, he immigrated to Canada with his family and now lives with his wife and 2 sons in Toronto.
He is an avid football fan and enjoys his trips back to Scotland to visit family, tour the country and catch a live match.
Paul McAleese
Paul McAleese is a globally experienced technology executive and investor, most recently serving as President of Shaw Communications from 2020 through its 2023 sale to Rogers Communications. He is also a serial entrepreneur in the wireless space, including the recent launch of SmartLess Mobile in the U.S. alongside actors Will Arnett, Sean Hayes, and Jason Bateman.
A Canadian by origin, Paul has held leadership roles across the UK, EU, and U.S. in both public and private companies. He now resides in Toronto, proudly carrying forward his Scottish family roots.
Robin McLernon
Robin McLernon is a Vice President at Peakhill Project Advisory, a project management and advisory firm supporting clients across the full construction project lifecycle—from early-stage planning and feasibility through to procurement, financing, and delivery.
Robin focuses on public sector projects and brings deep experience advising government clients on complex infrastructure and capital programs. Prior to joining Peakhill, she spent over 12 years at P1 Consulting / P3 Advisors, where she advised on a wide range of large-scale public infrastructure initiatives.
She holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Queen’s University and a Master of Science in Science and Technology Studies from the University of Edinburgh.
Bill Ross
Bill Ross is the founder and a business executive with Vercerta, a firm that specializes in risk management services, with particular focus on business economics and environmental issues. In prior roles, Mr. Ross held executive management positions, specializing in Finance and Information Technology, with Enbridge Inc., a leading energy infrastructure manager; W.W. Grainger, a pre-eminent industrial distributor; and, Unilever, a global provider of consumer products.
Mr. Ross is a Chartered Professional Accountant, holds an MBA (with distinction) from the Richard Ivey School of Business, and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Stirling in Scotland. He is also a Chartered Director and serves on the following boards: Chair of the Board of Nature Canada, Chair of the Risk Management Committee of Dillon Consulting; Chair of the Finance Committee for GreenCentre Canada. Bill is also past Chair of the Board for Financial Executives Canada.
Mr. Ross is the past Chair of the Energy and Environment Committee for the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, whose mandate is to advocate economic and environment policies to promote sustainable development in the region. As a keen participant of outdoor activities, Bill enjoys cross country skiing and cycling
Alexander (Sandy) Taylor
As President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Candu Energy Inc., Alexander (Sandy) Taylor is responsible for the Canadian Nuclear business of AtkinsRéalis, the steward of CANDU® technology.
A passionate nuclear enthusiast, Sandy was enticed out of retirement to lead the Candu Energy team to drive the significant domestic opportunities for CANDU technology and to expand Candu Energy as a global player in the international field. Before his retirement, he served as President of AtkinsRéalis’ Global Nuclear Sector. In that role his expert knowledge of the nuclear industry enabled him to lead complex projects that included reactor new build support and consultancy, operations and maintenance, life extension, decommissioning and waste management, as well as other non-power related nuclear solutions. Sandy’s oversight included the design and delivery of CANDU reactors, the development of advanced fuel technologies for implementation in international markets and small modular reactor (SMR) support. Before that, Sandy was the President of the company’s Power Sector.
Prior to his time with AtkinsRéalis, Sandy spent 29 years with ABB. He held a number of senior roles including President and CEO of ABB Canada. His expertise spans various engineering sectors, with an excellent track record in power projects and in providing services to industrial and utility clients around the world. Sandy began his career at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL) in 1979, where he contributed to the successful start-up and operation of various CANDU sites.
Sandy holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from Queen's University and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Wajax Corporation.