Board of Directors & Executive Bios

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Cheryl Craven

Cheryl has served on The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group’s Board of Directors since January 1, 2014. Previously, Cheryl sat on the Board of Directors of Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Company (Lindsay) from 2012 to 2014. Cheryl is a past Board Vice Chair and is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors.

Cheryl is a past Vice President of Human Resources at Sick Kids Hospital. Before joining Sick Kids, she was Vice President of Human Resources at IBM Canada Ltd.

Cheryl is a proven and effective industry leader who enjoys working to support and lead change, build relationships and develop and engage people. When not busy leading teams of people and affecting strategic change, Cheryl takes time to enjoy golfing and playing pickleball with her husband Norm.

John Hope

John joined the Board of Directors of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group on January 1, 2014, after having previously served on the Board of Directors for Glengarry Mutual Insurance Company from 2001 to 2013 in Alexandria, Ontario. John is a past Vice Chair and currently a member of the Corporate Governance Committee, Conduct Review Committee and also a member of the Investment Committee of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group.

John has served on municipal council in Alexandria and at the County level for Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. He is past Board Chair of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry County Library and Glengarry Memorial Hospital Board of Directors. He is also a graduate of Durham College with a diploma in business. John currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Glengarry Archives and the Glengarry Highland Games.

John is the owner and President of a commercial property leasing and development company. His other interests include spending time with his family, especially time on the family boat.

Gordon Huckabone

Gordon has served on The Commonwell’s Board of Directors since its first day of operations on January 1, 2014. He was previously a member of the Board of Directors for Lanark Mutual Insurance Company, in Perth, Ontario from 2004 to 2013. Gordon served as Board Chair from 2011 to 2012.

Gord is currently a member of the Corporate Governance Committee and Investment Committee of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group.

Gordon is the owner of Huckabone’s Equipment Ltd., a family-owned dealership of full line Kubota equipment that has served eastern Ontario for over 65 years. Gordon also farms the 250 acres of his 130 year-old family farm. When not managing the business or the farm, Gordon finds time to snowmobile, 4 wheel and travel. Gordon and his wife Lorraine reside in Cobden, Ontario, and have four grown children.

Jeffrey Wickware

Jeff joined the Board of Directors on March 30, 2023. Jeff is currently Chair of the Investment Committee and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Jeff is a seasoned insurance professional with over 25 years in the Canadian Property and Casualty market, concentrating in Finance and Compliance. Jeff holds the Chartered Professional Accountant designation along with the Institute of Corporate Directors designation.

Jeff and his wife reside in Peterborough and have three adult children. They enjoy travelling and being in the outdoors.

Nicole Brouillard

Nicole joined the Board of Directors of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group on March 30, 2023 and is a member of the Audit & Risk Committee and the HR Committee.

Nicole is an accomplished insurance and banking technology Executive, and a strong technology strategist with over 25 years of delivering advanced technical and business transforming solutions to various large global companies.  Nicole has held CIO roles at Aviva Canada, Travelers Canada and Chubb & Sons in Canada, within the US and Latin America. Nicole was also VP of IT for TD Bank’s Personal Banking segment in Canada.

Nicole enjoys food and wine, stemming from her French-Canadian ancestry, especially when shared with her family and friends, at home in Toronto or at the family retreat in the Algonquin Highlands. She enjoys golf, tennis and skiing while still trying to master all three.

Gord Lodwick

The Board of Directors of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group welcomed Gord on January 1, 2014. Gord was previously on the Board of Directors of Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Company (Lindsay) from 2009 to 2014. Gord is a past Board Chair of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group. Gord is currently a member of the Board Executive Committee, Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee, and a member of the HR Committee.  Gord also sits as a Director on the Board of Farm Mutual Re.

Gord is also a past founder and owner of a franchise sandwich shop and a past owner and Vice-President of Lodwick Transport, a medium sized temperature-controlled transportation company. Gord is currently an independent consultant within the transportation industry and is an owner of land and building management companies. Gord and spouse Darlene live in Beaverton with their two children. In Gord’s spare time, he volunteers on various community service boards and enjoys curling and golf.

Kevin McBride

Kevin was originally on the Board of Directors for Glengarry Mutual Insurance Company in Alexandria, Ontario, before joining the Board of Directors of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group on January 1, 2014. Kevin is currently a member of the Corporate Governance Committee and HR Committee.

Kevin is currently the Regional Real Estate Project Manager for Eastern Canada for Canada Post Corporation. He has occupied this position since 2000. He is responsible for the general management and quality control of all new construction and retrofitting of the Canada Post facilities network. He has 40 years of continuous service at Canada Post.

Kevin is a member of the Board of Directors for Valoris, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to services for children and adults in Prescott-Russell.

Kevin is married to a retired career primary school teacher and has two adult children. He is an active community volunteer and his leadership is widely acknowledged among his peers, colleagues and the business community of Casselman, Ontario. With everything going on, Kevin still finds some time to golf, ski and read a good book.

Lynn Belo

Lynn joined the Board of Directors on March 24, 2022. Lynn is currently the Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee and a member of the Investment Committee.

A strong leader, Lynn is both a Canadian Chartered Accountant and a US CPA with extensive financial, risk management and regulatory experience from across multiple industries in both Canada and the US.

Previously, Lynn served as CFO for IBM Canada and as a global senior financial executive based out of New York. Most recently, Lynn held the role of Senior Vice President at TD Bank, where the role spanned financial, risk and operational responsibilities.

Lynn and her husband enjoy travel and visiting ancient monuments and during the summer months, spend as much time as possible at their cottage on Georgian Bay.

Gerard McDonald

Gerard joined the Board of Directors of The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group on September 6, 2017. Gerard currently sits on the Executive Committee,  the HR Chair and a member of  the Audit & Risk Committee of the Board.

Gerard holds the position of Chief Executive Officer of Engineers Canada, the national organization of the provincial and territorial associations that regulate the practice of engineering in Canada and license the country’s 290,000 members of the engineering profession.

Prior to joining Engineers Canada, Gerard was Registrar of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO), and preceding that he spent over 31 years in the Public Service of Canada working primarily in the transportation sector where he held various positions including:

• Assistant Deputy Minister of Safety and Security at Transport Canada;
• Executive Director of the Transportation Safety Board;
• Director General of Marine Safety at Transport Canada; and,
• Director of Regulatory affairs at the Privy Council Office.

Gerard and his wife Norma have five children (four girls and a boy) and spend most of their spare time at their country home in North Glengarry. Gerard enjoys struggling at golf, trying to keep up with his children skiing, cycling and the great outdoors.

EXECUTIVE

Steve Coleman, Vice President, Information Technology

Steve Coleman joined The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group on September 7, 2021.

Prior to joining The Commonwell, Steve worked in increasingly progressive roles in technology and insurance providing IT leadership to Jevco Insurance, Intact Insurance and through the consulting company he founded and ran for more than 25 years. Most recently, Steve was Vice President, Information Technology at Echelon Insurance.

As Vice President of Information Technology, Steve’s pragmatic approach, deep industry knowledge and strong leadership skills are a driving force in supporting The Commonwell’s transformation journey and strategic growth.

Steve resides in Mississauga with his wife Rebecca and their daughter Mackenzie.

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Dean Coleta, Chief Finance and Risk Officer

Dean Coleta joined The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group on August 28, 2023, as Chief Finance and Risk Officer, leading the Finance and Risk functions. Dean is a seasoned insurance professional with over 30 years experience working in a variety of Finance roles including planning and reporting, as well as in sales and operations.

Prior to joining The Commonwell, Dean spent much of his career with Allstate Insurance accumulating a breadth of insurance knowledge. More recently, Dean was AVP, Finance & Business Partnering at Aviva Insurance Company of Canada working collaboratively with the heads of the Personal Insurance division. He has also sat on numerous committees including the Facility Association, Accounting Committee.

Dean resides in Newmarket with his wife Susan and is proud father to Tyler and Jacob. Dean is an avid golfer and thoroughly enjoys playing organized softball on the same team with his two sons.

Caroline Gaffney – Vice President, Human Resources

Caroline Gaffney joined The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group in January of 2020.

Prior to joining The Commonwell, Caroline spent her career in the financial sector with both TD Bank and Scotiabank in increasingly senior HR leadership roles, most recently VP, Human Resources Global Wealth Management with Scotiabank. Caroline’s career has focused on aligning HR strategies against business priorities to help drive business outcomes in Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking and Wealth Management.

As Vice President, Human Resources, Caroline will be responsible for leading the organizational development that supports the growth of both employees and the organization. Caroline will provide strategic leadership for HR Strategy & Experience, Talent Management & Operations, and HR Training & Development.

Caroline grew up in the area and currently resides in Cavan with her husband Lee.

Enrico Mastrangeli – Vice President, Distribution & Member Innovation

Enrico Mastrangeli joined The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group in March of 2008.

Celebrating 20+ years in the insurance industry, his experience spans across the disciplines of all distribution mediums, operations, underwriting, innovation, product development, segmentation and pricing through cooperative, mutual and stock insurer structures.

As an avid learner, Enrico is active in the industry through his participation with the Insurance Institute of Ontario, serving as Chair/Past-Chair, leading ambassador events and as a certified instructor of the Chartered Insurance Professional designation.  He also participates in content development for the Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional designation and Career Mapping content for the Insurance Institute of Canada.

As Vice President, Distribution and Member Innovation he will focus on delivering innovative approaches to product, pricing and service offerings and enhance the purchasing and service experience of our members and distribution partners.

Enrico currently resides in the Kawartha Lakes and when not in the office is either cycling the bike paths the region has to offer or enjoying one of the many waterways of our province with fishing pole in hand.

Garth Winterton – Vice President, Operations

Garth Winterton joined The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group in August of 2018 and holds the position of Vice President, Operations.

Prior to joining The Commonwell, Garth built a strong career in both direct and broker-based sales organizations.  He has spent much of his career at RBC Insurance as the National Auto and Property Director of Claims as well as the Director of the Special Investigation Unit.  In 2015 Garth joined RSA, as Director of Claims, leading the Optimization and Fraud team. He is a certified change leader and a strong advocate for both the customer and employee experience and how they can connect to achieve strong, sustainable results.

As Vice President, Operations, Garth provides strategic direction and leadership throughout The Commonwell with a focus on continuous improvement while leading and driving underwriting and claims strategies, in additional to end-to-end execution of operations to deliver a consistent and seamless experience to brokers and members alike.

Garth resides in Whitby with his spouse Lesley and their two sons Jacob and Ryan.  Hockey fills much of Garth’s spare time as both boys are avid players.

Tim Shauf – President and CEO

Tim Shauf is the President and CEO of the newly created Ontario mutual insurer, The Commonwell Mutual Insurance Group based out of Lindsay, Perth and Alexandria. This amalgamation brought together Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Company (Lindsay), Lanark Mutual Insurance Company and Glengarry Mutual Insurance Company.

Tim graduated with a B.A. in Business Administration from Trinity Western University (Langley, B.C.) Tim started his insurance career with Algoma Mutual Insurance Company in 1992. In 1999 Tim took a position with the former Farmers’ Mutual Insurance Company (Lindsay). His 23 year involvement in the mutual insurance industry has included a variety of committee participations and terms on the Boards of Directors of both the Ontario Mutual Insurance Association and Farm Mutual Reinsurance Plan.

Currently, Tim is the Deputy-President of the Governing Council of the Insurance Institute of Ontario, Vice-Chair of the Ross Memorial Hospital Foundation based in Lindsay and while also joining the NAMIC Board of Directors in 2016 where he currently serves on NAMIC’s Membership Committee in addition to other charitable activities, he takes a special interest in reading and learning about leadership and organizational motivation.