Toronto, ON (January 10, 2022) – LifeLabs is pleased to share that four new individuals have joined its board of directors. The recently appointed board members possess a variety of exceptional experience and skills in the fields of health care, technology, and business operations. The new members include:
Dr. Brendan Byrne, Founder and Medical Director of Wellness Garage: Brendan has been a physician and digital pioneer for the past 25 years. Trained at Yale and McGill, he has had a parallel career as an entrepreneur. From his original practice in New Westminster, Brendan created electronic medical record software and built a business that eventually was acquired by TELUS Health and currently serves over 50% of Canadian physicians.
Rowena Rizzotti, Vice President, Healthcare and Innovations, Lark Group: Rowena is a highly successful healthcare leader with more than 35 years’ experience in management and executive-level leadership roles across multi-site, complex health and business environments. Rowena served as VP of Operations for BC’s largest private seniors’ care operator and also served as a Chief Operating Officer for BC’s Northern Health Authority among many other healthcare leadership roles. The original founder of the Health & Technology DISTRICT in Surrey, Rowena is responsible for having developed a research and innovation strategy for Fraser Health in 2012, as well as developed an Innovation Centre for Healthy Aging which won a 2015 Innovator of the Year Award in BC.
Natalie Dakers, Former Founding Chief Executive Officer, President and CEO, Accel-Rx Health Sciences: Natalie Dakers is a leading figure in the Canadian health sciences sector. Natalie has been the founding CEO of several high impact and first-of-its kind national organizations including Accel-Rx Health Sciences Accelerator, the Centre for Drug Research and Development (CDRD) now Admare BioInnovations, and the commercial arm of CDRD, CDRD Ventures. She co-founded Neuromed Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company in the neurological space developing drugs for chronic pain and epilepsy. Early in her career she enabled the technology transfer for over a dozen start-ups while at the University of British Columbia (UBC)’s Industry Liaison Office.
Bruce Burrows, Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer, Sobeys Inc.: Bruce Burrows is an accomplished Senior Executive and Consultant with more than 35 years of success in the higher education, telecom, transportation, and retail industries. Bruce is a strategic leader with a unique combination of strong Business IQ and deep technology acumen. Leveraging extensive experience with business process re-engineering Bruce is a valuable asset for companies seeking guidance on achieving multi-million-dollar tangible benefits in the areas of operations, supply chain, information technology, marketing and merchandising.
Full bios for each member of LifeLabs’ board of directors are available here.
“We are proud to welcome these exceptionally qualified business leaders to the LifeLabs board of directors,” says Charles Brown, LifeLabs’ President and CEO. “Their invaluable insight and leadership will be a tremendous asset as we look to support the growth of our organization and its strategic direction. The value of diagnostics and the insights we provide our consumers has never been more clear and we are very excited about what we will be able to deliver for Canadians to live their best life.”
Board members play a pivotal role in overseeing LifeLabs’ strategic plan and governance, while also supporting its vision, purpose, strategic priorities, and values.
About LifeLabs
LifeLabs is Canada’s leader in laboratory diagnostic information and health connectivity solutions, leveraging innovative and personalized digital tools that empower customers to live their best life. Our dedicated and talented team of 6,000 employees supports 20 million lab visits and conducts over 100 million laboratory tests annually. LifeLabs is 100% Canadian-owned by OMERS Infrastructure, the infrastructure investment manager of one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension plans. Learn more at www.lifelabs.com
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