Massey Henry Expands Leadership Practice
October 22, 2025 – Toronto-based executive search firm Massey Henry has created a strategic partnership with industry veterans Sébastien Bélair and Dana Zorbas to expand its leadership practice. “Building on the recent recognition by The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business as one of Canada’s Top Growing Companies, this collaboration reflects the firm’s continued investment in delivering tailored leadership advisory solutions for financial services clients at all organizational levels,” Massey Henry said.
Mr. Bélair will provide executive coaching focused on C-suite and board effectiveness, drawing on more than three decades of senior leadership experience in financial services. His background includes serving as chief operating officer and chief human resources officer at Laurentian Bank, as well as senior leadership roles at National Bank of Canada. Throughout his career, he has led large-scale transformations, governance reviews, and cultural change initiatives — experience that enables him to deliver practical, grounded coaching, HR advisory, and succession planning support to senior leaders navigating similar challenges. Mr. Bélair is a certified FocalPoint business and executive coach, a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF), and holds an executive MBA from Queen’s University. He is fully bilingual in English and French.
Ms. Zorbas will provide coaching focused on C-suite, executive-level, and high-potential leaders. With nearly 20 years of executive coaching and leadership consulting experience, as well as depth of expertise in leadership psychology and performance coaching, she has partnered with some of the largest organizations across North America, including global banks, private equity firms, pension funds, and insurers. Ms. Zorbas holds a master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology from Harvard University and is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation.
Psychometric assessments across all executive engagements will continue to be led by Alex Bunyan, partner, leadership practice, leveraging the Hogan methodology.
“Sébastien, Dana, and Alex each bring highly specialized expertise that enhances our ability to support talent advisory and transformation across the financial services sector — at every level of executive leadership,” said Michael Henry, founder and managing partner. “As demand for leadership coaching, succession planning, and onboarding continues to grow, this partnership deepens our industry impact while preserving the clarity and focus of our differentiated offerings.”
Launched in 2021, Massey Henry is an executive search and board advisory firm specializing in financial services and the public sector. Mr. Henry said the firm’s aim was to set a new standard for executive recruiting with a streamlined, collaborative approach that enables organizations to recruit diverse top talent for urgent, transformational roles. Mr. Henry specializes in leadership recruitment for financial institutions, asset management, insurance, financial and risk management, and securities and non-securities regulation organizations across Canada. In addition to his core executive search work, he serves as an advisor to boards of directors on their overall composition, capabilities, and succession planning strategies at public sector and financial services institutions.
Using AI
Using artificial intelligence technology combined with sector expertise, Massey Henry provides candidate research and a diverse candidate pool, while using custom criteria to assess each candidate for fit. Clients have 24/7 access to their search process which is designed to enhance decision-making and reduce timelines by half.
The firm is backed by an experienced advisory board of top leaders, including George Cooke, board chair of OMERS; Bill Hatanaka, board chair of Ontario Health; Johanne Brossard, board director and former president and CEO of ING Direct Canada; Eric Wetlaufer, board director of Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and the TMX Group; Lynne Kilpatrick, board director and senior retail banking executive; and Sharon Pel, past chair and current member of the OPTrust board of trustees. She also currently serves as a board member with ATS Corporation, where she is chair of the corporate governance and nominating committee.
New Partner
Massey Henry recently expanded with the addition of Lisa Newey as partner. Ms. Newey, joined by newly appointed senior consultant Lee-An Palo and research associate Aarti Arora, brings deep sector expertise that further enhances the firm’s ability to address the leadership needs of financial services clients. “Massey Henry is experiencing significant growth, and with these hires, we have added six new members to our team over the past year,” said Michael Henry, founder and managing partner. “Lisa’s expertise in capital markets and asset management, combined with the complementary strengths of Lee-An, Aarti and our broader team, ensures we are well-equipped to address the unique leadership challenges that exist in today’s financial services landscape.”
Ms. Newey has more than 30 years of experience in the executive recruitment and financial services industries, including 15 years leading C-suite and senior leadership appointments across capital markets, asset management, investment banking, compliance and fintech. Most recently, she was a partner at DHR, where she led the Canadian financial services practice. Ms. Newey also founded her own search firm Newey & Co.
Related: Massey Henry Recruits COO for Northwest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
