Created in 2012, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) is a not-for-profit Crown Corporation which reports to Parliament through the Minister of Transport.

The WDBA will manage the procurement process for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the new bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan through a public-private partnership (P3). As such, the WDBA will select the P3 concessionaire and manage the concession agreement. The WDBA is also responsible for project oversight including the actual construction and operation of the new crossing. As the operator of the new bridge, the WDBA will set and collect all tolls.

The WDBA will be led by a President and Chief Executive Officer and governed by a board of directors who are responsible for overseeing the business activities and other affairs of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. The board is comprised of up to five members, including the President / Chief Executive Officer. All Directors are approved by the Governor in Council (GIC).

The WDBA is located in Windsor, Ontario and funding for the Crown Corporation was provided through Budget 2014. Mr. Michele “Michael” Cautillo P.Eng., M.Eng., has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mark McQueen as Chairperson of the Board of Directors, and Mr. William Graham and Mrs. Caroline Mulroney Lapham as Directors.

Mr. Cautillo has been involved in the planning of the new crossing between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan for the past eight years in his capacity as a partner with Deloitte, the prime project and financial advisory contractor for the project. During his tenure with Deloitte, Mr. Cautillo was a key player in Deloitte’s Infrastructure Advisory and Project Finance practice. Prior to this, Mr. Cautillo spent 23 years with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation where he acquired extensive experience in many infrastructure projects, such as major public-private partnerships, highway operations, railways, municipal transit, airport design and construction and toll highways.

Mr. McQueen is President and Chief Executive Officer of Wellington Financial LP and has worked in the financial services industry since 1993. He has significant board experience with public and private organizations including the Toronto Port Authority, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and Western University.

Mr. Graham is President of South Winds Development Co. Inc., a land development company based in Komoka, Ontario. He has over 45 years of board and business experience including directorships with London EcoPark; Habitat for Humanity; Air Ontario/Air Jazz; Ontario Aggregate Producers Association and the Bank of Canada. He is also a founding member of the London Heavy Construction Equipment Association. 

Mrs. Mulroney Lapham is the co-founder and Executive Director of Shoebox Projects for Shelters, a charitable foundation established in 26 communities across Canada, and a Consultant with Independent Business Consulting Practice in Toronto. She has considerable not-for-profit board experience including the Hospital for Sick Kids Foundation and the National Theatre School of Canada.

July 2014