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Leadership Transition

Welcome to the Principal Search website, where the Search Committee will provide the Branksome Hall community with information and updates regarding the search for Branksome’s next Principal.

Branksome has a bold mission: each day, we challenge and inspire girls to love learning and to shape a better world. This mission is advanced through the strength of our leadership and partnership between the school and our community.

A Search Committee has been established and approved by the Board. The Committee is composed of Board Members, who represent parents, past parents and alum, as well as school leadership. Representative faculty and staff will serve as advisory contributors to the process. Bios of the Search Committee members can be found on this site. Our aim is to have the search completed by June 2023. The new Principal will transition to Branksome on July 1, 2024.

Toronto-based Caldwell Partners has been retained to work with the Board on the search for Branksome’s 8th Principal, which will include identifying a diverse pool of highly qualified candidates. The process will include a period of listening and comprehensive consultation with the school’s community of employees, parents, alum and students. This process will inform the development of a position profile, establishing clear criteria for our next Principal — a world-class leader who will build on our mission, vision, values and long-term aspirations.

As the search to find our next Principal is underway, we will keep our community informed of important milestones and developments. Throughout the process, we will remain committed to balancing openness and transparency with the need for confidentiality inherent in any high-level search. We very much value your input and look forward to providing you with regular updates, so please continue to visit this site to learn more.

Regards,

Mona Malone
Chair, Branksome Hall Board of Governors
Chair, Principal Search Committee

Announcements

List of 3 items.

Branksome Hall Appoints Grace McCallum as 8th Principal

Wednesday, June 7, 2023

Learn more
Board Chair’s Search Announcement

Monday, October 17, 2022

Learn more
Principal’s Message

Monday, October 17, 2022

Learn more

Search Committee

List of 9 items.

Melanie ARGIROS Breder’08

President, Branksome Hall Alumnae Association and Board Member
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Melanie is Director, Human Resources at OMERS, where she partners with business leaders to provide consultative support related to their talent strategy and people initiatives. While at OMERS, Melanie has been an HR Business Partner to multiple lines of business including Capital Markets, Data & Technology, Pensions, Communications and Investment Operations. Melanie is a Certified Human Resources Professional and holds a Master of Industrial Relations & Human Resources from the University of Toronto and both a B.Ed. and B.A. from Queen’s University. Melanie is a graduate of Branksome Hall, having attended from Grades 1-12 and is the President of the Branksome Hall Alumnae Association.
Kurankye Sekyi-Otu

Board Member
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Kurankye Sekyi-Otu has enjoyed a 29-year career spanning business development, marketing and executive leadership within asset management and capital markets organizations. Most recently, Kurankye was the Chief Strategy Officer and a member of the executive leadership for Polar Asset Management Partners. At Polar he was responsible for the global distribution strategy, marketing and the implementation of the firm’s strategic business initiatives. Prior to Polar, Kurankye held business development and marketing roles at other Canadian asset managers and the capital markets unit within a Canadian bank. Kurankye graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Economics from York University and holds the CFA and ICD.D designations. He joined the Branksome Hall Board of Governors in 2021 and is also a Board Member of the United Way Greater Toronto. Kurankye is the father of a current Branksome Hall student.
Karen CORDES Woods’99

Board Member
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A Branksome Hall alum, Karen joined the Board of Governors in 2017 and has served on multiple committees including audit, governance and strategy. She has also served as the President of the Alum Association. Karen is Vice President, Sales, Service and Operations at Tangerine Bank, a subsidiary of Scotiabank. She has worked at Scotiabank for over 15 years, holding a variety of roles across Capital Markets, Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking and Operations. Karen received a Master’s degree in Economics from Queen's University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of King's College and Dalhousie University in Halifax. She lives in Toronto with her husband and their two daughters.
Karen Blott

Past President, Branksome Hall Parents’ Association and Past Board Member
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Karen is the immediate past President of the Branksome Hall Parents' Association and previously served on the Branksome Hall Board of Governors. After twenty years of global corporate leadership, including in recruitment and Human Resources, and concluding as CEO of Drake International, Karen shifted into serving people with differences, and has spent the last 10 years bringing a family-centred lens to healthcare. She and her husband are parents to five children, with one daughter currently in Branksome’s Senior School.
Jean Cloutier

Past Chair of the Board
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The father of two Branksome alum, Jean joined the Branksome Hall Board of Governors in 2011 and is the Immediate Past Chair of the Board. He is Vice President, International Operations at Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited. Jean received his Bachelor's in Actuarial Sciences from Laval University and is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, as well as a member of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries.
Patricia DiNicolantonio

Head, Talent Management and Ex-Officio Member of the Search Committee
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Patricia is the Head of Talent Management at Branksome Hall. Prior to that, Patricia was a Principal and Senior Consultant at DiNi Associates. She has also worked as a Senior Human Resources Consultant at the Royal Ontario Museum and held the same title at Kinark Child & Family Services for nine years. Patricia is on the Advisory Board at the Aphasia Institute. She holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto. Patricia also attended York University for Human Resources Management and is a Certified Human Resources Leader.
Michael Gans

Governance Committee Chair and Board Member
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Michael has been a partner of Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP in Toronto since 2002. Michael’s practice focuses on Canadian and international merger and acquisition transactions and he has advised on many of Canada's highest-profile M&A transactions. Michael previously sat on the advisory board of the North York Harvest Food Bank. Michael is the proud father of a current Branksome student and a Branksome graduate.
Mona Malone

Chair of the Search Committee, Branksome Hall Board Chair
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Mona Malone is Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of People & Culture for BMO Financial Group. Throughout her 20 years at BMO, Mona has held a variety of diverse roles in Human Resources and the business including Retail Banking Sales Leader in the Greater Toronto Area, VP Product and Marketing Officer at ePost (a joint venture between Canada post and BMO), Chief HR Officer of Canada’s Personal and Commercial Banking Group and Chief Talent & Learning Officer.

In 2021, Mona was a winner of the Report on Business Best Executive Award. She is also a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition of her community service with youth development organizations.

Mona holds an Honours Business Administration degree from Ivey Business School at University of Western Ontario. She is the Chair of the Advisory Council for the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership at the Ivey Business School, Chair of the Branksome Hall Board of Governors, and a member of The Long Run Initiative Board of Governors. Mona, a Branksome Hall past parent, lives in Toronto with her husband and three children.
Karrie Weinstock

Head, Centre for Strategic Leadership
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Branksome’s new Head, Centre for Strategic Leadership has been with the school for over 40 years. In her time at Branksome Hall, Karrie has served as the Deputy Principal, Head of the Senior and Middle School, Vice-Principal, Director of Admissions, and an English teacher. Karrie has participated on various Branksome Hall Strategic Planning Committees, led Branksome’s Transgender Working Group, and has been on the Leacock Foundation Board of Governors since 2005. Karrie holds a Master of Education in Administration Planning and Social Policy from Harvard University and has a Certificate of Education in English from Homerton College in Cambridge, England. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

FAQs

List of 7 items.

How were members of the Search Committee selected?

The Board of Governors chose members who are broadly representative of the Branksome Hall community and who themselves represent diverse professional experience and cultural backgrounds, including Board Members, employees, alum and parents.
Why is confidentiality so important in a principal search?

To facilitate the recruitment of high-quality candidates, the Principal Search will be conducted as a confidential search, meaning the identities of or details regarding candidates will not be publicly disclosed during the search process. It is done to maintain integrity of the process and to protect candidate confidentiality.
Is there a timeline for the Principal Search? Does the school have a set date for when the next Principal will begin in the role?

The Search Committee has launched a thorough and thoughtful search process. With input from the community through Community Consultations, the Committee will develop the Position Profile, which is scheduled to be released in late November 2022. The Search Committee will recommend the final candidate as Principal for approval by the Board of Governors. The Board of Governors will announce their decision in June 2023.
How will the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion be incorporated into the search process?
Elements of the Principal search process that incorporate the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are:
- Search Committee members have all completed unconscious bias training, including reviewing a document prepared by Caldwell Partners entitled "Considerations for an Inclusive Search Process."
- The Search Committee has developed a list of key assessment criteria, which will be used as a candidate assessment matrix to reduce bias in assessment.
- Advertisement copy and the Position Profile language will be inclusive.
- Advertising approach will include posting with organizations that serve equity-deserving groups.
- The Committee will use an interview script with rubrics to reduce bias in assessing each answer and each candidate interviewed will be assessed against the agreed-upon criteria using a secure voting system.
Why has Principal Jurjevich chosen to give a two-year notice period?

We are very fortunate that Principal Jurjevich has advised the Board of her intentions well in advance of her departure date. Succession planning with a clear timeline like this has many advantages. It means that the leadership transition can be approached with deep thought and care, rather than with haste. It enables the Committee to focus on identifying the right candidate, rather than focusing on meeting a tight deadline. It allows the Committee to consider candidates who may be working under a contract that requires them to give a one-year notice period. It means that during her final year of leading Branksome (2023–24), Principal Jurjevich will begin an orderly transition so that our new Principal will be well-briefed prior to transitioning to Branksome in July 2024. In addition, this allows time for ongoing follow-through on school priorities.
How can members of the community provide input during the process?
There are three ways Branksome community members can provide input on the search process:
- Through a confidential and anonymous Online Survey administered by Caldwell Partners.
- Through a series of in-person and virtual Community Consultations in October and November 2022.
- By directing any search process questions or recommendations to Caldwell Partners via email at: yourprincipalsearch@caldwell.com
What role does the executive search firm, Caldwell Partners, serve in the Principal search process?

Caldwell Partners is a leading provider of executive talent, with a 50-year history that has been built on transformative searches across functions and geographies at the very highest levels of management and operations. Industries served include education, non-profits, social enterprise, the arts and healthcare. Under the leadership of Heather Ring, the firm’s role in this process will be to develop a diverse pool of candidates, each highly qualified to meet Branksome Hall’s needs. The firm will facilitate candidate engagement with the Search Committee and the Board, and will support them through their review and selection process. All applications and nominations will be kept confidential.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We wish to acknowledge this land on which Branksome operates. For thousands of years, it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work and go to school on this land.

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10 Elm Ave, Toronto, ON, Canada
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