Manage HR Magazine: Awards Ranking
Manage HR Magazine Canada proudly presents the Top 10 Directors of People & Culture in Canada 2026, recognizing leaders who are shaping exceptional workplace experiences across Canadian organizations. These professionals guide people strategies that align workforce priorities with business objectives while fostering cultures that reflect organizational values. Their leadership helps companies strengthen employee engagement and adapt to evolving workplace expectations, enabling organizations to support sustainable growth while maintaining a strong focus on their people.
Top 10 Directors of People & Culture in Canada - 2026
Valerie Gilbert
Director of People & Culture, Explore Edmonton Corporation
Valerie Gilbert is Director of People & Culture at Explore Edmonton Corporation, leading people strategy, talent development and organizational culture. With a background spanning HR, coaching and change management, she fosters inclusive workplaces, meaningful employee engagement and strong organizational culture through people-first leadership.
Amy Silverstein
Senior Director—People, Pizza Pizza Limited
Amy Silverstein oversees people and culture initiatives at Pizza Pizza Limited. With more than two decades of experience across retail, hospitality, transportation, and restaurant operations, she has built her career around connecting people strategies to business outcomes through leadership development, employee engagement, culture, and organizational effectiveness.
Leah Fochuk
Director, People & Culture, The WealthCo. Group of Companies
Leah Fochuk is a strategic HR leader with over a decade of experience shaping people strategy across high-growth startups, large enterprises and financial services. She has built HR functions from the ground up, led globally distributed teams and held senior roles at Symend, Trans Mountain and Avenue Living. As Director of People and Culture at The WealthCo. Group of Companies, she brings a distinctive balance of analytical rigour, strong business acumen and genuine human-centeredness to every challenge she encounters.
Tika Jeyasingam
Director- People & Culture ( HRBP), TELUS
Tika Jeyasingam serves as Director of People & Culture (HRBP) at TELUS, where she collaborates with top business executives to convert business objectives into people strategies that foster expansion and flexibility. Her work, which draws from her nearly two decades with the company, exemplifies the notion that organizational performance is improved when employees feel empowered, trusted and connected to a shared objective.
Vicki Allen
Director, People & Culture and Head of Labour Relations, Corus Entertainment
Vicki Allen, Director of People & Culture and Head of Labour Relations at Corus Entertainment, integrates HR with business strategy, fostering transparency, fairness and measurable culture while guiding unionized and non-unionized teams through Canada’s evolving media landscape.
Kari Vieveen
Director, People and Culture - Canada, Hammond Power Solutions
Kari Vieveen is Director, People and Culture – Canada at Hammond Power Solutions. An experienced human resources leader, she works with business leaders to shape people strategies, strengthen organizational culture and support talent development. Her work focuses on building engaged, high-performing teams that enable long-term business success.
Denise Paris
Senior Director, People & Culture, Organigram Global
Denise Paris is Senior Director, People & Culture at Organigram Global, where she partners with business leaders to align people strategies with organizational priorities. An experienced human resources executive, she specializes in talent management, leadership development, succession planning and building high-performing teams that support long-term business growth.
Brian Ivay
Senior Director, People and Culture, Ciena
Brian Ivay is Senior Director, People and Culture at Ciena, where he leads people initiatives that help attract, develop and retain top talent. An experienced HR leader, he partners with business leaders to strengthen organizational culture, build high-performing teams and align talent strategies with business growth.
Phillip Vallelly
Director of People and Culture, Triple E Recreational Vehicles
Phillip Vallelly is an HR leader and a certified leadership coach with extensive experience. He empowers individuals through self-reflection and strategic insight to enhance clarity, purpose and impact.
