Canadian Leaders to bring their networks and diverse perspectives to the Institute’s work
FOGO ISLAND, NL — July 23rd, 2026 — The Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies today announced the establishment of its inaugural Advisory Council, bringing together leaders from across Canada’s three pillars of society: communities, governments, and markets. The Advisory Council’s role will be to help guide the Institute’s work of strengthening local economies and building economic stewardship capacity in places across Canada.
The members are drawn from a breadth of fields, including entrepreneurship and business development, public policy, data, finance and banking, Indigenous and local economic leadership, philanthropy and impact investing. They are:
CALIN ROVINESCU (Chair)
Former CEO Air Canada, Chairman of CAE
ANIL ARORA
Former Chief Statistician of Canada, adjunct lecturer at Harvard Kennedy Schoo
ANDREW BUNSTON
Chief Legal Officer, Loblaw Companies Limited
SIMON KENNEDY
Former Deputy Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development; Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones & Teneo
BRIAN LAWSON
Vice Chair and Director, Brookfield Corporation
NANCY SOUTHERN
CEO and Chair, ATCO; Executive Chair, Canadian Utilities
SEAN WILLY
President & CEO, Des Nedhe Group
Commenting on the selection, Shorefast Institute CEO and founder Zita Cobb added: “Each member complements the Institute in a profound way. They offer the insight to see what we cannot yet see, they have navigated the intersection of communities, governments, and markets, and bring diverse perspectives that ensure we recognize that the realities of one place are not the realities of another.”
Members of the Advisory Council are volunteering their time to the Shorefast Institute on a two-year term basis, supporting its efforts to convene networks, forge cross-sectoral working relationships, and scale place-based approaches nationally.
ABOUT THE SHOREFAST INSTITUTE FOR PLACE-BASED ECONOMIES
Launched in December 2025, the Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies is the research, convening, and education arm of Shorefast, a Canadian registered charity based in Newfoundland [ #85883 0904 RR0001].
Building on two decades of community economic development practice on Fogo Island, NL, the Institute’s mandate is to advance place-based approaches and establish place as a legitimate pillar of economic development in Canada, alongside markets and governments. The Institute’s goal is to help communities become active stewards in a Canadian economy that serves more people in more places.
Learn more at institute.shorefast.org
The launch of the Shorefast Institute for Place-Based Economies is supported by several Canadian families and foundations including The Arthur and Sandra Irving Foundation, The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation, The River Philip Foundation and The Brian and Joannah Lawson Family Foundation, among others. Major supporters of Shorefast also include the Government of Canada, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and Choice Properties REIT.
MEDIA CONTACT
press@shorefast.org
Photo courtesy of Shorefast
Author Photo Courtesy of: David Howells
