Lanita Layton re-elected Board chair

Lanita Layton has been re-elected chair of OCAD University’s Board of Governors for a one-year term, beginning Dec. 2, 2024. This is the second one-year term for the independent luxury retail and brand consultant.

Layton’s re-election was announced at the Board of Governors Annual General Meeting on December 2, which also included the re-election of Gail Lee as first vice-chair. This is the second term for the senior solutions consultant. Hillary Marshall, group head, Communications and Public Affairs at Canada Infrastructure, was elected second vice-chair. Both began their respective one-year terms on Dec. 2, 2024.

OCAD U’s 28-member Board of Governors is responsible for governing the affairs of the University, including approving the budget and establishing policies and institutional priorities. Of the 28 members, 18 are external and include six appointees from the Government of Ontario, 10 are elected by the Board and two are elected by the OCAD U Alumni Association.

The remaining 10 members are drawn from the OCAD U internal community, including three faculty members who are appointed by Senate, two staff members elected by permanent managers and staff, respectively, and three students (two undergraduate and one graduate). The president and chancellor are ex-officio members of the Board.

Meet the Board members
 

Pictured above, from left to right: Gail Lee, Lanita Layton and Hillary Marshall.
 

Lanita Layton, Board Chair

A prominent senior executive and luxury brand consultant, Layton is renowned for her pivotal role in driving business transformation, amplifying sales, and fostering revenue growth for emerging and established luxury brands. Demonstrating strategic prowess, she adeptly builds strong teams and strategically repositions businesses for lasting success.

During her career, she has held leadership roles at Hugo Boss as managing director, Birks as the chief omni channel sales and marketing officer, and Holt Renfrew as the vice-president and general merchandise manager for menswear.

As a consultant, Layton blends creativity and strategic-thinking, with integrity and an outcome-orientation helping brands including Bottega Veneta, Baccarat and Stylepulse, accelerate growth. In addition to her corporate roles, she serves as an advisor at Goodszilla and as chair patron of the master in Management in Retailing at McGill University.

Layton proudly identifies as a member of the community of the Lytton First Nation of the larger N’lakapamux First Nation.

Gail Lee, First Vice-Chair

CPA and CMA Lee joined the Board on Dec. 7, 2021 for a three-year term. On Dec. 2, 2024, she was re-elected first vice-chair meeting for a second one-year term.

Lee is a senior solutions consultant at Oracle Netsuite, with over 15 years of finance experience in the media and telecommunications sector.

She also served as director, Finance at Rogers Communications, and has expertise in financial planning and analysis, operational finance, strategy, business case analysis, and mergers and acquisitions.

Lee has also worked extensively within the Canadian broadcasting industry, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements through managing programming/content acquisition spend. She has also served on the board of directors of Cable 14, a local specialty channel serving the Hamilton community.

Lee holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Toronto.

Hillary Marshall, Second Vice-Chair

Hillary Marshall loves art in all forms and creative approaches to advancing important outcomes that benefit society.

She has spent her career leading communications, sustainability, community relations, and public affairs functions for some of Canada’s best-known brands and organizations, including the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, Waterfront Toronto, NATIONAL Communications, Hudson’s Bay Company, The Toronto Stock Exchange, and more.

She currently serves as group head, Communications and Public Affairs at the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Marshall is a member of the Board of Directors of Destination Toronto, and has served as chair at Partners in Project Green, the Urban Land Institute of Toronto, and various policy committees at the Toronto Board of Trade.

She is a graduate of the University of Toronto and has received the ICD.D designation.