The GTA Rewards Association originated in June 2005 when a group of 50 GTA WorldatWork members gathered at Manulife Financial's offices in Toronto to discuss a shortage of networking and educational opportunities for total rewards professionals in the GTA.

At that meeting two groups were formed:

• A Breakfast Seminar Committee
• A GTA Rewards Steering Committee

The purpose of the Breakfast Seminar Committee was to organize a series of breakfast seminars with interesting speakers on topics relating to Total Rewards. These seminars were set up to facilitate networking and the sharing of ideas and experiences by members in the GTA rewards community. The first seminar was held in October 2005.

The Steering Committee's goal was to determine how best to encourage the creation of a vibrant and connected rewards community in the GTA. The Steering Committee considered many ways of achieving their long-term goal. After benchmarking the practices of other rewards associations across North America, it became clear that creating a not-for-profit association affiliated with WorldatWork through the Local Partnership Network was the best way of accomplishing this. Becoming a WorldatWork Local Partner offered many benefits including providing support in the set up of the Association, further benchmarking the practices of other WorldatWork Local Partners, and allowing the GTA Rewards Association to offer WorldatWork courses in the GTA.

On July 1, 2006 the Steering Committee ended, having achieved its goal of creating the GTA Rewards Association. The Association became the 83rd Local Partner with WorldatWork. Many of the Steering Committee members continued their involvement by becoming members of the Association's Board.

OUR GOALS

One of our goals is to provide education and networking opportunities to members for the purpose of deepening Total Rewards knowledge and expertise across the GTA. To this end, the Steering Committee identified the following first year goals:

• Host a series of 5 first-rate rewards seminar/networking events
• Launch a website to promote the GTA rewards community and keep members informed of events
• Facilitate the sharing of rewards information by establishing data sharing groups
• Reach out to senior rewards practitioners by hosting round table discussions
• Raise awareness of the GTA Rewards Association and WorldatWork activities by connecting with universities and colleges, and partnering with other HR associations

Domenic D’Allesandro
President
Email: president@gtarewards.org

Girish Ganesan
Vice President, Membership
Email: membership@gtarewards.org

Laura Hirsh
Treasurer
Email: finance@gtarewards.org

Diana Holec
Vice President, Events
Email: events@gtarewards.org

Julie Shayda
Vice President, Communications
Email:communications@gtarewards.org

David Tuck
Vice President, Education
Email:education@gtarewards.org

Liz Black
Secretary
Email:secretary@gtarewards.org

 

Robynn McKenna
Board Member, GTA Rewards Association
905/755-2181
Email: robyn.mckenna@fritolay.com

Eric Cousineau
Board Member, GTA Rewards Association
Email: ecousineau@ocgroup.ca

Emilia De Simone
Board Member, GTA Rewards Association
905/845-0192, ext. 277
Email: edesimone@salesresourcegroup.ca

* Paul Hooper
Associate Partner, Hugessen Consulting
Email: phooper@hugessen.com

Liz Wright
McDowall Associates
Email: lizwright@mcdowallassociates.com

David Crawford
Principal, Executive Compensation Practice, Towers Perrin
Email: david.crawford@towersperrin.com

Anne Fithern
VP, Compensation, RBC
Email: anne.fithern@rbc.com

Harold Gershman
VP Global Rewards, Manulife Financial
Email: harold_gershman@manulife.com

Sherry Smith
VP Total Rewards, Loblaw Companies Ltd.
Email: sherry.smith@loblaw.ca

Lorraine Irvine
VP Compensation & Benefits, Ontario Power Generation
Email: lorraine.irvine@opg.com

John Hardisty
Professor & Coordinator, Human Resource Management Programs,
Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
Email: john.hardisty@sheridanc.on.ca

* Advisory board chair