Our Team - Southlea Group

We have a large and diverse team ready to help you tackle your complex compensation challenges.

With one of the largest compensation consulting practices in Canada, we have built a multi-disciplinary team with business & HR acumen, math & finance degrees, CFA designations, pension actuarial and pay governance experts. Our staffing model includes a diverse mix of engagement leaders, project managers, analysts, specialist contractors and support professionals. Our team is designed to be efficient and effective at producing high quality work and can accommodate tight timing when required.

Partners

Amanda Voegeli

President & Managing Partner

Location: Toronto

Amanda is the Managing Partner of Southlea, a GECN Group company. After Canadian Rewards Practice over her three years of leadership, and 25 years of impactful advisory experience with Willis Towers Watson she co-founded the Southlea Group. She is a well-known and trusted advisor to boards and management of many of Canada’s largest and mid-sized companies (both publicly traded and private). She uses her business acumen and direct approach to solve business challenges covering all matters related to pay levels, design, and governance.

Industry Focus

Amanda works across all industries and has specific expertise working with asset managers, broader financial services and insurance, mining, and technology.

Education

Amanda has a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia. She is currently enrolled in the Institute of Corporate Directors’ Director Education Program and holds her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Affiliations

Amanda is a member of the Canadian Advisory Committee of the Global Equity Organization (GEO), member of Women Get On Board, and a Board member for the North American AT Children’s Project. She frequently presents on topics of compensation and governance matters.

Location: Toronto

Ryan is a founder and Senior Partner of Southlea, a GECN Group company. He has over 20 years of experience consulting complex organizations across North America on executive and broad-based compensation including related governance considerations. He is often the named executive compensation consultant representing either the human resources committee and/or management. Prior to forming Southlea, he worked in Willis Towers Watson’s Toronto and Vancouver offices leading many of the practice’s large client relationships.

He leverages this expertise to bring stakeholders together and drive meaningful change aligned with key business and talent priorities. He is known for providing fresh and innovative thinking with his most recent research focused on connecting environmental, social and governance (ESG) with people and pay programs.

Industry Focus

Ryan works with a variety of publicly-traded, privately-held, joint venture and government organizations across many industries, including financial services, energy, industrial and technology.

Education

Ryan has a Master of Business Administration in Management and Organization Studies from Simon Fraser University. Ryan completed the Institute of Corporate Directors’ Director Education Program and holds the ICD.d designation.

Affiliations

Ryan is the Chair of the Institute of Corporate Directors’ GTA Chapter. He frequently presents and writes articles on topical compensation and governance matters, including the World Economic Forum, NASPP, The Corporate Board and Equilar.

Location: Toronto

Alex is a founder and Partner of Southlea, a GECN Group company. For the past 15 years, Alex has advised boards and senior management teams on aligning pay programs with their business strategy and performance objectives. He has worked with many of the largest companies in Canada, with international and global operations. He is known for his expertise in executive compensation governance, including public disclosure requirements, and understanding the perspectives of institutional investors and proxy advisors (such as ISS and Glass Lewis) in Canada.

Prior to forming Southlea, Alex worked at Willis Towers Watson, a global human resources consulting firm, as the market leader for the Toronto Rewards Practice and the leader of the Canadian Executive Compensation Governance Team.

Industry Focus

Alex has diverse experience advising organizations in various industries in Canada, with specific expertise advising publicly-traded organizations in the energy services, utilities, financial services, mining, and technology industries.

Education

Alex has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and a Master of Industrial Relations from Queens University.

Affiliations

Alex is a member of the Advisory Board for the Greater Toronto Area Rewards Association (GTARA) and a member of the Governance Professionals of Canada (GPC). He is also a former faculty member of the Directors College.

Location: Toronto

Tara is a founder and Partner of Southlea, a GECN Group company. Prior to founding Southlea in 2021, she worked for 11 years at a large, global multi-service consulting firm, advising boards and senior management teams on effective executive and broad-based compensation program design and governance.

She helps clients align their pay programs with the organization’s purpose, values, and business strategy, and supports the selection and testing of performance measures that drive value and sustainable success.

In her former organization, Tara was the Canadian lead of the North American Executive Compensation Transactions Team, and a member of the Due Diligence Centre of Excellence.

Industry Focus

Tara specializes in supporting clients with the development of pay programs as they prepare to go public through IPO or SPAC merger, and due diligence / retention program design for organizations going through M&A transactions and divestitures.

Her experience spans public and private companies across many sectors, including asset management (i.e., pension funds), private equity and technology.

Education

Tara has an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from the Ivey Business School at Western University and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.