Canada's Most Powerful Women in 2011 announced by the Women's Executive Network

Ninth annual Top 100 Awards and Summit celebrates the professional achievements of women across Canada

TORONTO, Dec. 1, 2011 /CNW/ - The Women's Executive Network (WXN) today announced the recipients of 2011 Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards, celebrating the professional achievements of women across the country.

Co-presented by Scotiabank and KPMG, Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards has become one of Canada's most recognizable honours and is bestowed on Canada's highest achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. To date, 584 women across the country have received this distinction, including 83 women who have gone on to be inducted into Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Hall of Fame.

The distinguished Top 100 Award Winners will take part in Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Summit at the Allstream Centre in Downtown Toronto. The Summit, an afternoon of learning and peer-mentoring delivered via panel discussions and breakout sessions led by Top 100 Winners, provides a half day of leadership development and networking opportunities.  Following the Summit, Award Winners will be honoured at an evening Gala in front of an audience of 1200. Margaret Atwood, a 2011 Top 100 Award Winner, will provide the keynote address.

Winners of Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards are selected by an independent advisory board. The Awards span nine categories: Scotiabank Corporate Executives, KPMG Professionals, CIBC Entrepreneurs, Xstrata Nickel Trailblazers & Trendsetters, WXN Foundation Champions, TELUS Future Leaders, Sun Life Financial Arts & Communications, Accenture Corporate Directors and Norton Rose OR LLP Public Sector Leaders.  Award Winners and Hall of Fame inductees will also be honoured in their own communities of Vancouver and Calgary in 2012.

"We are thrilled to recognize this year's extraordinary group of Top 100 Winners, honouring leadership talent from coast to coast," said Pamela Jeffery, Founder, Women's Executive Network. "Our Top 100 Winners form an amazing community of high-achieving women who are inspirations to Canada's next generation of leaders."

"We are proud of our long standing partnership with WXN and applaud the many ways the organization encourages the professional development of executive-minded women in the workplace," said Sylvia Chrominska, Group Head of Global Human Resources and Communications at Scotiabank. "All of us at Scotiabank congratulate this year's WXN Top 100 honourees. Their achievements inspire and challenge us to continue to explore our own potential."

"We are committed to improving equity and supporting women in the workplace, and our partnership with WXN helps us do that" said Michael Bach, Director of Equality and Inclusion at KPMG. "We are excited to celebrate the accomplishments of this year's Top 100 Winners who inspire us with their leadership, determination and success."

About the Women's Executive Network

Since 1997, WXN has created and delivered innovative networking, mentoring, professional and personal development to inspire and applaud our community of 17,000 smart women and their organizations in the pursuit of excellence.  WXN is Canada's leading organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of women in management, executive, professional and board roles.  WXN enables our partners and corporate members to become and to be recognized as employers of choice and leaders in the advancement of women.

WXN is a Founding Member of the Canadian Board Diversity Council, dedicated to increasing the diversity of Canada's corporate boards.   In the fall of 2008, WXN launched in Ireland, a first step in creating an international community of female leaders.  More information and details are available at wxnetwork.com or top100women.ca.

CANADA'S MOST POWERFUL WOMEN: TOP 100 AWARD WINNERS 2011

 1.       Top 100 CIBC Entrepreneurs Award

Zahra Al-Harazi, Founder and Creative Director, Foundry Communications

Clara Angotti, President, Next Pathway Inc.

Monica Channa, Executive Director, Operations, Akran Marketing

Eveline Charles, Founder, Eveline Charles Salons, Spas and Beauty

Lynne Fafard, President and Chief Executive Officer, Riverbend Group of Companies

Samantha Kennedy, Creator and Chief Executive Officer, Booty Camp Fitness

Margot Micallef, Founder and President, Oliver Capital Partners Inc.

Gloria Rajkumar, President and Chief Executive Officer, SIMAC Canada Inc.

2.       Top 100 Norton Rose OR LLP Public Sector Leaders Award

Rear Admiral Jennifer Bennett, Commander of the Naval Reserve, Canadian Navy

Karen Branscombe, Superintendent, School District 2, New Brunswick

Janice Charette, Associate Secretary to the Cabinet and Deputy Minister Intergovernmental Affairs, Privy Council Office of Canada

Moya Greene, Chief Executive, Royal Mail

Dana Hayden, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, Government of British Columbia

The Honourable Marjory LeBreton, Leader of the Government in the Senate

Dr. Lesley Lovett-Doust, President and Vice Chancellor, Nipissing University

Marilyn McLaren, President and Chief Executive Officer, Manitoba Public Insurance Corporation

Twyla Meredith, President and Chief Executive Officer, Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation

Heather Munroe-Blum, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, McGill University

Gail Stephens, City Manager, City of Victoria

Jennifer Stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Marian Zerr, Deputy Minister, Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services

3.       Top 100 TELUS Future Leaders Award

Shelby Austin, Founder, ATD Legal Services PC

Ashley Hilkewich, Director, Partner Relations and International Operations, Free the Children

Lesley Scorgie, Author, Rich by Thirty and Rich By Forty; Owner, Rich By Inc.

Rumeet Toor, President, Jobs in Education; Founder, The Toor Centre for Teacher Education; and PhD Candidate, The University of Toronto

4.       Top 100 Xstrata Nickel Trailblazers & Trendsetters Award

Dr. Catherine Aczel Boivie, Senior Vice President, Information and Technology Management, Vancity;  Chief Executive Officer, Inventure Solutions, Vancity Credit Union

Col. Jennie Carignan, Acting Brigade Commander-5th Canadian Brigade- Group, Department of National Defense

Eva Carissimi, Sudbury Smelter Director, Xstrata Nickel

Dr. Fiona Costello, Associate Professor, Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Surgery, Clinician Scientist, Hotchkiss Brain Institute

Susan Doniz, Director and Chief Information Officer Research and Development, Product Supply and Sales, Global Beauty and Grooming, Procter and Gamble

Leslie Gales, President, Midland Group of Companies Inc.

Dr. Anne- Claude Gingras, Principal Investigator, Scientist, Mount Sinai Hospital

Frieda Granot, Senior Associate Dean, Strategic Development and External Relations, Sauder School Of Business, UBC

Dr. Roberta Jamieson, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation

Connie Linder, Founder and President, Green Pages Directory Inc.; Co-Founder and Vice President Communications, Polymer Research Technologies

Patricia O'Malley, Chair, Accounting Standards Board

Dr. Arlene Ponting, Chief Executive Officer, Science Alberta Foundation

Vivian Prokop, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Canadian Youth Business Foundation

Poonam Puri, Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director, Hennick Centre for Business and Law, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University

Dr. Jacqueline Shan, Chief Scientific Officer, Afexa Life Sciences

Victoria Sopik, President, Kids & Company Ltd

Constance Sugiyama, Partner, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Fraser Milner Casgrain Law

Ilse Treurnicht, Chief Executive Officer, MaRS Discovery District

Brig. Gen. Christine Whitecross, Deputy for the Communication Directorate, International Security Assistance Force Headquarters, NATO

Dr. Wanda Wuttunee, Professor, Native Studies and Director, Aboriginal Business Education Partners, University of Manitoba

 5.       Top 100 WXN Foundation Champions Award

Kay Blair, Executive Director, Community MicroSkills Development Centre

Iris Almeida-Côté, President and CEO, Canada World Youth

Fiona Macfarlane, Chief Inclusiveness Officer and Managing Partner, Western Canada, Ernst and Young LLP

Cybele Negris, Co-Founder and President, WebNames.ca

6.       Top 100 Sun Life Financial Arts And Communication Award

Nancy Chapelle, Managing Director, Content and Programming, TVO

Margaret Atwood, Author

Christina Jennings, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Shaftesbury Films Inc.

Michèle Maheux, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, Toronto International Film Festival

Deepa Mehta, Director, Producer and Screenwriter

Mia Pearson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, North Strategic

Heather Shaw, Executive Chair, Corus Entertainment Inc.

 

7.       Top 100 KPMG Professionals Award

Nora Anne Aufreiter, Director, McKinsey and Company

Cindy Forbes, Executive Vice President and Chief Actuary, Manulife Financial

Anne-Marie Hubert, Managing Partner, Advisory Services, Ernst and Young LLP

Valerie Mann, Partner, Lawson Lundell LLP

Rosemary McCarney, President and Chief Executive Officer, Plan Canada

Dale Ponder, Managing Partner and Chief Executive, Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP

Margaret Ross, Partner, Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP

Godyne N.L. Sibay, Partner and member of the McCarthy Board of Partners, McCarthy Tétrault LLP

Beth Wilson, Managing Partner, Toronto Office; Canadian Managing Partner, Community Leadership, KPMG

Ava Yaskiel, Partner, Norton Rose OR LLP

8.       Top 100 Scotiabank Corporate Executives Award

Elyse Allan,  President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Canada

Joey Berdugo- Adler, Chief Executive Officer, Diesel Canada and Founder, ONEXONE

Bonnie Brooks, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hudson's Bay Company

Marie-Claude Boisvert, Chief Operating Officer, Desjardins Venture Capital, Desjardins Group

Lisa Colnett, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Services, Kinross Gold Corporation

Sarah Davis, Chief Financial Officer, Loblaw Companies Limited

Betty DeVita, President, MasterCard Canada

Debra Hewson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Odlum Brown Limited

Zabeen Hirji, Chief Human Resources Officer, Royal Bank of Canada

Janet Holder, President, Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc.

Lynn Jeanniot, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs, National Bank

Debra Kelly-Ennis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Diageo Canada Inc.

Cheryl Longo, Executive Vice President, Card Products and National Collections, CIBC

Christine Magee, President, Sleep Country Canada

Micheline Martin, Regional President, Quebec Headquarters, RBC

Ellen Moore, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Chubb Insurance Company of Canada

Stacey Mowbray, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Second Cup ltd

Janice Odegaard, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Suncor Energy Inc.

Leslie O'Donoghue, Executive Vice President, Operations, Agrium Inc.

Susan Paish, Chief Executive Officer, Pharmasave Drugs Ltd.

Nathalie Pilon, President, Thomas and Betts

Susan Riddell Rose, President and Chief Executive Officer, Perpetual Energy

Mandy Shapansky, President and Chief Executive Officer, Xerox Canada

Launi Skinner, Chief Executive Officer, First West Credit Union

Connie Stefankiewicz, President and Chief Executive Officer, BMO InvestorLine

Kathleen Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts

Nancy Tower, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Emera Incorporated

Janet Wood, Executive Vice President, Maintenance Go-To-Market, SAP

9.       Top 100 Accenture Corporate Directors Award

Dr. Gail Cook-Bennett, Chair of the Board, Manulife Financial

Carol Hansell, Senior Partner, Davies Ward Phillips and Vineberg LLP

Catherine McLeod-Seltzer,  Chair, Bear Creek Mining and Pacific Rim Mining and Corporate Director, Kinross Gold Corp, Major Drilling, Troon Resources

Mary Mogford, Corporate Director, PotashCorp

Guylaine Saucier, Corporate Director, Bank of Montreal, Areva, Danone and Wendel

Dr. Carol Stephenson, Dean, Richard Ivey School of Business

10.   Top 100 Hall of Fame

Nancy Adamo, Owner, Hockley Valley Resort

Lesley Conway, President, Hopewell Residential Communities

Michelle DiEmanuele, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Credit Valley Hospital

Laura Formusa, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hydro One

Mary Jo Haddad, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hospital for Sick Children

Audrey Ho, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, TELUS

Karen Kinsley, President and Chief Executive Officer, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Tracy Redies, President and Chief Executive Officer, Coast Capital Savings Credit Union

Dr. Vianne Timmons, President and Vice Chancellor, University of Regina

Tamara Vrooman, Chief Executive Officer and President, Vancity

For further information:

For additional information or interview requests, please contact: 

Susan Mitchell
Women's Executive Network
416-361-1475 ext. 249
416-347-1316 mobile
[e-mail]

Scott Bartley
Women's Executive Network
416-361-1475 ext. 240
647-405-0001 mobile
[e-mail]

Caitilin Doherty
North Strategic (for WXN)
[phone] mobile
[e-mail]