Helen Hayward

Biography:

Helen Hayward is an experienced board director serving international, federal, provincial, and not-for-profit boards across the health, justice, and higher education sectors, and is Partner Emerita of Western Management Consultants, a national management consulting firm.

She previously held senior executive roles in the Ontario Government Public Service, including CEO of the adjudicative tribunals for planning and property assessment, and CAO, CFO, and CIO positions within the province’s justice ministries.

Academic and Leadership Experience:

Helen Hayward has more than two decades of experience in organizational consulting and public sector leadership. As Partner Emeritus & Strategic Advisor at Western Management Consultants (2003–2021), she has led organizational effectiveness consulting and executive search engagements for provincial ministries, public sector agencies, and not-for-profit institutions. She has also run her own consulting practice as President since 2001, and earlier provided global consulting through Mercer Delta Organizational Consulting (to 2003).

She also holds board leadership positions at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Seneca Polytechnic, and Yee Hong Centre for Geriatric Care, chairing governance, finance, audit, and executive search committees.

Professional and Research Contributions:

Helen Hayward is the author of the Guide to Strategic Planning for Not-for-Profit Boards and a contributing author to The Rippling Effect (2024). She is a seasoned board governance advisor, trainer, and retreat facilitator.

Her areas of expertise include AI strategy in the healthcare sector, enterprise risk management, executive succession planning, and embedding justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) into organizational policy and practice.

Governance and Recognition:

Helen Hayward has significant governance experience, currently serving on the International Board of Trustees of World Education Services and the Board of Trustees of Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, with prior board service at the Ontario Hospital Association, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and a federal appointment to the Judicial Advisory Committee for the GTA.

She is the recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Award for Volunteerism, the Outstanding Volunteer Leader award from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and the Outstanding Senecan Lifetime Achievement Award from Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology.