Toronto, ON – September 11, 2023 — Saäd Rafi has joined Santis Health as Executive Advisor, bringing three decades of public and private sector leadership experience to support the company’s next stage of growth.
At Santis, Saäd will provide senior level strategic counsel to clients to position them for success in Canada’s complex health care eco-system. The insights from his rich background in risk management, capital planning, and digital health will add distinct value to the Santis team. Saäd will also advise Santis’ senior leadership team as the company looks to build on the operational excellence that has underpinned the past 11 years of steady growth.
“As Santis Health looks to continue adding value to clients across Canada, we could not have found someone better equipped to boost these efforts than Saäd,” said Dan Carbin, Managing Partner at Santis Health. “Throughout his distinguished career, Saäd has built an unparalleled reputation as a changemaker who delivers results.”
In 1993, Saäd began his series of senior management positions within the Ontario Public Service, rising to the role of Deputy Minister and taking on some of the most challenging portfolios in governments. These included stints as Deputy Minister at Public Safety and Policing, Transportation, Energy and Infrastructure and Health and Long Term Care.
During his time at the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, he oversaw one of the largest government budgets in Canada, $48 billion. Shepherding the Ministry through the challenging landscape after the 2008 to 2009 financial crisis, Saäd also drove impactful change in the realms of infrastructure, digital health and hospital funding modernization.
After his successful tenure with the public service, Saäd was named CEO of the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games in Toronto. Through his leadership, Saäd revived the games, implementing the largest multi-sport event in Canadian history, returning a significant surplus of funds to taxpayers and increasing the economic activity above normal levels in Toronto and the surrounding 16 municipalities.
Saäd also serves on the Board of Directors for several organizations including the Hospital for Sick Children, Baycrest Seniors Care, Ellis Don and the Canadian Olympic Committee.
“Over the past few decades, I’ve developed a keen sense of how to manage change and succeed in complex organizations — I hope to bring this expertise to Santis Health, as well as its clients,” said Saäd Rafi, Executive Advisor at Santis Health. “Santis has a reputation for providing excellent counsel to clients across the continuum of care. As they embark on building further successes in their second decade, I am excited to be part of that growth.”
Last year, Santis celebrated its 10-year anniversary providing expert advice to clients in the health care and life sciences sectors. The company has grown significantly over the past 11 years, expanding its footprint with offices in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. Saäd also joins a team of industry-leading experts, including Marcel Saulnier, former Associate Assistant Deputy Minister for the Strategic Policy Branch of Health Canada; Steve Vander Wall, a seasoned health care consultant in Western Canada; and Harpreet Gill, former Strategy Implementation Lead for Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General.
To learn more about Saäd, visit santishealth.ca/our-team.