Connecting leaders. Building capacity. Driving change.

About

Since 2015, The Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) has connected, convened, and leveraged the power of its members to create opportunities for post-secondary students and workers, boost innovation, and drive collaboration.  As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization we bring together Canada’s top companies and leading post-secondary institutions.

 
Students sitting in bright class room doing exam

We are the only organization in Canada that brings together the country’s top companies and leading post-secondary institutions to tackle skills, talent, and economic challenges. Our members represent businesses from all sectors and regions and a diversity of Canada’s leading higher education institutions. Together, we inform and impact decision-making and work at the intersection of innovation and skills development

Our Vision

Canada’s business and post-secondary leaders face many challenges. Working together to solve these challenges is more critical than ever and will strengthen Canada’s economy along the way. BHER is a connector and convenor.  We bring people together to create a thriving Canada where everyone has an opportunity to reach their potential.

Our Mission

Creating opportunity through collaboration.

Our Values

  • We act on evidence. Information and data are the basis for what we do.
  • We act with confidence. We are bold in our opinions and output.
  • We drive transformation, we don’t do things the old way. We stay ahead of the curve.
  • We act in partnership. Relationship builders are who we are.
  • We connect people, collaborate with groups, and develop partnerships between everyone in our ecosystem.
  • We act for all. The outcome of our work is for the benefit of everyone in Canada.
2022-2025 Strategic Plan

Our Strategic Plan

The Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) was created and incubated by the Business Council of Canada in 2015. Business leaders saw an opportunity to join forces with post-secondary leaders to tackle some of the toughest challenges Canada’s learners, workers, educators, and employers were facing, including better preparing entry-level talent for the workforce. In 2019, BHER spun out as a standalone not-for-profit, with a federal mandate to help every post-secondary student get work experience through WIL. To date, we’ve created more than 60,000 WILs and counting and continue to build and change WIL ecosystems across Canada. Along the way, our members have driven us to take on new challenges. Learn more about our convening and events, areas of focus, and custom R&D by following the links above.

Download

Our History

The Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) was created and incubated by the Business Council of Canada in 2015. Business leaders saw an opportunity to join forces with post-secondary leaders to tackle some of the toughest challenges Canada’s learners, workers, educators, and employers were facing, including better preparing entry-level talent for the workforce. 

In 2019, BHER spun out as a standalone not-for-profit, with a federal mandate to help every post-secondary student get work experience through work-integrated learning (WIL). To date, we’ve created more than 60,000 WILs and counting and continue to build and change WIL ecosystems across Canada. Along the way, our members have driven us to take on new challenges. Learn more about our convening and events, areas of focus, and custom R&D by following the links above.

 
Crowd clapping and smiling at presentation.

What we do for our business and higher education members

We convene members through biannual meetings, an annual summit, focused roundtables, network-building events, and other opportunities to connect with leaders and decision makers across different industries. Our members shape our priorities, from convening through to our research and program agendas. We build them into our projects as experts and collaborators, employers, program delivery partners, and participants.

Together, we leverage the collective power of our members to impact and inform decision-making at all levels of government.

Our Team

 

Board of Directors

BHER’s Board of Directors is elected by and from BHER’s membership. They represent both the business and post-secondary sectors with an industry Board Chair and two Vice-Chairs from post-secondary, one from universities and one from colleges/polytechnics.

David Mckay

David McKay

President and CEO, RBC Chair
Don Bureaux

Don Bureaux

President, NSCC Vice-Chair
Dr. Vivek Goel

Dr. Vivek Goel

President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Waterloo Vice-Chair
Goldy Hyder

Goldy Hyder

President and CEO, Business Council of Canada Member
Dr Rhonda L. Lenton

Dr. Rhonda L. Lenton

President and Vice-Chancellor, York University Member
Dr. Larry Rosia

Dr. Larry Rosia

President and CEO, Saskatchewan Polytechnic Member

John Baker

CEO, D2L Member

Finance, Audit, and Risk Committee

BHER’s Board of Directors is elected by and from BHER’s membership. They represent both the business and post-secondary sectors with an industry Board Chair and two Vice-Chairs from post-secondary, one from universities and one from colleges/polytechnics.

Don Bureaux

Don Bureaux

President, NSCC Committee Chair
Dr. Larry Rosia

Dr. Larry Rosia

President and CEO, Saskatchewan Polytechnic Commitee Member

John Baker

CEO, D2L Commitee Member

Dr. Lorraine Dyke

Vice President, Finance & Administration, Carleton University Commitee Member

Lilian Cheung, FCPA, FCA

Partner, Professional Practice Director, Deloitte LLP Commitee Member

Corporate Team

BHER’s team comes from diverse educational backgrounds and professional experiences. They are located across Canada and work in teams, including the Executive Team, Finance & Operations, Research & Development, Programs & Partnerships, Member Relations, Communications, and Events & Convening.

Val Walker

Chief Executive Officer

Jennifer Riopelle

Vice-President of Corporate Services

Matthew McKean

Chief R&D Officer

Andrew Bieler

Director of Partnerships & Experiential Learning

Cindy Gabourie

Director of Finance

Sara Miller

Program Manager of Work-Integrated Learning

Sarah White

Senior Partnerships Coordinator & Stakeholder Relations

Tiffany Flecknell

Senior Partnerships Coordinator & Stakeholder Relations

Sunny Chan

Senior Content Specialist

Carmela Busi

R&D Associate

Tom Young

Junior R&D Associate

Nouran El Atreby

Junior R&D Associate

Laura Romanese

Events & Convening Specialist

Sarah Adeniran

Finance Analyst

Karen Wong

Program Coordinator

Dani Palmateer

Communications Coordinator