About

Howard Bogach

President & CEO

Howard Bogach joined Tarion in 2008 bringing over 20 years of experience in the financial services, cooperative and member service sectors.   Prior to joining Tarion, Howard served as President & CEO of Credit Union Central of Ontario (CUCO), a $2.2 billion wholesale financial services provider which also acts as the provincial industry trade association supporting 160 member organizations.  Prior to joining CUCO, Howard was President & CEO of Metro Credit Union, the largest Credit Union in the Greater Toronto area with over 44,000 members and assets in excess of $600 million.  Howard began his career in Western Canada where he served in various positions of increasing responsibility at Hudson’s Bay Company, Touche Ross, Credit Union Deposit Guarantee Corporation and Capital City Savings. He graduated from University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Arts in 1975 and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) in 1977.

Peter Balasubramanian

Chief Operating Officer

​Peter Balasubramanian joined Tarion in January, 2004 as corporate counsel following several years at Torys LLP where he advised clients, including Tarion, on matters related to commercial real estate, construction litigation and general corporate commercial litigation.   Peter was promoted to the position of Senior Counsel in 2005, and has provided legal advice on policy development, compliance obligations and warranty-related issues for Tarion over the past several years. In February 2009, he took on the role of Vice President, Claims, and in 2014, Vice President, Licensing & Underwriting.  Peter is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School where he has also served as an adjunct professor teaching advocacy. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1999.

Kevin Brodie

Vice President, Operations

Kevin Brodie joined Tarion in 2001 as a Senior Financial Analyst in the Licensing & Underwriting department.  He became Director, Warranty Services for Condominium Common Element Warranty Claims in 2008.  In 2013, he was named Vice President, Warranty Services, responsible for the management of all warranty service claims related to new homes and condominiums in Ontario, In 2018, Kevin became the Vice President, Operations, when he also became responsible for management of the licensing & underwriting of Ontario builders.  Kevin graduated from Brock University with a Bachelor of Accounting, and is a Chartered Accountant.

Edmond Lee

Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

​Edmond Lee joined Tarion in 2010 and brings experience from increasingly senior roles in financial management and reporting to this position. Edmond is a Chartered Accountant and a graduate of the University of Toronto Bachelor of Commerce Program. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Prior to joining Tarion, Edmond was with Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada where his most recent position was Vice President, Financial Management, International.  Edmond also gained considerable expertise in the securities area from progressively senior financial and controllership roles with HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., TD Waterhouse, and Deutsche Bank Securities Canada.

Tim Schumacher

Vice President and General Counsel

Tim Schumacher joined Tarion in 2006 and brings an extensive background in real estate, corporate and commercial law. During a distinguished 22 year career with the Toronto law firm of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, he advised clients such as Hydro One, Oxford Developments, Bank of Montreal, Procter & Gamble and the former Eaton companies. He graduated from the University of Waterloo with an Honours Degree in Urban and Regional Planning in 1980 and a Degree in Law from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1983. He was called to the Ontario Bar in 1985 and has lectured for a number of years in Real Estate for the Law Society Bar Admission Course.

Bill Wallace

Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Bill Wallace joined Tarion as Vice President, Information Services in 2002.  Among the highlights of Bill's nearly twenty years in IS was his 1996 appointment as Director of Information Systems for GAN Canada, a foreign owned property and casualty insurance company. In 2000, he was appointed Vice President, Information Technology for COGECO Cable Inc., and most recently served as Project Director/Portal Consultant for the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations in Toronto. In his most recent role, Bill managed the development and deployment of the CSIO Insurance Portal which is a major insurance industry initiative, and the first of its kind in the world. Bill graduated from McMaster University in 1983 with a degree in computer science, and earned his Master of Business Administration in 1997, also from McMaster.

Gena Argitis

Associate General Counsel

Gena Argitis joined Tarion in March, 2005 as Corporate Counsel after practising as a litigation associate at McCarthy Tétrault LLP.  She was promoted to the position of Associate General Counsel in 2015 and advises on a wide range of matters, including policy development, warranty coverage, licensing, employment/human rights and compliance.  Gena graduated with a silver medal from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and also holds a Masters degree in Clinical Psychology from the University of Waterloo.  She was called to the Ontario bar in 2002. 

Lesley Ross

Corporate Secretary

​Lesley Ross brings extensive corporate governance experience to Tarion. She joined the organization in 2010 as Deputy Corporate Secretary after spending 16 years in corporate governance in the credit union sector. She was appointed Tarion's Corporate Secretary in 2013.

Lesley is responsible for the administration of the Board of Directors, acting as a focal point of communication between the board, management and stakeholders to ensure the board has the proper advice and resources to discharge their duties. She provides leadership and advice to the board and management on governance matters, maintaining best-in-class corporate governance principles and practices. Her work with the Board resulted in Tarion receiving a governance award in 2013 from the Governance Professionals of Canada.

Tieu-Minh To

Assistant Vice President, Finance

Tieu-Minh To joined Tarion in 2006 as Manager of Finance and over the years assumed increased accountability and a greater leadership role in the Finance Department. She was promoted to Assistant Vice President, Finance in 2015, taking on responsibility for Tarion's finance and accounting functions. Prior to joining Tarion, Tieu-Minh worked at Manulife Financial and held various progressive financial and management reporting positions, the most recent as Director, Global Expense Management. Tieu-Minh is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a graduate of the University of Waterloo.​

Sophie Vlahakis

Director, Warranty Services

Sophie Vlahakis joined Tarion in October 2008 as Corporate Counsel after practising as a litigation partner at Fasken Martineau LLP where she advised clients on matters relating to commercial litigation, construction law and class actions. She was promoted to the position of Senior Counsel in May 2015 and has advised on matters related to policy development, warranty related matters and process issues. In December 2015, Sophie moved to the role of  Director, Warranty Services. In this position, Sophie oversees Tarion’s Common Elements team, which handles claims related to the common elements of condominium projects and advises on policy and process issues related to condominium projects. Sophie obtained her law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and also holds a Hons. BA in Criminology and History from the University of Toronto.  She was called to the Ontario bar in 2000.