About

Executives

Rupert Duchesne , , , Group Chief Executive

Rupert Duchesne is Group Chief Executive of Aimia. In this role, Mr. Duchesne culminates a decade of innovative stewardship of the rapid growth of the organization from its carve-out as a division of Air Canada in 2002, the initial public offering as the Aeroplan Income Fund in 2005, conversion to corporate status as Groupe Aeroplan Inc. in 2008 and the re-branding of the Corporation as Aimia in 2011. Prior to his current position, Mr. Duchesne spent twelve years in strategy and investment consulting around the world before he joined Air Canada in 1996 as Vice President, Marketing, and in 1999 was promoted to Senior Vice President, International. During that year, he served on the Executive team which defeated the Onex take-over bid, and was appointed Chief Integration Executive, overseeing the integration of Canadian Airlines and Air Canada. Mr. Duchesne holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Manchester and a Bachelor Honours degree in Pharmacology from the University of Leeds, both in England. He is a Director of Dorel Industries Inc., and was previously a Director of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. He is Chair of the boards of the NeuroScience Canada Partnership and Brain Canada Foundation. He is Vice President of the Art Gallery Ontario’s Board of Trustees, where he chairs both the Finance and Photography committees, co-chairs the Grange Park Advisory Council and is a member of the Executive, Nominating and Strategic Directions Committee. He is also a member of the boards of Greenwood College School, Business for the Arts and the Luminato Festival in Toronto.

David L. Adams , , , Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

David L. Adams is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Aimia and has executive responsibility for the overall financial strategic direction, control, reporting and financial monitoring of Aimia’s operations. He also oversees the organization’s access to and engagement with global capital markets. In 2007, he was appointed Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Aeroplan. Before joining Aimia, he was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Photowatt Technologies Inc. Prior to Photowatt, he acted as Senior Vice President Finance and Chief Financial Officer of SR Telecom Inc. Mr. Adams previously held a variety of executive finance positions at CAE Inc., a global market leader in the production of flight simulators and control systems. Prior to these roles, he held a number of progressively senior roles with the Bank of Nova Scotia and Clarkson Gordon (Ernst & Young). Mr. Adams is a CA and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Finance Degree from the University of Toronto and has completed the Stanford Executive Program.

Susan Doniz , , , Global Chief Information Officer

Susan Doniz was appointed Global Chief Information Officer of Aimia in June, 2011. She is responsible for defining the global internal and external Information & Technology strategy to deliver innovation and growth across and within regions. Previous to this role she enjoyed a variety of leadership roles at Procter & Gamble such as leading a global transformational P&G strategy to ‘Digitize’ P&G from Concept Creation to Shopper; Global Shared Service executive for the $19 billion P&G Beauty & Grooming business for R&D, Product Supply and Sales; Global services leader across Purchasing, Planning, Global Master Data Shared Service, Business Intelligence & Analytics and the CIO & Shared Services (Business Analytics/Intelligence, Procurement, Project Management, Master Data, Consumer Relations, Financial Services & Accounting, Employee Services(Benefit, Payroll, Relocation, Travel), and Real Estate) leader for Procter & Gamble Canada. Susan has enjoyed various long assignments in both developed and developing markets and speaks various languages. Her roles have centered around business transformation. She has been often tapped to lead, create and deliver multifunctional strategies for top executives. Susan graduated from University of Toronto, Engineering and studied Graduate courses in Europe (Netherlands) and Executive Learning at Harvard. She has sponsored various cultural networks and speaks often at leadership and industry events. She has served on boards such as the CIO Association of Canada, Centre of Outsourcing & Research (CORE), Engineers without Borders and the Salvation Army National Board.

Liz Graham , , , Executive Vice President, Operations & Strategic Initiatives

Liz Graham was appointed Executive Vice President, Operations and Strategic Initiatives in February, 2013. In this role Ms. Graham is responsible for overseeing the global CIO office, which includes the development and delivery of Aimia's scalable and efficient product set, supporting client needs and business growth. As a founding executive of Aeroplan, the predecessor to the global entity now known as Aimia, over the last decade Ms. Graham has developed and led the full spectrum of operational support units across the enterprise and through significant corporate transformations and growth. Prior to joining Aimia, Ms. Graham enjoyed a lengthy and successful career with Air Canada in increasingly complex and senior leadership roles in Customer Service, Business Development and Strategy culminating in her appointment, in 1998, as Vice President, Airports, where she was responsible for airport and cargo operations in North America. Ms. Graham has been active in broadening the footprint and reputation of Aimia across the world. Deeply committed to organizational rigor and transparency, she has significantly contributed to the rapid growth and influence of Aimia in the nascent Loyalty industry in the short time between the 2005 IPO and the completion of two international acquisitions. As a complement to her leadership experience, Ms. Graham has also successfully completed the course of study leading to the designation of Chartered Director (C. Dir). She is a Board member of PLM. Ms. Graham is also a board member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and sits on the Advisory Committee of the Centre for Labour Management Relations at Ryerson University.

Mark Hounsell , , , Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary

Mark Hounsell is Aimia’s Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary and has overall responsibility for the development and management of the legal framework for Aimia's various businesses, as well as leadership of the enterprise's corporate secretariat and governance portfolios. In 2006, Mr. Hounsell was Vice President & General Counsel of Aeroplan. From 1997 to 2006, Mr. Hounsell held various senior positions within the BCE group of companies, most recently as Assistant General Counsel for Bell Canada. In this role, Mr. Hounsell was responsible for managing Bell's legal commercial group to service the needs of Bell's Québec enterprise operations. Mr. Hounsell's previous work with BCE concentrated on M&A, financing initiatives and corporate governance, as well as various counsel positions at Bell Canada International Inc., including the position of Vice-President, Law and Corporate Secretary. After having received his degree in law at the Université de Montréal in 1991 and having been called to the Québec Bar in 1992, Mr. Hounsell worked in private practice as a corporate commercial lawyer specializing in securities prior to moving in-house.

David Johnston , , , Group Chief Operating Officer

David Johnston was appointed Global Chief Operating Officer in February 2013. In this role, he is responsible for driving further development of Aimia’s global operating model and performance, with Aimia’s key operating regions of Canada, EMEA, US and Asia Pacific all reporting to Mr. Johnston. Mr. Johnston will also continue to be responsible for the global business development team who plan and execute the expansion of Aimia’s full suite strategy into new territories. Prior to this Mr. Johnston was President and Chief Executive Officer, EMEA and Executive Vice President from January 2010. In this role, he had full responsibility for driving the expansion of Aimia's businesses in the EMEA region including Nectar, Nectar Italia and Air Miles Middle East as well as all of our proprietary loyalty and loyalty analytics businesses in the region. Mr. Johnston joined Aimia from PepsiCo where he spent 13 years in Marketing and General Management. He has had extensive global experience in PepsiCo in Europe, Latin America and in PepsiCo's global headquarters in Purchase, New York. He holds an Honours Degree in Business from Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom.

Jan-Pieter Lips , , , President – Europe, Middle East and Africa

Jan-Pieter Lips was appointed President of the EMEA region and Executive Vice President in February 2013. In this role, he has full accountability for leading and growing Aimia's businesses in the EMEA region across a full suite of loyalty management services of proprietary loyalty, loyalty analytics and coalition, including Nectar, Nectar Italia and Air Miles Middle East. Mr. Lips was one of the founders of the Nectar UK business in 2002 and was Managing Director of Nectar UK from 2009 to February 2013. He is one of the pioneers of the loyalty management industry in Europe, having started his career with Loyalty Management Group in the Netherlands in 1997. Prior to this Jan-Pieter worked for retail consortium Vendex where he started his career. Jan-Pieter has lived in London UK for more than 10 years and was born and educated in The Netherlands. He holds a degree in Business Economics from the University of Amsterdam.

Eric Monteiro , , , Executive Vice President, Global Strategy

Eric Monteiro was appointed Executive Vice President, Global Strategy in November 2012. Mr. Monteiro is responsible for leading Aimia's overall global strategy and key strategic initiatives, including identifying mergers and acquisitions targets as well as supporting new business development. Monteiro leads Aimia's Global Strategy group, working with our Group Chief Executive and partnering with regional business leaders to conceive and execute strategic and long-term plans that will drive growth for the company. He also supervises the development of centres of excellence and strategic roadmaps, and leads our global analytics center of excellence. Monteiro brings nearly 20 years of strategy experience, most recently as a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he spent the last 15 years and co-led the Business Technology office in Canada and served a variety of international clients with an emphasis on financial services and telecom sectors. Eric began his career in São Paulo, Brazil, where he was born and raosed, working with Fortune 100 multinationals. He holds an M.B.A. with High Distinction from the University of Michigan Ross Business School and a B.Sc. in Automation Engineering from the University of São Paulo.

Melissa Sonberg , , , Senior Vice President, Global Brand, Communications and External Affairs

Melissa Sonberg was appointed Senior Vice President, Global Brand, Communications and External Affairs in March, 2011. Ms. Sonberg is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Aimia’s voice and reputation across its global markets, including branding, communications policies, corporate affairs, government and regulatory affairs and social responsibility. Ms. Sonberg previously held the position of Vice President, Corporate Services, Aeroplan, overseeing all aspects of Aimia 's human resources, corporate communications, and corporate social responsibility programs She has hands on experience in the private and public sectors. She has previously held a number of senior management positions at Air Canada, including Director of Organizational Learning and Director – Customer Service Communication, Employee Involvement and Training. Mrs. Sonberg has also had key leadership roles in Québec's health and social services sector. Ms. Sonberg's expertise in her field has been noted in the Who's Who of Canadian Business, the Who's Who of Canadian Women, the Who's Who of Canada, as well as Women in the Lead, the directory of qualified Canadian Women for Board Appointment. Ms. Sonberg holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from McGill University and a Master's of Administration from the University of Ottawa. She frequently guest lectures at McGill University and other institutions. She also offers her expertise through involvement in a variety of community organizations, currently serving as a Board Member of Equitas (The Canadian Human Rights Foundation). Ms. Sonberg is a graduate of the Director's Education Program of the Institute of Corporate Directors and holds the designation ICD.D.

Vince Timpano , , , Executive Vice President; President and Chief Executive Officer - Canada

Vincent R. Timpano is President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada and Executive Vice President of Aimia. In this role, Mr. Timpano has full accountability for leading and growing the Canadian business, which includes the full suite of loyalty management services of coalition, proprietary and loyalty analytics delivered across multiple business units in Canada. Previously, he served as President and CEO of Aeroplan, where he established and led the strategic direction of the business, while ensuring alignment across the organization to drive performance and growth for Canada’s leading premium rewards program. Before Aeroplan, Mr. Timpano was President, Coca-Cola Ltd. in Canada where he led the organization in the development and expansion of Canada's leading non-alcoholic beverage portfolio. Prior to holding that position, Mr. Timpano served as President and CEO for The Minute Maid Company Canada Inc., where he successfully oversaw all activities associated with the company’s juice and juice drinks business. Mr. Timpano is a member of the board of the Canadian Marketing Association. He also currently serves with the United Way, Toronto as member of the board of trustees, and is chair of its finance, audit and risk committee and a member of its governance and human resources committee. Mr. Timpano holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario.

Sandy Walker , , , Chief Talent Officer

Sandy Walker is Aimia’s Chief Talent Officer and is responsible for mobilizing our considerable HR strength across the global enterprise to support and guide our efforts to realize our talent and culture goals. Previous to this role, Sandy Walker held senior positions at BCE/Bell Canada and Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. She joined BCE/Bell Canada in 2005, initially leading Human Resources for the Enterprise Group and subsequently taking the post of Vice President, Human Resources - Business Markets where she successfully oversaw multiple transformational business structuring endeavours, evolved people and culture planning for all B2B businesses, led the reset of Bell's Leadership Development and Talent Management programs, focused on building the organization's talent pipeline, and supported talent identification deeply into the organization. Prior to joining Bell, Sandy was Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Administration at Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. where, as a member of the Executive Committee, she had full responsibility for all matters related to global human resource governance matters. Earlier in her career, Sandy held progressively senior roles in the life and health reinsurance business, leading to the role of Head, Human Resource Services, North America for Swiss Re Life & Health. Sandy is a graduate of the University of Toronto, and holds FLMI and CHRP designations.

Michael Zea , , , Executive Vice President; President and Chief Executive Officer - U.S

Michael Zea is President and Chief Executive Officer for the U.S. Region, and Executive Vice President of Aimia. In this role, Mr. Zea has full commercial and operating responsibility for Aimia in the U.S., with a critical focus on new business development and driving key strategic growth initiatives for the market. Mr. Zea brings more than 20 years of strategic consulting experience, most recently as a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he was an acknowledged client and knowledge entrepreneur within the firm and led McKinsey's Loyalty Marketing Service line globally. Prior to McKinsey, Mr. Zea enjoyed over a decade of success with Oliver Wyman, having joined that firm as the founding associate of the Chicago office and one of three selected to launch that firm's Aviation practice, and managed the firm's New York office from 2003-2005. A graduate of Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern and Purdue University, earlier in his career Mr. Zea worked in sales, pricing and distribution at major airlines including United and American. Mr. Zea is also a Trustee on the Board of The Nature Conservancy of Connecticut, and Alexandra's Playground.

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