Shirley has served on the boards of twelve corporations and seven not-for-profit organizations. She has been at the forefront of evolving best practices in governance. As a member of committees overseeing governance, CEO succession and compensation issues, she also has direct experience in their application. She has substantial retail sector expertise, with a deep understanding of the fast-moving North American industry.

Prior to establishing her consulting practice (SDA), advising some of the leading retailers in North America, and beginning her career as a corporate director, Shirley was at the forefront of the Canadian department store retailing scene. As an accomplished merchandising and marketing executive, she rose to the position of National General Manager, Hudson’s Bay Company, responsible for six business units generating more than half the company’s revenues. Her expertise in the retail/manufacturing/textile industry was recognized with her appointments to two Government Task Force enquiries and to Ryerson Polytechnic University as part-time faculty and a member of the Advisory board of the School of Fashion. In 2006, Ms. Dawe shifted the focus of SDA by orienting her practice to professional coaching and mentoring on leadership and governance, with an emphasis on the needs of women executives.

In 2011, she completed an extended term (twenty-two years) on the board of the National Bank of Canada, Montreal and an eight-year term with Bon Ton Department Stores, Pennsylvania. Currently, she serves on the corporate Board of Birks & Mayors Inc., Montreal & Florida.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Shirley studied Economics at the University of British Columbia and at McGill University in Montreal where she subsequently began her professional career with The Bay before relocating to Toronto. She completed her training as a professional coach at the Adler Institute in Toronto (2005). She is a graduate of the Directors’ Education Program of the Institute of Corporate Directors (2011).