Bringing faith, finance and inclusion to governance

For Shafiq Ebrahim, managing millions of dollars in commercial portfolios and investing in people go hand in hand. A senior banking executive with more than 20 years of experience, Ebrahim has built his career on solid financial judgment and expertise. His life, meanwhile, is guided by a deeper principle: that leadership means creating value not just in markets, but also in communities.

As the recipient of The Directors College Chartered Director (C.Dir.) program’s 2024 Alectra Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) Scholarship, Ebrahim aims to deepen his impact in inclusive governance by combining formal education with real-world experience and a values-driven, faith-based perspective.

Over the past two decades, Ebrahim, Senior Director of Commercial Banking at the National Bank of Canada, has served on numerous charitable and non-profit boards and has led community-building initiatives, particularly within Muslim communities.

His past board experience includes the United Way of Greater Toronto, the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario, Mackenzie Health and the Special Olympics Ontario. He has also contributed to leadership development through the North American Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities Organization (NASIMCO) and supported newcomers through the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) mentorship program.

While Ebrahim is well-versed in governance, he turned to the C.Dir. program to give formal structure to what he has learned in practice.

“It’s an opportunity to further my understanding of good governance practices,” he says. “Today’s governance environment is very dynamic, and you have to keep up with the pace of things. Also, hearing the approaches, opinions and expertise of my peers will help me to gain more perspective on the pressing issues organizations are facing and how we can assist in solving those issues.”

ED&I in a changing landscape

Among the most critical issues facing boards in Canada today, Ebrahim highlights uncertainty and the need to ensure diverse perspectives. He points to a combination of geopolitical events, economic volatility, U.S.-imposed tariffs and the shifting ED&I landscape south of the border, where diversity initiatives are increasingly being rolled back.

“There’s a growing sense of ‘what’s next?’, whether we’re talking about global events or the pressures boards face in terms of governance,” Ebrahim says.

True inclusion, he adds, also means recognizing the role of faith-based perspectives, particularly in a country as demographically dynamic as Canada. According to the 2021 Census, just over 10 per cent of people in the Greater Toronto Area identified as Muslim, up from 7.7 per cent in 2011. Nationwide, the Muslim population has more than doubled over two decades, from two per cent in 2001 to nearly five per cent in 2021.

For Ebrahim, these demographic realities don’t just point to the importance of inclusive governance — they make it essential.

“I am currently on the board for Hill House Hospice in Richmond Hill,” he says. “We hope to expand from three beds to 12, aiming to serve a more diverse community. That means exposing Hill House to specific faith-based processes and practices related to hospice care, such as chaplain services. I was also able to inform the Hill House Campaign Cabinet that the month of Ramadan is an ideal time to connect with the Muslim community, as it is a month of charity for us. These are just two examples of how inclusive governance can create value.”

Supporting diversity in all its facets

Ebrahim’s contributions to governance reflect the broader goals of the scholarship that helped make this journey possible.

Since 2021, Alectra Inc. has been funding the annual Alectra ED&I Scholarship. It is awarded to one Ontario-based individual who identifies as racialized, providing the opportunity to attain governance education under all five modules of the C.Dir. program.

Brian Bentz is Alectra’s president and CEO. He says the company is committed to building a more inclusive future by supporting leaders who reflect the diversity of Canada’s communities.