A Brief Introduction

Allow me to offer a brief introduction of myself to help you when voting for the OE board of directors. My name is Mike Pownall, and I am honoured to be a nominee for the Board of Directors of Ontario Equestrian. My history in the equine profession and my business endeavours will allow me to contribute to this association in numerous ways.

As the managing partner of a large equine veterinary practice with three locations in Ontario and one in Wellington, Florida, and as a partner in an international veterinary management consulting company, I have a broad range of insights and skills that would be beneficial to Ontario Equestrian. My interest in horses started as a recreational rider, followed by competing, working full time as a farrier for 7 years and finally graduating from the Ontario Veterinary College in 2001. In 2002, my wife, Dr. Melissa McKee, and I started McKee-Pownall Equine Services. We have developed into a multi-location business with 14 veterinarians and 30 support staff servicing all horse breeds and disciplines.

In 2015 I completed an Executive MBA at the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University in London, Ontario. The program gave me a wide variety of skills such as leadership, strategic planning, project management, marketing, and governance that I have been able to apply in my own businesses, as well as on numerous volunteer committees. This education also allowed me to partner in an international veterinary business consulting and education company called Oculus Insights. I’ve been fortunate to assist equine veterinarians across North America, the EU and Australia giving me insight on the variety of challenges and opportunities facing the equine industries in many jurisdictions.

Throughout my career I’ve been a member of numerous committees for many associations, including the College of Veterinarians of Ontario, the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association and American Association of Equine Practitioners. I had the pleasure of being the Veterinary Services Manager at the 2015 Pan American Games. Recently, I was a member of the Fund Allocation Committee for the Ontario Equestrian For the Herd program that fund-raised to support school horses impacted by the COVID crisis.

I believe my broad background in the Ontario equestrian community and business experience makes me uniquely qualified to be a member of the Board of Directors of OE. The health of the Ontario equestrian industry is something I am particularly interested in and would value the opportunity to work with this organization to ensure that we continue to develop a flourishing industry. While we live in challenging times, there are still numerous opportunities for all people in Ontario to consider equestrian sports as an accessible and valued activity.

Sincerely, Mike Pownall DVM, MBA