George Brown College president Anne Sado named one of Canada's Top 100 Most
Powerful Women

Recognized by Women's Executive Network for visionary leadership

TORONTO, Nov. 29 /CNW/ - George Brown College announced today that its president Anne Sado has been named one of Canada's most powerful women by one of the country's most respected women's groups.

The Women's Executive Network (WXN) selected Sado to receive its Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award for her visionary leadership at George Brown College and in the broader community.

"I am honoured to be recognized in this way," said Sado. "I am privileged to do the work that I do at George Brown, enabling access to post-secondary education to a diverse student body, and preparing those students to be job ready and successful in their future careers."

The Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards is Canada's most recognizable award for the country's highest achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Sado joins a community of 522 women across the country that has received this prestigious recognition since its inception.

Since becoming George Brown College's first female president in 2004, Sado has balanced strong team and people management with focused strategic thinking, resulting in extraordinary growth and renewal. Under her leadership, George Brown has become one of Canada's largest, most diversified and respected colleges. It has doubled in size since 2003, broadened its international partnerships and has continued to strengthen the cultural, social and economic fabric of the city of Toronto.

Sado has built partnerships with industry and government, who have joined forces with the College to create new opportunities for students in the GTA. These successes include:

• The expansion of the Centre for Hospitality and Culinary arts, resulting in an additional 40,000 sq. ft. of space, the renovation of all classrooms and labs, and a doubling of the enrolment in the centre's programs.
• The opening of a new 20,000-square-foot School of Design.
• The ground breaking of a $175 million, 300,000 sq. ft. health sciences campus on Toronto's waterfront. The campus will be a leading edge showcase for inter-professional learning in health, and will be a catalyst for animating Toronto's long dormant waterfront.

In addition, the college has significantly expanded outreach to the community, with over 50 partnerships with community agencies. This type of collaboration is a natural extension of Anne's significant volunteer commitment within the GTA. She is currently Chair of the Trillium Health Centre Board, and has previously sat on the boards of the YWCA of Greater Toronto, Junior Achievement and the Canadian Hearing Society Foundation. She also sits on the boards of The Toronto Board of Trade, Legacy Private Trust, Orion, the Toronto Region Research Alliance and the Toronto Financial Service Alliance.

Sado will be formally recognized by the WXN during an awards gala tonight at Toronto's Allstream Centre.

Biographical Information
Anne Sado became president of George Brown College in January 2004. She is responsible for driving the college's overall direction, objectives and future growth.  As George Brown's primary ambassador, she has led the organization through six years of unprecedented growth and renewal.

Ms. Sado brings strong leadership, customer service and communication skills to the College from her business career and volunteer involvement. She is currently Chair of the Trillium Health Centre Board and in November 2010 was appointed to Chair the board of Orion, an organization supporting Ontario's advanced research and education network. She also sits on the boards of The Toronto Board of Trade, Legacy Private Trust, the Toronto Region Research Alliance and the Toronto Financial Service Alliance. From 2008 to 2010 she served as Chair of Colleges Ontario's Committee of Presidents. She has also sat on the boards of the YWCA of Greater Toronto, Junior Achievement and the Canadian Hearing Society Foundation.

In 2010, Ms. Sado was inducted into the University Of Toronto's prestigious Engineering Hall of Distinction. In 2007, she was honoured with the Ontario Professional Engineers Gold Medal.  She has also received the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for her work with the YWCA of Greater Toronto, the Professional Engineers Ontario Citizenship Award for contributions to her community, and an Arbor Award from the University of Toronto.

Prior to joining George Brown College, Ms. Sado spent 25 years at Canadian corporate leader Bell Canada, holding numerous positions in engineering, field operations, customer service, business development and business planning.  Appointed Senior Vice-President Business Processes and Operational Effectiveness in 2000, she championed new customer service initiatives and supported company goals with significant earnings improvements.

Ms. Sado holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Toronto as well as a Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Engineering. 

About George Brown College
With nine out of 10 graduates hired within six months of graduation, Toronto's George Brown College has established a reputation for equipping students with the skills, industry experience and credentials to pursue the careers of their choice. From its two main campuses located across the downtown core, George Brown offers nearly 160 programs across a wide variety of professions to a student body of 60,000 (including those enrolled in full-time, part-time and continuing education programs). Students can earn diplomas, post-graduate certificates, industry accreditations, apprenticeships and four-year bachelor degrees.

About the Women's Executive Network
The Women's Executive Network (WXN) is Canada's most influential female audience and the country's leading organization dedicated to advancement and recognition of executive-minded women in the workplace.  Since 1997, WXN has expanded rapidly to meet the needs of the growing number of female managers and executives across Canada. In the fall of 2008, WXN launched in Ireland, a first step in creating an international community of women leaders. WXN now delivers innovative networking, mentoring and professional development to 16,000 members across Canada and Ireland. WXN is also a founding member of The Canadian Board Diversity Council, dedicated to increasing the diversity on corporate and federal public sector boards. More information details are available at www.wxnetwork.com or www.top100women.ca

For further information:

or to book an interview, please contact:

Brock Penner
APEX Public Relations
[phone] / ext. 226
[email protected]