Leonard M. Levie is the Chairman and Founder of American Industrial Acquisition Corporation (AIAC) and several affiliated philanthropic foundations. He oversees a global portfolio of industrial companies, serving as Chairman or Director across numerous AIAC subsidiaries, notably Canadian Kraft Paper Industries and American Kraft Paper Industries.

Levie led the revival of Canadian Kraft Paper Industries, earning the Turnaround Management Association’s 2019 Turnaround of the Year Award for this achievement. This recognition followed similar awards for Vermont Aerospace Industries (2017) and Union Metal Industries (2018).

His leadership spans aerospace, pharmaceuticals, metals, engineered components, and manufacturing operations across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Levie received the 2024 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, an award recorded in the Congressional Record of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He serves on the Advisory Committee of the Ellis Island Honor Society.

He is a board member of the Forest Products Association of Canada, the Explorers Club, the Theodore Roosevelt Association, and a Founding Trustee of the Pharma & Biopharma Outsourcing Association.

Levie participates in major global policy organizations, including the Trilateral Commission, Bretton Woods Committee, and the Council on Foreign Relations Legacy Society.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and the Royal Society of Arts, and a member of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s Summit Council and has lectured at leading institutions such as Harvard Business School, Yale School of Management, and the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Internationally, he has represented U.S. industry as a Delegate to the Choose France Summit at Versailles at the invitation of President Emmanuel Macron. He has also served as a panelist on investment in France alongside former French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius.

Managing Director of AIAC and as CEO of Avara Pharma Services Ltd. He also holds Board position at American Kraft Paper Industries, KI USA Corporation, KI USA Mexico and Canadian Kraft Paper Industries.  

Formerly he served as COO of Jubilant Pharmaceuticals. He is a seasoned C-Level Leadership Professional with over 27 years of international experience, distinguished for his outstanding contributions to business transformation, strategic planning, financial restructuring, and valuation.

Throughout his career, Amit has consistently demonstrated a remarkable ability to build and lead high-performing teams, foster a culture of unwavering quality, and maintain a steadfast focus on cost optimization while elevating customer service standards. His extensive expertise extends to the development of sustainable business models and the formulation of manufacturing and operational strategies aimed at achieving strategic objectives.

Amit has an impressive track record of establishing and nurturing customer partnerships, as well as implementing sustainable pricing strategies that drive substantial improvements in business profitability. 

He holds a Chartered Accountant designation, which is equivalent to a CPA, and is also a qualified Cost Accountant from the Institute of Cost Accountants in India. Additionally, he has further enriched his leadership acumen through the Leadership for Senior Executives Program at Harvard Business School.

With this unique blend of qualifications and a stellar career, Amit Arora stands as a highly regarded and accomplished leader in the global business arena.

Doug Hunt is a forestry professional whose career helped shape modern forest management in northern Manitoba.  A graduate of Lakehead University with a degree in forestry, he entered the industry with strong technical training and a passion for field‑based stewardship.

He began his career in 1973 with Manfor (later CFI, Repap, and Tolko), starting as an Area Supervisor overseeing mechanical harvesting operations near Wabowden.  Hunt advanced to District Planner for the Highrock Forest Section, supporting operational layout and long‑term forest planning.  By the early 1980s, he became Silviculture Forester, where he helped design and justify one of Manitoba’s earliest large‑scale corporate reforestation programs.  His work contributed to the company planting its first seedlings in 1984, a milestone in sustainable forest renewal.

Hunt played a key role in shifting the company toward integrated resource management, incorporating non‑timber values, wildlife habitat, and community engagement.  He supported the hiring of the company’s first staff biologist in 1989, strengthening science‑based decision‑making. In 1985, he was promoted to Forestry Superintendent, expanding his leadership across planning, silviculture, and operations.  He later held senior roles on the logging side before returning to broader forestry management.  Hunt championed the adoption of GIS technology, helping modernize forest planning and operational efficiency.  He coordinated company support during Manitoba’s 1999 wildfire season, organizing crews, equipment, and emergency response logistics.

His work with provincial agencies, trappers, communities, and stakeholder groups strengthened relationships across the region.  He contributed to the creation of the Forest Resources Advisory Committee in 1995, improving transparency and public involvement in forest management.

After serving as Divisional Forester for a period of time, he promoted to Woodlands Manager for Tolko’s Manitoba operations, overseeing stewardship and operations across the region’s forest management licence area.

After more than four decades in the industry, he retired in 2015, concluding a career marked by leadership, innovation, and deep commitment to sustainable forestry. He remains widely respected for his practical field expertise, mentorship, and long institutional memory.

Rod Berezowecki is a lifelong resident of The Pas region and a respected leader within the Rural Municipality of Kelsey. Raised in a family deeply rooted in agriculture, he continues to support the multi‑generation family farm now operated by his son and family.

Retiring from Municipal Leadership in 2022 with over 20 years in municipal politics, including 13 years as Reeve, he has been a steady and practical voice in local government.  He has overseen major municipal initiatives, from financial planning and infrastructure improvements to emergency response during flooding and agricultural challenges.  Rod has always been instrumental in providing leadership in the past in The Pas and area when tough issues such as the paper mill closure announcement have arisen.  He is respected for his facilitation and interpersonal skills and has always been an advocate of regional solutions fostering positive working relationships with Opaskwayak Cree Nation and other Indigenous leadership.  In recognition of his service, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.

Beyond council work, Rod has contributed to community organizations, including efforts to expand seniors’ housing and strengthen local services. His background in agriculture and his family’s multi‑generation farm continue to ground his perspective on rural priorities.

Rod Berezowecki’s long record of service reflects a commitment to building strong, inclusive, and resilient communities across the region.

Ward Perchuk is a veteran forestry professional and the long‑serving President of Spruce Products Limited in Swan River, Manitoba, where he also resides.  He has led the company since 1995, guiding its evolution into a modern, technology‑driven manufacturer of high‑quality lumber and value‑added wood products. Perchuk’s leadership emphasizes sustainable forest management, operational efficiency, and strong community partnerships across the Swan Valley region.

A graduate of Lakehead University, he earned his Honours Bachelor of Science in Forestry, grounding his career in science‑based forest stewardship. His early professional experience includes work with the Manitoba government, where he gained exposure to provincial resource management and policy. Perchuk later joined Avenor Inc. in Thunder Bay, serving as Woodlands Information Manager. In this role, he integrated field operations with emerging information systems, shaping his long‑term approach to fibre optimization and mill modernization.

Across his career, Perchuk has developed extensive expertise in sawmilling, contracting, forest management, mobile chipping, trucking, and logging.  This broad operational background has informed SPL’s strategic direction and its commitment to responsible, efficient use of forest resources.

In 1999, Perchuk was recognized nationally as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, highlighting his early impact on the forest sector.

Today, Perchuk remains a key figure in Manitoba’s forestry community, championing sustainable practices, regional economic development, and the long‑term vitality of the province’s forest‑based industries.  He continues to contribute to industry leadership as Chairman of the Forest Industry Association of Manitoba (FIAM) and as a Director of the Central Forest Products Association (CFPA).

Ian Armstrong is a Registered Professional Forester with more than three decades of experience in Ontario’s forest sector. He graduated from Lakehead University in 1990 with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Forestry.

After completing his degree, Armstrong joined the Buchanan Group of Companies, beginning a long tenure in progressively senior woodlands roles.  He advanced to become General Manager and Vice President, Woodlands, responsible for large‑scale fibre supply operations across northwestern Ontario. In this role, he oversaw the delivery of fibre to nine sawmills and one pulpmill, coordinating harvesting, logistics, and supply chain planning.  He also managed an annual harvest of approximately 5 million m³, one of the largest industrial fibre programs in the region.

Following a short retirement, Armstrong returned to the forestry sector as General Manager of Boundary Waters Forest Management Corporation in Fort Frances.  Boundary Waters is the Sustainable Forest License holder for the Boundary Waters Forest, an Enhanced SFL in northwestern Ontario. The corporation was founded to assume responsibility for managing this forest under Ontario’s modernized forest tenure framework.  Its shareholders represent a broad and inclusive cross‑section of regional interests, including First Nations, Métis, forest companies, consuming mills, harvesters, and municipal economic development agencies.

Armstrong’s leadership emphasizes collaborative governance, transparent decision‑making, and long‑term sustainability.  He is recognized for his deep operational expertise, steady leadership style, and ability to navigate complex multi‑stakeholder environments.  Throughout his career, Armstrong has contributed to industry committees, community initiatives, and partnerships that strengthen regional forest‑based economies.  His work continues to support both the ecological integrity of the Boundary Waters Forest and the economic resilience of the communities that depend on it.

Arlen is a Cree leader known for his long-standing leadership within Mathias Colomb Cree Nation and across Manitoba First Nations governance, he was raised in the community and mentored by his grandparents, grounding him deeply in Cree culture, language, and ceremony. He left Pukatawagan at age 16 to attend Lakefield College School in Ontario, later pursuing post‑secondary studies at Mount Allison University, where he studied Political Science and Canadian Studies and was active in leadership initiatives.

First elected in 2004 as Councillor and, in 2008 as Chief of Mathias Colomb Cree Nation serving nearly a decade, his leadership also extended regionally as Grand Chief and Vice Grand Chief within the Swampy Cree Tribal Council and Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak (MKO), representing northern First Nations.  In 2017, Dumas was elected Grand Chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC), winning on the first ballot, and was re‑elected in 2021.  

With a focus throughout on advancements in governance, health services, housing, and economic development, he drove advocacy for First Nations rights related to resource development and associated impacts and benefits and now works independently as a Consultant.

Throughout his career, he has been known for his focus on governance reform, community development, and strengthening Cree identity and self‑determination.  Dumas has been recognized by his alma mater, receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Mount Allison University in 2018 for his leadership and service to First Nations communities.

Todd Yakielashek is the Area Forest Manager for Louisiana‑Pacific Corporation (LP) in Swan River, Manitoba, where he leads woodlands operations that support LP’s manufacturing activities. He is a graduate of Lakehead University’s Honours Bachelor of Science in Forestry program, completing his degree in 2006, and later earned a Graduate Certificate in Project Management from Royal Roads University.

Todd began his career in British Columbia, spending nearly seven years with Western Forest Products in Port McNeill. His roles there included Assistant Engineer, Field Engineer, Area Engineer, Dryland Sort Foreman, and Woods Foreman, giving him broad exposure to coastal forestry operations. He also worked with Canfor in Fort St. John as an Operations Forester.

His career then expanded into Alberta’s transmission and utility sector, where he joined ATCO Electric in Edmonton. Todd served as Forestry Access & Construction Supervisor and later as Regional Forest Operations Supervisor, supporting major transmission line development, access planning, and environmental compliance.

In 2017, Todd returned to Manitoba to join Louisiana‑Pacific, where he now oversees forest management planning, harvesting coordination, regulatory engagement, and sustainable forestry practices.

Beyond his professional responsibilities, Todd is active in community and conservation work. He serves as President of Swan Valley Sport Fishing Enhancement Inc. and is a board member of Manitoba’s Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Fund (FWEF) Fish Enhancement Subcommittee. His past service includes nearly seven years as a Captain with the Port McNeill Fire Department in British Columbia while also working for part time for the British Columbia Ambulance Service.

Todd is recognized as a highly experienced forest professional whose career spans industrial forestry, utility corridor development, environmental stewardship, and community leadership. His work continues to support sustainable forest management and economic development across the Swan Valley region.