Twenty-seven years after migrating to Canada, a Guyanese-born woman is slated to take up her new post as vice-president of finance and operations at the University of Guelph in the province of Ontario, where thousands of her countrymen and women live, the Guelph Mercury Tribune reported this week.
The publication reported that St Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sharmilla Rasheed will slip into her new role on December 3.
Before joining St Joseph’s, she was Pro-gramme Manager at St Mary’s General Hospital from 2010 and then Deputy Chief Financial Officer at St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton in 2014. She is married with three sons and emigrated to Waterloo Region from Guyana in 1993.
Rasheed, a Cambridge resident and the current vice-president of financial and information services at St Joseph’s, will assume the role of vice-president of finance and operations at the University of Guelph.
“Sharmilla is a respected executive leader, with a solid record of accomplishment and diverse experience in finance, capital planning, innovations in corporate services, information technology and operations,” Charlotte Yates, chair of the search committee, was quoted as saying in a news release.
“She is known for her ability to build relationships across communities and for handling complex and sensitive situations. She has a reputation for engaging effectively with both internal and external stakeholders to determine strategies and solutions.”
Yates said Rasheed’s experience in the health sector with its emphasis on performance-based funding will be invaluable for the university, now entering its third strategic mandate agreement with the provincial government.
“Sharmilla is a great fit for U of G, and I am delighted to welcome her to the leadership team,” Yates said.
At the University of Guelph, Rasheed will oversee a diverse portfolio, including financial services, human resources, physical resources, campus community police, fire prevention and parking services, hospitality services, investment management, and the real estate division.
“We are working and living in unprecedented times, with many challenges but great opportunities,” Rasheed said.
“I believe that universities have an integral role in collaborating with health care, government and industry to ensure that we have a better world for our children and us. And I want to be part of this. I am extremely passionate about education and our community and believe we as leaders need to work together to manage our resources effectively and efficiently to ensure that no one is left behind,” she added.
In making the announcement, Yates expressed gratitude to Martha Harley, associate vice-president (human resources), who has been serving as interim vice-president since July 1 following the retirement of Don O’Leary.
Rasheed currently oversees finance, environmental services, information technology, and risk and performance management at St Joseph’s Health Cen-tre Guelph and St Joseph’s Lifecare Brantford.
As CFO of St Joseph’s Housing Corp, she has worked with external partners on multiple land development projects to support patient and resident care. She led a multi-year negotiation process with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care for operational support and initiated fiscal sustainability processes that eliminated structural deficits.
She is also the finance lead on a team charged with launching the Guelph-Puslinch Ontario Health Team, part of a provincial health-care restructuring initiative.
A certified professional accountant, Rasheed completed a master of business administration degree at Wilfrid Laurier University and undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo.
