Dr. Susan Black

Dr. Susan Black is the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Conference Board of Canada. She is a seasoned business executive who enables organizations to outperform by implementing best-in-class people practices. As Chief Human Resources Officer of Intact Financial Corporation (Canada’s largest property and casualty insurer), and later Senior Vice-President of People at Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited. (Canada’s largest luxury retailer), she drove engagement higher, deepened their talent pools and elevated HR’s impact by embracing a business-first philosophy.

A seasoned business executive, Susan’s career to date has been rich and varied, including as President of Catalyst Canada, a research and advisory organization that champions opportunities for women in business. Ground-breaking research in the field of gender diversity established her as a recognized national expert and advisor to many of Canada’s leading organizations on how to create inclusive cultures.

Susan spent the first 10 years of her career honing her business acumen as a corporate lender with Chemical Bank (now JP Morgan Chase), an investment banker with ScotiaMcLeod (a division of Scotiabank), and a management consultant with Oliver Wyman.

With a strong orientation around social justice, she has served on the boards of York University, the Metro Toronto Housing Authority, and North York General Hospital. She currently sits on the board of Gore Mutual Insurance Company, a leading property and casualty insurance company.

Susan is a graduate of Yale University (BA), is a Harvard MBA and, in her life-long quest to better understand human behaviour, obtained a Ph.D. in organizational studies from York University.

She joined The Conference Board of Canada in May 2018.

  • Company:President and CEO, Conference Board of Canada
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