Board of Directors



First National fully understands that investor trust and confidence comes from straightforward and transparent governance from its Board of Directors.

Management and the board believe that a commitment to the highest standards of integrity will lead to the ongoing success of the Corporation. As such, the role of the Board of Directors is clear and focused: to serve the long term interests of our shareholders.

Because First National is committed to excellance, the board continues to develop and implement appropriate governance policies and practices.

The Board of Directors consists of seven members, five of whom are independent.


Stephen Smith, Chairman
Moray Tawse
Stanley Beck, Q.C.
John Brough
Peter Copestake
Duncan Jackman
Robert Mitchell


Stephen Smith, Chairman, is President and co-founder of First National. Mr. Smith has been an innovator in the development and utilization of various securitization techniques to finance mortgage assets and is a regular speaker at securitization conferences. Prior to co-founding First National in 1988, Mr. Smith held various positions including Assistant Director, Corporate Planning, Hawker Siddeley Canada and Research Analyst, Canadian Pacific Limited. Mr. Smith has a Master of Science (Economics) from the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Electrical Engineering, Queen’s University, and is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. He is currently on the board of Metrolinx, and a director of The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company and The Empire Life Insurance Company. Mr. Smith is also on the Advisory Council of the Royal Conservatory of Music and a Governor of The Dominion Institute. Mr. Smith is a graduate of the Directors Education Program at the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management.

Moray Tawse is Vice President, Mortgage Investments and co-founder of the Company. Prior to co-founding the Company, Mr. Tawse was Manager of Mortgages for the Guaranty Trust Company of Canada from 1983 until 1988.

Stanley Beck, Q.C. has been President of Granville Arbitrations Limited (an arbitration and mediation firm) for more than five years. He was previously a Professor of Law and Dean at Osgoode Hall Law School, Toronto. From 1985 to 1990, Mr. Beck served as Chairman of the Ontario Securities Commission. Mr. Beck acts as a consultant on securities and corporate matters. In addition, Mr. Beck is the chairman of 407 International Inc. and GMP Securities Inc. and serves on the board as a director of Scotia Utility Corp. and Scotia NewGrowth Corp.

John Brough is retired from his position as President of both Wittington Properties Limited (Canada) and Torwest, Inc. (United States) real estate development companies. He held this position from 1998 until 2007. From 1974 until 1996 he was with Markborough Properties, Inc, where he was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 1986 until 1996. Mr. Brough is a Director of Kinross Gold Corporation, Silver Wheaton Corp., Quadra Mining Ltd. and Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust. Mr Brough has a Bachelor of Arts (Economics) degree from the University of Toronto, as well as a Chartered Accountant degree. Mr. Brough is a graduate of the Directors Education Program at the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management, and a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors as well as the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Peter Copestake currently serves as a corporate director and as a consultant to business, academic and government organizations. Over the past 30 years he has held senior financial and management positions at federally regulated Financial Institutions and in the federal Government. From 1999 to 2007 he was Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Manulife Financial Corporation. He currently serves as the Chairman Emeritus of the Association for Financial Professionals of Canada, Chair Emeritus of the Society of Canadian Treasurers, as a member of the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees of Queen’s University, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation, the Chairman of the Independent Review Committee of First Trust Portfolios Canada and member of the Board of Directors of Manulife Bank. He is also currently serving as the Executive in Residence at the Queens University School of Business.

Duncan Jackman is the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of E-L Financial Corporation Limited, an investment holding company and has held similar positions with E-L Financial since 2003. Mr. Jackman is the Chairman and President of Economic Investment Trust Limited and United Corporations Limited, both closed-end investment corporations, and has acted in a similar capacity with these corporations since 2001. Prior to this, Mr. Jackman held a variety of positions including portfolio manager at Cassels Blaikie and investment analyst at RBC Dominion Securities Inc. Mr. Jackman holds a Bachelor of Arts in Literature from McGill University.

Robert Mitchell has been President of Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc., a Vancouver-based investment management company since 2000. Prior to that, Mr. Mitchell was Vice President, Investments at Seaboard Life Insurance Company. Mr. Mitchell is a director and chairs the audit committee for Discovery Parks Holdings Ltd., trustee for Discovery Parks Trust. Discovery Parks Trust was established to support the high technology and research industries in British Columbia through the development of its real estate assets. Mr. Mitchell has a MBA from University of Western Ontario, a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) from University of Calgary, and is a CFA charterholder.