Executive Leadership Team

Altaf Stationwala was appointed President and CEO of Mackenzie Health in 2010. Under his leadership, Mackenzie Health received Accreditation with Exemplary Standing consecutively in 2013, 2017 and 2022 – the highest rating a Canadian healthcare provider can achieve – and numerous awards for its commitment to safety and quality patient care. In June 2015, Altaf created the Mackenzie Innovation Institute, which laid the groundwork for establishing Mackenzie Health as the first hospital system in Canada to launch the highest standard of electronic medical record when it was implemented in 2017. Altaf also led the transformation of Mackenzie Health into a two-hospital system with the opening of Canada’s first smart hospital, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, in 2021. Prior to joining Mackenzie Health, Altaf held the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Mount Sinai Hospital, and previous to that he was Site Executive - Brampton Civic Hospital and Vice President, Patient Services at the William Osler Health Centre.

Altaf was presented with the Canadian College of Health Service Executives Canada's Outstanding Young Health Executive of the Year Award in 2007 for his demonstrated leadership in improving the effectiveness and sustainability of the country's health system. He has a diverse educational background with undergraduate degrees in Economics, Geography and Business Administration, as well as a Master’s in Health Administration.  Altaf is adjunct faculty at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME), Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, and a surveyor with Accreditation Canada. Altaf previously served as Chair of the Ontario Hospital Association.

Dr. Steven Jackson was appointed Chief of Staff in September 2013. He has over 20 years' experience in medical leadership, administration and governance. Prior to joining Mackenzie Health, Dr. Jackson was Chief of Staff at The Scarborough Hospital. He has chaired and co-chaired numerous committees and task forces locally and regionally and is currently the co-chair of the Central Region Ontario Health Hospital Operations Table.

Dr. Jackson is a general surgeon by training, specializing in surgical oncology. He holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He has also completed several other recognized medical leadership programs from the Rotman School of Management and the Canadian Medical Association.

Mary-Agnes is the Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nurse Executive at Mackenzie Health, overseeing all clinical operations sited at both Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, the Reactivation Care Centre, as well as multiple regional and community-based programs for Chronic Kidney Disease, Stroke, Behavioural Health and Brain Injury Services. As part of the clinical services portfolio, Mary-Agnes also oversees Quality, Patient Safety, Integrated Risk, and Professional Practice.

Throughout her career, Mary-Agnes has continuously demonstrated a strong commitment to collaborative and interprofessional practice, education and research, in addition to extensive operational experience in clinical programming and strategic planning. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mary-Agnes led Mackenzie Health’s pandemic response and opened Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital ahead of schedule, in collaboration with the province to alleviate pressures faced across the system. Mary-Agnes also led corporate operational planning and readiness efforts for the highly successful opening of the new Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, as a full-service hospital. 

Mary-Agnes holds a Bachelor and Master of Nursing degree from the University of Toronto and a PhD from McMaster University. She also serves as an advisory member for the Canadian Nurses Association and was most recently appointed to the Governing Council for the University of Toronto.

David Stolte is the Vice President, Strategy and Program Support Services at Mackenzie Health. Prior to his current role, David was the Vice President of Strategy and Redevelopment at Mackenzie Health and was responsible for the planning and implementation of Mackenzie Health’s second hospital, Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, which opened as a full-service community hospital in June 2021.

Before his appointment to the Vice President role in January 2012, David was Mackenzie Health's Chief Strategy Officer after joining the hospital in August 2009. David's responsibilities include the development of Mackenzie Health's strategic plan, the systems to ensure strategy implementation, oversight of program support services and ongoing performance improvement including lean process improvement.

David brings seventeen years of experience working in the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. During his time in the provincial government, David held progressively responsible leadership positions and worked collaboratively with hospitals from across the province to resolve planning, program, funding, restructuring and capital redevelopment issues. As well, David held a wide variety of other high priority positions in the ministry including the Director of Executive Support in the Deputy Minister's Office, Capacity Lead for the provincial ER/ALC Strategy, and Project Director for the Ontario Diabetes Strategy. David holds a Master of Business Administration in Health Services Management from McMaster University as well as a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Stav D'Andrea joined Mackenzie Health in January 2013 as the Chief Human Resources Officer. Stav is responsible for a portfolio of services which includes Human Resources, Learning and Organizational Development, Occupational Health and Safety, Central Staffing Services, Volunteer and Community Resources and Child Care Services. A key responsibility is the 'people' Human Resources strategy alignment with Mackenzie Health's organizational strategic plan.

Stav brings over 25 years of experience working in the healthcare sector in progressive Human Resources leadership positions in both acute and complex care and rehabilitation Hospitals. She has led a variety of strategic initiatives including Talent Development and Leadership programs, as well as Human Resources transition and transformation programs for Hospital redevelopment. Stav is a graduate of University of Toronto in the Arts and Leadership, is a Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) and a graduate of Seneca College's Business Administration Program. As an active member of the community, Stav participates in the York Region Community Partnership Council and has served over seven years as a Volunteer, Chair and Parent Council member for the Vaughan Catholic School Board. She was awarded the Vaughan Citizen Volunteer Service Award and the National Life of Canada Award.

Allison Trenholm is the Vice President, Public Affairs, Stakeholder Relations and Chief Communications Officer accountable for strategic internal and external communications across Mackenzie Health and Mackenzie Health Foundation including brand, crisis and issues management; government, stakeholder and media relations; social media and integrated marketing.

Allison brings passion and experience in strategic communications, government relations and stakeholder engagement while fostering a proactive, team-focused service delivery on both strategic and operational initiatives.

Allison first joined Mackenzie Health in early 2018 as Director, Communications, Marketing and Stewardship before taking on her current role in November 2019. Prior to joining Mackenzie Health, Allison was responsible for developing and managing internal and external communications programs for the Electrical Safety Authority. Allison also worked at Trillium Health Partners Foundation where she held increasingly progressive leadership positions and led the communications efforts supporting the merger of Trillium Health Centre Foundation and Credit Valley Hospital Foundation. Allison holds an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree from Western University’s Faculty of Information and Media Studies, a Certificate in Writing also from Western University and is certified in change management.

Purvi Desai joined Mackenzie Health in July 2022 as the Vice President Digital Health and Chief Information Officer.  She provides strategic leadership and oversight for the digital health portfolio, including clinical informatics, information technology and digital project management across all Mackenzie Health sites.  Her focus is leveraging digital transformation to support and enable the organization to deliver on its mission of patient and family centered care.   This includes driving digital innovation and technology best practices and working to ensure that the organization’s current and future assets, resources, applications and infrastructure continue to enable excellence in patient care and support effective corporate planning.

Purvi brings 18 years of progressive leadership experience within health care. She joins us most recently from Unity Health Toronto, where she held the role of Executive Director, Digital Transformation.  During her career, Purvi has held multiple senior level roles and she has provided leadership and support for a full range of programs and services related to health information management and technology, including digital strategy development, clinical informatics, application support and development, IT project management, helpdesk services, cybersecurity and privacy and data centre and infrastructure management. Purvi has a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Master of Business Administration from McMaster University.

Terry Villella is the Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Mackenzie Health. Terry is responsible for providing strategic leadership and oversight over the hospital’s entire suite of Financial Services, Payroll, Financial Planning and Analysis, Procurement, Business Services as well as providing financial leadership of the hospital’s major redevelopment projects including the Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital. She has been instrumental in the implementation of financial best practices for both hospital operations and major capital projects.

Terry has extensive financial management experience in both the private sector and the health care industry. She joined Mackenzie Health in 1988 and has held several progressive management roles during her 30 plus years with the hospital. Previously, Terry was a Senior Accountant at Philips Electronics Ltd., Medical Systems Division and was a management trainee at one of Canada’s major banking institutions. As a key member and Executive Lead for the Managed Equipment Services negotiations and implementation, Terry led Mackenzie Health’s largest single contract award to date.

Terry is a graduate of York University’s Bachelor of Arts in Economics; is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). In 2013, Terry was awarded the Innovation through Collaboration Award of Distinction.