Board Members
Board members were appointed after an extensive search led by an external executive search firm in summer 2023. More than 100 applications were received, with a committee composed of MEPP Commission and PEPP Board members recommending the final Directors appointed to the Plannera Board.
Jeff Stusek
Board Chair
Jeff joined Information Services Corporation (ISC) in 2006, where he served as Chief Operating Officer before eventually becoming President, CEO for 13 years. Under his leadership, ISC made the transition from a provincial Crown corporation to a publicly traded company in 2013. Prior to joining ISC, Jeff served in various leadership roles over his 13 years at the City of Regina, including as the Director of Transit, as well as managing information technology and geographic information systems. He has served on several boards throughout his career, including nine years on the Saskatchewan Roughriders Board (and five years as the Vice Chair), the CFL Board of Governors, and the Conexus Arts Centre Board. He served as President and Chair of the Board for Regina Minor Football and also as the Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator of the University of Regina Rams. He currently coaches Special Teams with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Garnet Garven
Board Vice-Chair
Garnet is Dean of Business Emeritus at the University of Regina, director and chair of the investment committee of Western Surety Insurance Company and a member of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Pension Investment Management Board. He was recently appointed as Chair of the OECD Committee of Experts. A former senior executive with roles including Deputy Minister to the Premier, Cabinet Secretary, and Chair & CEO of the Saskatchewan WCB. His experience includes the City of Regina Civic Pension Plan, chair of the WCB Pension Board, the U of R Pension & Benefits Committee, and founding director of Greystone Managed Investments. He was a member of the Accounting Standards Board of Canada, and for more than 11 years was a director on the $300 billion Public Sector Pension Investment Board. Educated in business administration at the University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan, and Western University, he is honorary Chartered Professional Accountant.
Arnie Arnott
Board Member
Arnie spent his nearly 40-year career as a Chartered Professional Accountant with Canpotex Limited and Saskatchewan Blue Cross. He retired in 2020 after serving 16 years as President and CEO of Saskatchewan Blue Cross. Arnie has extensive experience with Health and Dental, Out of Canada Travel, Life, and Income Replacement insurance. While at Blue Cross, he served in leadership roles on the boards of the Blue Cross Life Insurance Company of Canada, the Canadian Association of Blue Cross Plans, and the Western Conference of Prepaid Health Plans. He also served as director on the boards of the Saskatchewan Institute of Chartered Accountants, Saskatchewan Pension Plan, Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, Saskatchewan Mutual Insurance Company, and the Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club.
Samer Awadh
Board Member
Samer is a partner of MLT Aikins LLP, one of Canada’s largest law firms. He advises clients in Saskatchewan and abroad on matters involving mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and securities, governance, and other corporate and commercial matters. Samer serves as Co-chair of the firm’s Innovation Committee. He has extensive board experience, having served on or advised boards of directors and committees in the public, private, pension, and not-for-profit sectors. He is also a frequent author and speaker on corporate, commercial, and governance topics. Samer has degrees from the University of Calgary and the University of Saskatchewan and holds the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Caroline Blouin
Board Member
Caroline Blouin is a senior leader in financial services whose career spans over 30 years across pensions, insurance, investments, and governance. Her experience covers every seat at the table: as a global consultant advising multinationals, a plan sponsor running programs at scale, an insurer executing pension risk transfer transactions, a regulator, and a board director.
Caroline's international career took shape in the New York office of Mercer, one of the world's leading global consulting firms, where she advised large multinational clients on pension and benefit strategy, including complex cross-border mergers and acquisitions. That foundation of global transactions and multi-market thinking stayed with her through everything that followed.
She went on to hold senior roles at RBC in Toronto, spanning pensions and benefits, HR, investments, and insurance, including the firm's pension and benefit programs globally. From there, she was appointed the inaugural Executive Vice-President, Pensions at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, where she modernized and led pension oversight, including launching Pension Awareness Day under her leadership.
Today, Caroline is the Founding Partner of Blue Sun Partners, a boutique advisory firm working at the intersection of strategy, governance, and execution.
Caroline currently serves on the boards of Canadian Scholarship Trust, FCT (Canada's largest title insurance business), and Normandin Beaudry (a leader in total rewards in Canada). She holds a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from Western University, is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and a Chartered Director.
Brad Farquhar
Board Member
Brad is a corporate director. He was the co-founder, Executive Vice-President and CFO of Regina-based SSC Security Services Corp. (TSXV: SECU) and previously co-founded Input Capital Corp, the world’s first agriculture streaming company. He also co-founded Assiniboia Capital Corp, and built it into Canada’s largest farmland fund before selling it to the Canada Pension Plan. Brad is a trained financial planner with over 10 years experience as a public affairs professional. He has extensive board experience, including with SSC Security Services Corp., Mongolia Growth Group Inc. (TSXV: YAK), Cypress Hills Partners Inc., AgFunder, the Regina & District Chamber of Commerce, and the International Centre for Human Rights & Democratic Development. He received a Master of Public Administration in Electoral Governance from Griffith University in Australia and a Certified Director of the Institute of Corporate Directors of Canada.
Jayleen Groff
Board Member
Jayleen is a retired senior executive with more than 25 years of experience in Human Resources, leading business transformation and organizational change. Jayleen has held senior leadership roles including serving as the Chief People Officer at Concentra Bank and Vice President of Human Resources for Viterra.
Jayleen brings a deep background in pension plan management, with accountability for the oversight of multiple Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution, and 401k plans across Canada and the United States. Jayleen’s experience includes pension governance, risk oversight, and fiduciary responsibility, having served as a trustee for a multi-employer pension plan in Canada and as a member of several pension committees. Jayleen holds a Bachelor of Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Regina.
Karen Lautsch
Board Member
Karen has held executive roles in several Ministries throughout her 31-year career with the Saskatchewan public service. She is currently the Assistant Deputy Minister of Corporate Services and the Office of Planning, Performance, and Improvement in the Ministry of Finance. She also served as the Board Chair for Saskdocs and the Physician Recruitment Agency of Saskatchewan, and has been on the Board of Directors of the Phoenix Residential Society since 2009. Karen has an Administration degree from the University of Regina.
Crystal Nett
Board Member
Crystal is a financial and governance professional with over 30 years’ experience in a variety of roles and industries. She was formerly CFO and Vice President Corporate Services in two large Saskatchewan-based organizations and Associate Vice-President Strategy and Risk for a Saskatchewan post-secondary institution. Prior to working in industry, Crystal was an Audit Manager with one of the big four accounting firms where she obtained her Chartered Accountant designation (now CPA, CA).
She has served on many executive committees and boards of directors. She currently chairs the Finance, Audit, Investment & Risk Committee of the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) Board. She also chairs the Audit and Finance Committee of the Technical Safety Authority of Saskatchewan (TSASK) Board.
She was previously a member of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer Board, Chair of the SaskTel Centre Board and Audit & Finance Committee Chair of the Royal University Hospital Foundation Board. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a Certified Director of the Institute of Corporate Directors of Canada.
Russell Roberts
Board Member
From 2005 to 2022, Russell was the CEO of Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership, an award-winning, successful economic development venture owned by the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. He has more than 25 years’ experience leading business entities, including as Director of Economic Development for the Prince Albert Grand Council, with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, and in the commercial banking unit of the Credit Union in La Ronge. Russell has served on numerous boards and committees in an executive and board capacity and has extensive background in areas such as commercial banking, strategic planning, corporate governance, and budgeting. He has a Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan.
Ben Voss
Board Member
Ben Voss, P.Eng, ICD.D, is President & CEO of Mazergroup. As an agricultural and bioresource engineering graduate from the University of Saskatchewan, he has worked in several long-term roles in agribusiness, private equity and technology. Born and raised on a farm near Spiritwood, Sask., he has farmed part-time since 2011.
A recognized business leader, Ben works as an executive, board member, farmer, agriculture engineer, technology expert and community volunteer. He has dedicated a significant portion of his life to philanthropy and community volunteering, specifically as a board member with STARS, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the University of Saskatchewan Alumni. In addition to serving on the board of directors of Plannera, he also serves on a Family office advisory board and as an independent director of GRIPP.AG, a U.S.-based startup company. He is the outgoing chair of the Diabetes Canada board’s fund development committee and is serving a key role in the development of Diabetes Canada’s new signature fundraising event.