Karen Belaire, Board Vice-Chair, BA, MBA, CPA/CGA

President and Chief Executive Officer, Shared Services West

Karen Belaire, CIMTEC board member

Ms. Karen Belaire is Vice-Chair of the CIMTEC Board of Directors. Ms. Belaire is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Shared Services West, a healthcare procurement organization. For two years prior, Ms. Belaire was Chief Operating Officer for the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR). At OICR she was responsible for development of financial strategies to help grow the organization, development of multi-year strategic operating plans, and quality control and regulatory compliance. She also worked with stakeholders to forge effective partnerships and collaborative opportunities.

Ms. Belaire has an extensive background in finance, information technology and human resources, both in health care and academia. Most recently, she worked as an independent consultant on a range of projects.

Previously, Ms. Belaire was the Chief Operating Officer of the London Health Sciences Centre and St. Joseph’s Health Care in London, Ontario. She assisted the hospitals in refining their existing clinical city-wide structure, ensuring fiscal accountability and responsibility, and optimization of patient safety.

At McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Ms. Belaire was Vice-President, Administration. She was responsible for oversight over a broad operational portfolio that included finance, human resources, risk management, physical plant, security, parking, planning, media services, and others. Ms. Belaire has also served as an executive at several Ontario-based hospitals, as Acting President and CEO of Cambridge Memorial Hospital in Cambridge; Vice-President, Finance and Corporate Services at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Hamilton; Vice-President, Finance, at Credit Valley Hospital in Mississauga; and Manager of Patient Accounts at Toronto East General Hospital in Toronto.Ms. Belaire holds a BA in geography from York University, an MBA from Laurentian University and is a Certified General Accountant.

Affiliations: 

President and Chief Executive Officer, Shared Services West