The $5.8 (C$8.0B) Building Ontario Fund is busy doing some internal building of its own — constructing a specialized team of executives to help deliver on its mandate.
BOF has appointed Alena Thouin chief strategy and operations officer, effective June 23. In her new role, Thouin will play a key role in advancing the BOF’s vision, strategy, and future direction, noted a press release.
She brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across the public and private sectors, most recently serving as chief operating officer at the Ontario Financing Authority, where she provided executive oversight of corporate affairs, strategic project financing, information technology, and risk management. She was also the executive lead of the Building Ontario Fund Secretariat at the OFA, playing a foundational role in shaping the vision and operational framework of the BOF.
Prior to joining the OFA, Thouin worked at the Financial Services Regulatory Authority as deputy general counsel and corporate secretary from 2018 to 2022, adding director for credit unions and insurance prudential to her responsibilities from 2021 to 2022. She also served as Alterna Savings’ general counsel and corporate secretary for nearly four years before moving into a role as deputy director of legal services at the Ontario Ministry of Energy and Electrification.
Thouin is a member of the Law Society of Ontario and holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Windsor. She has also completed an executive education program at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, Wharton Business School Executive Education, and the Rotman School of Management’s Director Education Program.
The BOF also rounded out its executive team with the appointment of Danielle Townley as chief legal officer, effective June 30.
She will be responsible for setting the vision for the legal function, building and leading a team to support the delivery of BOF’s mandate through collaborative and innovative legal and procurement strategies, noted a press release.
Townley joins BOF from Infrastructure Ontario, where she worked for more than 12 years in various roles, most recently as senior vice-president of procurement. There, she oversaw a multidisciplinary team responsible for procurement execution, contract administration, and policy compliance across major infrastructure initiatives and alternative service delivery transactions.
Earlier this year, the BOF also appointed Anca Drexler as its first chief investment officer.
