About | Trillium Mutual Insurance

Trillium Mutual was established on January 1, 2004 as a result of an amalgamation between Formosa Mutual Insurance Company and Elma Mutual Insurance Company. The dynamic of this evolution is an organization that recognizes the value of a balance between the past, present, and future.

Our Board of Directors and all of our staff are dedicated to sound corporate governance and being leaders in our industry.

We are dedicated to our members while supporting the organization wide commitment to mutuality. At Trillium Mutual Insurance we develop insurance solutions for people, not profits.

Mutual insurance companies thrive on their members and the concept of togetherness. It is that ‘sharing’ ideal that sets the mutuals apart from the rest of the insurance industry. We are rooted in the idea that through business we can give people peace of mind for life’s unexpected events.

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A brief history

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Our team of Executive Leaders

Tracy MacDonald, B.A., F.C.I.P

President & CEO

Tracy joined Trillium Mutual Insurance in January 2015 as Vice President of Corporate Services. In her current capacity as CEO, Tracy is responsible for the overall organizational performance and is accountable directly to the Board of Directors. Her primary responsibilities include the oversight of strategic planning, corporate governance, political advocacy as well as fostering community and industry relations.

Tracy is an active member of the Mutual Insurance Industry, currently serving on the Board of the Canadian Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (CAMIC). Tracy is also a member of the Auto Rate Filing Committee serving the Ontario Mutual Companies that jointly file auto rates.

Tracy and her husband live in Waterloo with their two daughters.

Education & qualifications

Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics
Chartered Insurance Professional
Fellow Chartered Insurance Professional
Advanced Executive Certificate in General Management

Mike Virley F.C.I.P., C.L.A.

Vice President of Operations

Mike joined Trillium Mutual Insurance in December 2011.  In his present position as Vice President of Operations, Mike is accountable for service delivery to Trillium Members through Underwriting, Claims, Risk, Legal, Branding and Broker Partnerships.

Mike graduated from Conestoga College with a Diploma in Law and Security Administration in 1985 having begun his insurance career with Gore Mutual Insurance as a loss adjuster in 1984.

In 1986 Mike moved to North Waterloo Farmers’ Mutual as a loss adjuster and attained his Chartered Insurance Professional designation in 1987.  In 1988 Mike joined a boutique independent adjusting firm eventually becoming a partner/proprietor of Gray, McHugh, Virley Insurance Adjusters Inc.  In 1991 Mike attained his Fellow Charted Insurance Professional designation as well as earned a Diploma in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University.

In 1994 Gray, McHugh, Virley Insurance Adjusters Inc. was purchased by what is now Crawford and Company (Canada) Inc.  In 2004 Mike earned his Chartered Loss Adjuster designation with the Canadian Independent Adjusters Association.

Previously in his career Mike has held the Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator, Certified Fire and Explosion Investigator Instructor and Certified Fraud Examiner designations.

Mike’s most recent position with Crawford prior to joining Trillium Mutual Insurance Company was as Manager of four Branch Claims Services offices in South Western Ontario as well as an Executive General Adjuster with Crawford’s Global Technical Services Division.

Mike and his wife live in a rural setting outside Moorefield, Ontario.

Jenny Hallahan, B.A., C.I.P.

Vice President of People & Innovation

Jenny joined Trillium Mutual in 2015 as Manager of Underwriting and has been making outstanding contributions to our organization ever since.

In her current position as Vice President of People & Innovation Jenny is responsible for the Information Systems, Human Resource and Innovation teams.  She is always eager to take on new challenges with creative approaches to foster a culture of innovation for the future.

In 2003 Jenny began working at Economical Insurance as a Commercial Underwriter.  Over her 12 years working there she transitioned into different roles eventually working as the Manager of National Underwriting Operations.

Jenny has spent over 16 years working within the insurance industry in various positions of increasing responsibility and accountability.  Of her 16 years P&C experience, Jenny has been in a leadership role for 12 years.  Her passion for people, technology, forward thinking and the mutual community have contributed to her leadership roles throughout her career.

She graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2003 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and has completed her Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) designation as of 2009.

Jenny lives in Baden, Ontario with her husband and two daughters.

Our Board of Directors

Trillium Mutual Insurance Company is currently governed by a Board of Directors of six. The Board meets monthly or more often as required. Each year two Board members are elected for a three year term at the company’s Annual Meeting.

The company’s Annual Meeting is held in March and a Chair and Vice-Chair are selected from the Board of Directors at an Organizational Meeting that immediately follows. These offices are filled by election each year. The Board of Directors reviews the company’s operation on a monthly basis. They employ the President & CEO who is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the company and putting the actions given by the Board of Directors into place.

  • Julie Garner
    Board Chair

    Julie joined the Board of Directors in 2016.  Prior to taking on the role of Chair Julie served as the Vice Chair, and Chaired various committees of the Board.

    Outside of Trillium Julie is a leading government relations consultant with NorthGuide.  Julie has 20 years of private sector experience working clients to advance their public policy goals.  Prior to consulting Julie served in senior political roles in Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, Infrastructure, Intergovernmental Affairs and Labour with the Government of Ontario.  Julie has worked with large and small organizations and helped to build and run complex coalitions and partnerships between clients.  She is an expert navigator of the political system and is respected across party lines.

    Julie has a masters and a B.A. in Political Science from Wilfrid Laurier University.  Julie is active in her community of Waterloo and enjoys golf, boating and tennis when she and her husband are not cheering on their three daughters while they play basketball.

  • Pat Bushby
    Vice Chair

    Pat is the newest member of the Board of Directors joining in 2021.

    Pat enjoyed an extensive career in agricultural working in the co-operative, publicly traded and private sectors where he held several executive management positions with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and Viterra North America Inc. retiring as Director of Eastern Canadian Operations.  Pat is the President of DMP Global Agrivision a global agricultural consulting firm which he owns. He continues to support the importance of agriculture, farming and rural community contributions to the economy and fabric of Ontario and Canada.

    During his career, Pat was the President of the Grain Elevator and Processing Society (Thunder Bay Chapter) and chaired the Lakehead Terminal Elevator Association.

    Pat is a graduate of the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management and has an ICD.D Designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.  He is also a graduate of the Queens Executive Program and has an engineering background.  He serves on a number of Corporate Boards and the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center Foundation Board as well as the Hospital’s Cardio Vascular Surgical Cabinet .

    Pat and his wife Janet reside in Thunder Bay.

  • Derek Mendez

    Derek and his wife Shelly-Ann migrated their family from Trinidad & Tobago to Canada in early 2010 and have been residents of Listowel ever since.  Derek is Vice President at Molesworth Farm Supply Ltd. responsible for innovation, technology, manufacturing, logistics, regulatory compliance and project management.  He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, holds a B.Sc. Management Studies from the University of the West Indies, a Post Graduate Diploma in Port Planning and Management from the University of New Orleans, a Masters’ Certificate in Business Analysis from York University and a Certificate in Python Programming from Cornell University. Derek formerly volunteered in the positions of Board Chair at Community Living North Perth, Co-Chair of the Habitat for Humanity Listowel Project, and basketball coach for the Municipality of North Perth.  Derek provides support around race relations and equity to various organizations, and is involved with numerous Boards at the Municipal, Provincial and Federal levels.  He sits on the North Perth Police Services, Agricorp, the Ontario Agri Business Association, and the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada boards.  Derek enjoys developing software, basketball, riding, hiking and continuous learning.

  • Angela De Groot

    Angela holds a BA Hons Spec from Western University along with an MBA from Laurier.  She earned the Family Enterprise Advisor professional designation through Ivey Business School at Western University and the Institute of Corporate Directors ICD.D Designation through the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

    Angela is the Founder of Synergize Family Business Consulting in Stratford, assisting privately-owned family businesses manage the challenges of organizational change, working together, and intergenerational transition. She is also the President of a growing family business in agriculture that specializes in producing safe, high quality, nutritious Canadian pork and poultry.

    She has an extensive history of community involvement including leadership within 4-H Ontario and as a facilitator with Bereaved Families of Ontario.  Angela and her husband reside outside of Stratford with their 4 boys.

  • Cong-Rong Xie

    Cong-Rong joined the Board of Directors in 2017.

    She earned a Master of Applied Science degree from Systems Design Engineering at the University of Waterloo. Cong-Rong spent 23 years working in the P&C industry and held various leadership positions of program and technology management supporting new product development, new distribution channels and improving IT delivery agility.

    She now holds the position of Vice President of Technology with the Canada Life. Cong-Rong lives in Waterloo with her husband and two adult daughters. She actively supports local community and has held prior Board positions with The United Way and KW Counseling.

  • Ross Lamont
    Past Chair

    Ross Lamont joined the Trillium Mutual Board in 2013.

    He was raised on a mixed farm in Saugeen Township.  Lamont retired from Bruce Power after a 33 year career  including the last 10 years as the Manager of Community and Government Relations.  Ross received a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Leadership from the University of Guelph and has also completed the Institute of Corporate Directors Designation (ICD.D) through the Rotman School of Management.

    Ross has been an active member in his community and has served on various local, provincial and national boards and associations. He and his wife Nancy reside in Port Elgin. They have two adult children and three grandchildren.

What makes our team different

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Our valued members

We exist for the sole benefit of our partners.

Protection through insurance solutions

We protect and respond to member needs with innovative solutions.

Exceptional customer service

We strive for every customer experience to be excellent.

Financially responsible

We are accountable for long term financial stability.

Our partners are essential

We choose professional and ethical partners to sell our services and products.

Our employees: our success

We are a team of dedicated professionals working in an environment of mutual respect and continuous improvement.

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Recognizing Our Opportunity To Support (ROOTS)

At Trillium, our mutual structure aligns our organization’s and members’ interests. One of the ways Trillium does this is through our ROOTS (Recognizing Our Opportunity to Support) Community Fund.

This program provides assistance and support to a variety of different community programs that look to sustain and develop rural Ontario.

Ultimately, we are accountable to our members and their communities in everything we do. We are in this together! We are built on the values of the past and look forward to implementing them for the future.

Our vision: “To be the Leading Mutual Insurer Protecting and Enhancing Farm and Community Lifestyles”, is well represented by our entire team.