CEO and Executive Management Team at Canadian Blood Services

Dr. Graham D. Sher
Chief Executive Officer

Graham is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Blood Services, the agency charged with managing Canada's national blood, plasma and stem cell programs in all provinces and territories across Canada, excluding Quebec. He has been with Canadian Blood Services since it began operations in September 1998, when he joined as its first Vice President Medical, Scientific & Clinical Management. He was appointed to the position of CEO in June 2001.

In this capacity, Graham continues to lead Canadian Blood Services through an extensive, multi-year Transformation journey. Under Graham's leadership, the early phases of this transformation were focused on a comprehensive service delivery model redesign aimed at ensuring safety, adequacy and efficiency of products and services, with a firm focus on innovation. More recently, the organization has renewed its strategy to become a trusted partner in health care delivery. Graham is leading Canadian Blood Services in its work to develop an integrated national system for organ and tissue donation and transplantation (OTDT), which is being undertaken in collaboration with the broad OTDT community.

Graham is a recognized expert in transfusion medicine and science, and is widely sought after as a speaker nationally and internationally. He sits on a number of blood system and health care related advisory bodies, and has provided consulting support to other countries in the transformation of their blood systems. Graham is a founding member and current Chair of the Alliance of Blood Operators and is the first international director on the Board of the AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks). Beyond blood system governance, Graham has a passion for health system design and management, and is active in a number of areas of health system performance improvement.

Although serving exclusively in administrative roles since joining Canadian Blood Services, Graham is a hematologist by training, having acquired his medical and doctoral degrees at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and his specialty certification at the University of Toronto, Canada. He was formerly a physician and scientist on staff at the Toronto Hospital and on faculty at the University of Toronto.

He is happily married, has three sons, and is constantly struggling to find more time for his other passion in life: photography.

Mr. Ian Mumford
Chief Operating Officer

Ian Mumford, Chief Operating Officer at Canadian Blood Services, is responsible for all core national activities essential to providing Canadians with a continual supply of safe, high-quality blood products through 732 healthcare facilities across Canada.

Ian’s role is to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of a service delivery model that integrates all aspects of the national blood supply chain, from marketing, donor recruitment and collections to donor testing and distribution. He is also responsible for the organization’s corporate communications program, the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network and Plasma Products and Services program.

Ian joined Canadian Blood Services at its founding in 1998 as a Vice-President tasked with vastly increasing blood collections, rebuilding the donor base and restoring public trust in the nation’s blood system. His successful programs have received numerous national and international awards.

Prior to joining Canadian Blood Services, Ian held various executive positions of increasing scope and responsibility in the health, energy and communications sectors.

Based at Canadian Blood Services' Head Office in Ottawa, Ian continues to be involved in professional and community organizations. He is a member of the American Association of Blood Banks and the Association of Donor Recruitment Professionals and serves on the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Health Research Institute and the Hospice at May Court. He also served six years on the Ottawa Civic Hospital Board of Trustees, including two years as Chairman.

Dr. Christian Choquet
Vice-President, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs

Dr. Christian Choquet, Vice-President, Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs joined Canadian Blood Services on August 9, 2004. Dr. Choquet is responsible for the overall guidance of Canadian Blood Services’ quality systems, focusing on ensuring that all operations meet or exceed applicable standards and regulations.

Dr. Choquet holds a B Sc (Hons.) in Biochemistry and M Sc in Microbiology from Laurentian University, as well as a Ph D in microbiology from the University of Ottawa. During his academic career he received numerous awards and was widely published in his field of expertise.

Between 1994 and 1999, Dr. Choquet worked at Health Canada in the Medical Devices Bureau, during which time he gained considerable insight and experience in regulations and standards. Prior to leaving the federal government, Christian was Section Head, In Vitro Diagnostic Devices, Device Evaluation Division, of the Medical Devices Bureau. He then joined Infectio Diagnostic Inc. (I.D.I.) in October 1999, based in Quebec City. I.D.I. develops and manufactures molecular in vitro diagnostic test kits for the detection of infectious microbiological agents. Most recently he was Vice-President, Regulatory, Clinical and Quality Affairs at I.D.I.

Mr. Watson Gale
Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

As Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Canadian Blood Services, Mr. Gale is responsible for overseeing Canadian Blood Services' legal, governance and risk management activities. Mr. Gale came to Canadian Blood Services from the Ottawa office of a major national law firm, where he was a partner for more than 10 years. Watson has 20 years of legal experience that he brings to his role at Canadian Blood Services. This experience has been focussed on corporate matters, health care technology and systems, governance and not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Gale is a member of the Law Societies in Ontario, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association as well as the International Bar Association.

Ms. Pauline Port
Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer

As Vice-President, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Pauline Port is responsible for providing the Executive Management Team and Board of Directors with advice and counsel relative to financial strategies.

Her responsibilities include identifying means to leverage technology, information systems and new approaches to management in order to make Canadian Blood Services more efficient. Ms. Port is also responsible for the development of a strategic facilities plan as well as assisting the organization in improving its business and financial planning.

Having extensive senior level leadership experience in internal audits, financial management and reporting, facilities and material management, and financial operations including general accounting, payroll, accounts payable and treasury, Ms. Port was most recently Acting Co-Vice President Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer for Canadian Blood Services.

Prior to Canadian Blood Services, Ms. Port was Director of Finance and Treasurer at CARE Canada, an international humanitarian and relief organization. Ms. Port is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Ms. Sophie de Villers
Vice-President, Strategy Management

Ms. Sophie de Villers, Vice-President, Strategy Management is responsible for equipping, training and guiding the organization in its adoption of best practices in strategic performance management.

Sophie and her team help the organization with the prioritization of initiatives, implementation of sound project management practices and the management of the corporate portfolio of key initiatives. She is heavily involved in international benchmarking activities and the tracking of national and international trends in the pharmaceutical, health-care and blood industries.

Sophie also leads the corporate planning cycle which has been essential in the transformation of Canadian Blood Services into a world class blood system and integral to maintaining provincial and territorial support for the implementation of the strategy.

Tasked with facilitating the creation of a strategy focussed culture, Sophie leads the Internal Communications group who assists in translating strategy into practice and creating a high degree of awareness of strategy at all levels of the organization.

Beginning in 2008 when Canadian Blood Services was given a mandate to work with organ and tissue donation and transplantation communities to improve organ and tissue donation and transplantation in Canada, Sophie has been heavily involved in the development of a strategy for an integrated national system.

Sophie has a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University in addition to a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from Carleton University. She joined Canadian Blood Services in September 1998, as a member of the founding Executive Management Team.

Dr. Dana Devine
Vice-President of Medical, Scientific & Research Affairs

Dr. Devine will lead the Medical Division at Canadian Blood Services, which includes responsibility for transfusion medicine, donor and transplantation services, emerging pathogens and infectious diseases, surveillance and epidemiology, as well as research and development.

Since joining Canadian Blood Services in 1999 as Executive Director of Research and Development, she has played an integral role in a number of initiatives, particularly the development of the visionary Network Clinic for Advancement and Development Laboratory in Vancouver.

Dr. Devine holds a PhD in Immunology from Duke University in North Carolina, and has over 19 years of professional association with the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Medicine as an educator and mentor in blood research.

Rod Brandvold
Vice-President, Talent Management

Dr. Brandvold joins Canadian Blood Services in a new position that was created to focus on strategic workforce planning and development. His extensive experience includes more than 30 years in human resources development, leadership and training.

Previously, Dr. Brandvold was Vice-President of Organizational Development at Cognos; and Director of Global Leadership Development at Nortel between 1989 and 1998.

Dr. Brandvold holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and Organizational Analysis from the University of Alberta; a Masters of Education in Educational Psychology, and a Bachelors of Education in Mathematics from the University of Saskatchewan.

Jean-Paul Bedard
Vice-President, Public Affairs

Jean-Paul leads the Public Affairs division in managing all aspects related to funders and is responsible for developing and managing strategies to inform and influence public policy at all levels of government, as well as in the broader healthcare community, on issues relevant to the blood system. He is also responsible for external communications (including media relations), public education and government relations.

Formerly of Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada, and before that, Bayer, Inc., Jean-Paul has 15 years of proven success in government relations and public affairs in the pharmaceutical industry. Team-building, leadership and collaboration are hallmarks for which he is recognized.

Jean-Paul holds a BSc in Biology and a Business Administration Certificate from the University of Ottawa.