Oversight
The Board of Directors is committed to reviewing and adapting governance practices to meet changing needs and to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
AutoCanada Inc. considers good governance to be central to ensuring effective and efficient operations.
The Board is responsible for establishing and maintaining a culture of integrity in the conduct of the affairs of the Company. The Board seeks to discharge this responsibility by satisfying itself as to the integrity of the senior Leadership Team of the Company,
and by overseeing and monitoring the Leadership Team to ensure a culture of integrity is maintained. Although Directors may be nominated or elected by shareholders to bring special expertise or a point of view to Board deliberations, they are not chosen to represent a particular constituency. The best interests of the Company and its shareholders must be paramount at all times.
Christopher Harris
Chair of the Board
Christopher Harris
Chair of the Board
Christopher Harris is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Rutland Gate Partners and a Senior Advisor at Imperial Capital. He joined Imperial Capital in 2007 from KPMG where he worked in the M&A Transaction Services department. Chris obtained his Master of Business Administration from the University of Oxford and his Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University. He is also a Chartered Professional Accountant.
Rhonda English
Board Member
Rhonda English
Board Member
Rhonda is currently Chief Marketing Officer of CAA Club Group, the largest independent automobile club in Canada and the owner of several companies in the Property & Casualty and Travel insurance businesses. Previously she held executive roles at CAA Insurance Company and Lombard Insurance Company. Throughout her extensive career, she has successfully driven company growth and profitability through thought leadership and strategic direction in the automotive and insurance industries. Rhonda served on the Board of the Markham Stouffville Hospital Foundation, retiring as Past Chair of the Foundation in 2019. Rhonda currently sits on the Markham Stouffville Hospital Board, chairing the Finance & Audit Committee. Rhonda is a CPA, and CMA and received her undergraduate degree and MBA from the Ivey Business School.
Stephen Green
Board Member
Stephen Green
Board Member
Prior to his retirement in 2017, Stephen was Executive Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary at IHS (now IHS Markit), a leading global, publicly-traded, Information Services company. In that role, Steve led a team of professionals worldwide delivering support to the company through the legal, compliance, risk management and insurance functions. Steve led the successful IPO of IHS in 2005 and multiple successful follow-on secondary offerings and public and private debt offerings. Steve was instrumental in implementing the company’s M&A strategy, completing over 70 transactions, including the roll up of companies to establish a market leading position in information and analytics in the energy and transportation industries, including automotive, and culminating in a transformational merger of equals between IHS and Markit.
Prior to IHS going public, Steve was general counsel to both IHS and the industrial companies that made up the remainder of the portfolio of TBG, a family-owned conglomerate that, in addition to IHS, included companies with leading positions in various manufacturing industries. Steve holds a BA from Yale University and received his JD from Columbia Law School.
Barry James
Board Member
Barry James
Board Member
Mr. James is a Board member and the Audit Committee Chair of Corus Entertainment. He is Chair of the Audit Committee and Vice-Chair of ATB Financial. He was the Audit Committee Chair of the Government of the Province of Alberta, a Senator and Board member of the University of Alberta, and a Trustee of the University Hospital Foundation. He is President of Barry L. James Advisory Services Ltd., a private consulting firm. Previously Mr. James was a partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta, has been recognized a Fellow of the Chartered Accountants by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta, and also holds the ICD.D designation.
Stephen Carlisle
Board Member
Stephen Carlisle
Board Member
Steve Carlisle was previously the Executive Vice President and President of General Motors North America, after more than four decades with General Motors. Before leading General Motors North America, Steve had been Senior Vice President and President of Cadillac and President and Managing Director, General Motors of Canada. Over the course of his career with General Motors, Steve has held other senior leadership positions, including Vice President, Global Product Planning, Vice President, U.S. Sales Operations, and President, Southeast Asia Operations. Steve obtained his Master of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management and his Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Waterloo.
Felix-Etienne Lebel
Board Member
Felix-Etienne Lebel
Board Member
Mr. Lebel is the Founder and Managing Partner of Rowanwood Equity, a Toronto based investment firm. Prior to that, he spent 13 years at Birch Hill Equity Partners, a leading mid-market private equity fund, where he was a Partner and served on the investment committee. He currently sits on the board of Alaris Equity Partners Income Trust, Midland Appliance, Morningside Capital, and the advisory board of Sherweb. Over his career, he has been actively involved in sourcing, executing and exiting investments and played an active role on the boards of many companies including Softchoice Corporation (Chair and Lead Independent Director), Citron Hygiene (Chair), Groupe Maskatel (Chair), Sigma Systems and Harbour Air Seaplanes. He has experience investing across various b2b and b2c sectors including IT Solutions, software, fixed-route logistics, facility services, equipment rental, manufacturing, fast transit and telecom. Prior to joining Birch Hill, he was at EdgeStone Capital Partners and in the Investment Banking division of CIBC World Markets. Mr. Lebel received a Bachelor of Commerce degree from McGill University (Great Distinction) and is a CFA charterholder
John North
Board Member
John North
Board Member
Mr. North brings more than two decades of leadership experience in automotive retail and public company finance, with deep operating and governance expertise developed across large, complex dealership platforms. He spent 17 years at Lithia & Driveway (NYSE: LAD), one of North America’s largest automotive retailers, including serving as Chief Financial Officer, where he played a key role in the company’s long-term growth, acquisition strategy, and operational scale-up into a leading public automotive retail platform.
During his tenure at Lithia & Driveway, Mr. North was closely involved in dealership operations, capital allocation, and the integration of acquired stores, providing him with extensive insight into the operational, financial, and strategic drivers of large, multi-rooftop dealership groups.
Mr. North currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Grindr (NYSE: GRND), having joined the company in October 2025. He also serves as a Non-Executive Board Member of XPEL (Nasdaq: XPEL), where he chairs the Compensation Committee and serves as a financial expert on the Audit Committee.
Samuel Cochrane
Chief Executive Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer
Samuel Cochrane
Chief Executive Officer and Interim Chief Financial Officer
Sam Cochrane is the Chief Executive Officer of AutoCanada Inc., having previously served as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer. Since stepping into the role, he has focused on stabilizing the dealership business, enhancing operational discipline, and conducting a comprehensive assessment of performance across the organization.
Mr. Cochrane brings extensive public company experience, having served as Chief Financial Officer at Sierra Wireless and Avigilon Corporation. At Sierra Wireless, he helped lead the company through a period of significant growth, resulting in a 4.5× return to shareholders through its sale to Semtech. At Avigilon, he supported the company’s expansion and increasing market value ahead of its acquisition by Motorola Solutions.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Cochrane held several leadership roles at Motorola Solutions Inc. and SNC-Lavalin (now AtkinsRéalis). He began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he articled as a Chartered Accountant.
Mr. Cochrane holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia and is a Chartered Accountant. As CEO, he is focused on driving operational performance, strengthening the core business, and advancing AutoCanada’s long-term strategy.
Mikel Pestrak
Interim President, Dealership Operations
Mikel Pestrak
Interim President, Dealership Operations
Fade Bouras
Chief Operating Officer
Fade Bouras
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Bouras brings more than 22 years of automotive retail experience, having built his career across every major function within dealership operations. Most recently, he served as Chief Operating Officer of HGrégoire, where he led a large, high-volume, multi-location automotive retail platform and oversaw end-to-end operating performance.
Mr. Bouras began his career on the sales floor and advanced through progressively senior roles, including Finance and Business Development, General Manager overseeing multiple stores, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, and ultimately Chief Operating Officer. This progression has provided him with deep, hands-on experience throughout the store and a comprehensive understanding of dealership execution across both franchised and used vehicle operations.
Throughout his career, Mr. Bouras has led large-scale operating platforms with responsibility for store-level performance, inventory and acquisition strategy, pricing discipline, marketing execution, and the development of scalable operating systems. He is widely recognized for his ability to build high-performing teams, implement disciplined processes, and drive consistent results across complex, multi-store environments.
Art Crawford
President, Collision Operations
Art Crawford
President, Collision Operations
Arthur is President, Collision Operations at AutoCanada, where he is responsible for the strategic growth, operational excellence, and M&A integration of the Company’s ACX platform, including Collision Repair, Hail Repair, and Auto Services and Diagnostics.
Mr. Crawford brings more than 20 years of experience across the automotive industry, spanning car rental, MRO distribution, and collision repair, with a proven track record of driving performance and growth.
Since joining AutoCanada in 2018, he has transformed the Company’s collision operations from a loss-making business into one of Canada’s fastest-growing and most profitable networks. Under his leadership, the platform has expanded from 18 to 32 locations, achieved sustained profitability, and earned recognition as one of Canada’s top repair organizations.
Prior to AutoCanada, Mr. Crawford held senior leadership roles at Birchwood Automotive Group, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and Acklands-Grainger, where he consistently delivered strong operational and financial results.
Mr. Crawford holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Bishop’s University, a Marketing Diploma from Mohawk College, and a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification from the Schulich School of Business at York University.
Cynthia Hill
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Cynthia Hill
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary
Drew Forret
Chief Administrative and Transformation Officer
Drew Forret
Chief Administrative and Transformation Officer
Drew Forret joined AutoCanada Inc. as the Chief Administrative and Transformation Officer in October 2023. In this role, he is responsible for HR, Financial Planning and Analysis, and Real Estate operations.
Drew is a finance and operations executive with over 20 years of experience, including strategic planning, general management, HR, financial operations, and the execution of M&A processes. He is passionate about leading organizations toward achieving a high-performance culture.
Before joining AutoCanada, Drew served as the COO/CFO at Voices, the largest global online marketplace matching voice-over talent with clients. Prior to his tenure at Voices, Drew held the position of COO/CFO at CarProof Corporation (now known as Carfax Canada). CarProof revolutionized how used vehicles were bought and sold in Canada through the provision of key information. This information determined whether the vehicle had experienced a previous accident and, if so, it specified the extent of the incurred damage. Before his role at CarProof, Drew was the President of Activplant Corporation. As President, he was responsible for the development of strategy and its sound execution of it. A major focus was transitioning the company from a complex technology solution to a repeatable business intelligence application sale.
Drew obtained his Chartered Accountant designation in 1999 and his Corporate Finance designation in 2009. He attended the University of British Columbia, where he earned his Bachelor of Commerce degree.