TORONTO – Orest Sklierenko is delighted to join the Ukrainian World Congress as the Acting Executive Director.
Orest Sklierenko was elected President & CEO of the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) in November 2019, joining as one of thirty volunteers on CUF’s board of directors. Orest’s mandate was to shape and activate CUF’s strategic plan as it continues on its mission as the recognized leader in the delivery of humanitarian aid from Canada to Ukraine. Priorities included capacity building fundraising to support a growing office, growing the CUF brand and relationships in both Canada and Ukraine, as well as establishing long term objectives in each of the major programming areas of healthcare, education, and civil society. In early 2022, CUF partnered with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress to launch its Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal in response to the humanitarian crisis emerging from Russia’s attacks on Ukraine and its people. The appeal had raised almost $50M CAD as of December 2022, the largest appeal in the history of the Ukrainian Canadian community. Orest will remain on the board of directors of CUF while he is in the role of Acting Executive Director of UWC, however he will be stepping down from the office of volunteer President for the time being. Orest looks back upon the past three years leading this important institution as being pivotal in setting the course for future generations of continued success.
Orest is also currently a director of the Board of Ukrainian Credit Union Limited and served on the Board of the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko for six years (2016-2022), where he played a significant role on the governance, nominating, and communications committees, as well as the launch of several novel initiatives including the MITACS and REACH programs, and the TRYZUB Awards Gala. The above volunteer roles, as well as Orest’s leadership on several local education-related initiatives, have demonstrated his ability to work with a broad set of community stakeholders, including government officials and bureaucrats, to build relationships and deliver results.
In his professional career, Orest is well respected for his leadership, strategic planning expertise, launch successes and passion for delivering results. For over two decades, Orest has worked at global leaders in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, mostly in the areas of launching innovative treatments in oncology and hematology over the past fifteen years. These include GlaxoSmithKline, Amgen, Sanofi, and Novartis. Orest has also worked as a healthcare consultant, helping clients evaluate and re-focus their strategic plans and programs. His past clients include multi-national pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, professional associations, healthcare start-ups, specialty and community pharmacies, and medical partnerships as well as individual healthcare practitioners.
Orest looks forward to leveraging his professional experiences combined with his volunteer community leadership roles to help UWC continue to grow to a level of professionalism and competence befitting such an important institution.
