Clare Brown, Treasurer
Clare Brown
Clare is a retired senior finance leader with experience in the media, broadcasting and technology sectors. She has overseen both corporate and operational finance teams, and has extensive experience with financial reporting, budgeting and forecasting, M&A and financing. Most recently, she was VP Finance with McGillivray Entertainment Inc. Clare is a CPA (CA) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University.
Denise Cooper (Independent)
Denise Cooper
Denise Cooper is a lawyer and strategic business advisor to publicly traded and privately held companies and leaders in the Canadian and international media and technology space, as well as venture-funded startups. Her expertise is in the areas of corporate/commercial, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, privacy, film and television licensing, production and distribution, employment and intellectual property law, and she was recognized by L’expert in 2005 when she received the Top 40 Under 40 In-house Counsel Award.
Prior to entering private practice, Denise was Vice President and General Counsel for Virgin Mobile Canada. Prior to that, she spent 14 years at CHUM Limited, where she served as Vice President, Business and Legal Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. In addition to sitting as a director on the Bell Fund, Denise is currently a director of Interactive Ontario. Denise received her Bachelor of Laws Degree (J.D.) from Osgoode Hall at York University (Toronto) and a Master of Law Degree (LL.M.) from Columbia University (New York). She is a member of both the Ontario and New York State Bars.
Lenore Gibson
Lenore Gibson
Lenore is Assistant General Counsel at BCE Inc., Canada’s largest communications company. In this role, she provides regulatory and copyright advice for both its media (Bell Media) and broadcast distribution (Bell TV) divisions. Lenore joined BCE following its acquisition of CTVglobemedia in 2011 and was previously at CHUM Limited prior to its purchase by CTVglobemedia in 2007. In addition to sitting as a director of the Bell Fund, Lenore is a director of the Canadian Association of Broadcaster, recently serving as its Chair, and is also the current Chair of the Radio Starmaker Fund. Lenore holds a Bachelor of Arts (1992) and a Bachelor of Laws (1996) from the University of Western Ontario.
Prem Gill (Independent)
Prem Gill
Prem Gill is Chief Executive Officer of Creative BC. The organization is designated by the Province of British Columbia to focus on uniting, sustaining and growing British Columbia’s dynamic and diverse creative sector including motion picture, music and sound recording, interactive and digital media, and magazine and book publishing.
Prem has been named one of Canada’s 100 most powerful women, Vancouver Magazine’s “Power 50” and received the Community Catalyst award from the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. She brings more than 20 years of experience from the digital media and entertainment industries to her current role as CEO, where she is responsible for delivering a wide range of programs and services that will expand B.C.’s creative economy to reach its economic, social and creative potential both at home and globally.
Brad Pelman (Independent)
Brad Pelman
Brad Pelman is an executive producer, advisor, consultant, and filmed content distribution expert with over 30 years of experience. He has held positions previously with Sony Pictures, Lionsgate Entertainment, Maple Pictures and Alliance Films. Presently he is President of Creator Rights Co. where he is working with content creators to develop, finance and eventually produce their filmed entertainment projects. Pelman joined the board of directors of the National Screen Institute (NSI) in 2009 having served as Co-Chair and presently Vice Chair of the Board. NSI is a Winnipeg MB based school dedicated to training the next generation of Canada's content creators through practical real-world placement and workplace experience sharing initiatives. Pelman joined the Bell Fund Board in November of 2019 and serves on the programming committee.
Nicolas Poitras
Nicolas Poitras
Nicolas Poitras is Bell’s Vice President of Marketing Communications leading a robust team of professionals in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and the four Atlantic Provinces. Nicolas is responsible for promoting Bell’s residential and small business services including TV, Internet, Home phone, Mobility and home security services.
Nicolas joined the Bell family in 1994. Over the years, Nicolas rose through the ranks and his role in several strategic communications positions were instrumental in growing both the business and his career. In 2011, he took over the leadership of marketing communications for residential services on a national level, while concurrently overseeing all residential services operations in Quebec. Nicolas also spearheaded various large-scale projects, notably the launch of the Fibe brand across the country. His advertising campaigns have received numerous awards from Publicité Club de Montreal to the Cannes Lions.
Prior to joining Bell, Nicolas completed his bachelor’s degree at Université Laval and kick-started his career in media.
Naveen Prasad, Chair (Independent)
Naveen Prasad
Naveen Prasad is a media executive and content producer. He is the Co-Founder of Impossible Objects, a film and television production company he launched in 2017. He also served as the President of the VICE Media Group in Canada, having stepped down in 2020. Prior to VICE, Prasad was the EVP and GM of Elevation Pictures. He was also previously the SVP of Television and Digital at both eOne and Alliance Films. Prasad’s producing credits include Executive Producer of the Netflix Original series BETWEEN, as well as RIVER, which won Best First Feature Film at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards. He also Executive Produced the documentary LONG TIME RUNNING which had a Gala Presentation at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. While at Vice, he also Executive Produced the critically acclaimed DARK SIDE OF THE RING, the CBC original series GOOD PEOPLE, the Crave original feature RAT PARK, WAR CONTINUED for CGTN, and the upcoming OutTV/FUSE Networks original CLOTHES MINDED.
In addition to currently chairing The Bell Fund, Prasad served as a past board member for Hollywood Suite, CAFDE, and the Reelworld Film Festival. Prasad also makes time for various other industry advisory activities including sitting on both the CMF’s Industry Roundtable and Ontario Creates’ Screen Advisory Committee. He has also worked in ad hoc advisory capacities with The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Fin Partners’ co-production market, and The Banff Media Festival. In 2015 he was invited to speak to the Canadian House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to discuss the future of media and Canadian content.
Pierre Rodrigue
Pierre Rodrigue
Pierre Rodrigue has worked in the broad sector of culture and communications for nearly 40 years, and is recognized both for his experience as a manager and for his reputation as part of several professional and social networks. An attorney by training, he has run companies marketing cultural products and has also held a number of management positions in radio, television, digital media and telecommunications.
Since September 2015, he has been Bell Canada's primary representative to Francophone elected officials at the federal, provincial and municipal levels, as well as to chambers of commerce and leaders in the Quebec business community. A Certified Corporate Director (CCD), Pierre Rodrigue has sat on the board of directors of several charitable and cultural organizations. He is currently chairman of the board of Musicaction and Les Filles Électriques in addition to being a board member of Fondation 24 heures Tremblant [Tremblant’s 24-hour race], La Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, Cinémania and Bell Fund.
Lastly, he is a founding partner of The Orpailleur vineyard.
Johanne Saint-Laurent (Independent) | OLMC Representative
Johanne Saint-Laurent
OLMC Representative | Johanne has more than 25 years of experience in the broadcasting sector, and more specifically in television. She has had a successful career at Astral Media, where she held various senior management positions. She began as Vice President, Finance and Administration. She also held the position of Senior Vice President, Finance, Business and Operations with responsibility for Finance, Human Resources, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Information Technology, Commercial Routing and broadcast technical services. In 2002, she was promoted to Senior Vice-President, Commercial Affairs and General Manager, thus involving her more in the strategic development and operations on the Quebec television market for eight specialty services (Canal D, Canal Vie , Vrak.TV, Séries +, Historia, Musique Plus and Musimax) and both Super Écran and Cinépop pay television services. Johanne holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration - (Finance) as well as a Master's degree in Business Administration - MBA from Université de Sherbrooke. She has served on numerous boards of directors, including the Rendez-vous du cinéma du Québec, the Harold Greenberg Fund, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, the Canadian Satellite Users Association and the Research Foundation from the Université de Sherbrooke. Johanne was also a founding member of Quebec Cinéma. She also sits on the Board of Directors of Accessible Media Inc.