Barbara Pasternak is the Vice President of Fluid Hose and Coupling Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of engineering and industrial applications company that she co-founded with her husband in 1985. She is also the Founder and Chair of the Diabetes Hope Foundation (DHF), a non-profit established in 1999 after two of her three sons […]
Jayne McCaw Founder, Jayne’s Cottages Finalist, Start-Up Award, Central Jayne took inspiration from her love of cottage living and enjoyment of curating unforgettable family vacations to create Jayne’s Cottages — a full-service, luxury Muskoka cottage rental and concierge company. Starting with just a handful of cottages in 2014, her business has seen rapid […]
Kiely MacLean Founder, RJ MacLean Finalist, Start-Up Award, West A new player in oil and gas, Kiely Maclean is the co-founder of RJ Maclean Tank Services. Her business is a three-year-old innovation company focused on challenging the status quo in the energy sector with unique automated technology — using robotics, instead of people, […]
Nathalie Shtern Founder, DoughNats Bakery Finalist, Start-Up Award, EAST Nathalie is a licensed criminologist who holds three university degrees but feels her true calling has always been in the kitchen. Prior to becoming a chef and entrepreneur, Nathalie devoted 15 years to leadership in her community. She founded and ran the Comfy Cozy Fund […]
Farida Deif is the Canada Director at Human Rights Watch — one of the world’s leading international human rights organizations. Based in Toronto, she monitors human rights abuses across Canada and advocates for a rights-respecting foreign policy. Born in Egypt, she has dedicated her life to advancing human rights in the Middle East and around […]
President and Founder of Balzac’s Coffee Roasters, Diana Olsen, found her passion quite interestingly — while at university studying French literature. During her course, she discovered a kindred spirit in Monsieur Balzac and his genuine passion for coffee. After graduating, she immersed herself in authentic French culture, spending a year and a half in France. […]
Connie McInnes Founder, RSTUDIOS Finalist, Diversity Institute Micro-Business Award, EAST Connie hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia and is the creator and founder of RIO Halifax, an avant-garde studio specializing in pilates, yoga and movement classes and ROGUE, a kickboxing and circuit training studio. Connie has been an ambassador for Lululemon Athletica, as well […]
Angelica Demetriou & Megan Kalaman Founders, Kalaman + Demetriou (K+D) Finalist, Diversity Institute Micro-Business Award, CENTRAL In 2017, Megan and Angelica joined forces to launch the national, full-service art consulting firm, K+D. Prior to partnering, Megan worked in the visual arts industry for fifteen years and had been running a cataloguing business since […]
For most of us, the biggest thing we were rallying for at 14 was an extension on our curfew or a new outfit — but Autumn Peltier is not your average 14-year-old. Newly appointed as the Anishinabek Nation chief water commissioner, Autumn has already spent years advocating for water protection in First Nations communities, and […]
Jill White is passionate about uniting people through play and social experiences. As the President of global aquatic play manufacturer, Waterplay Solutions, and two full-service playground and park amenities companies servicing Western Canada, RecTec Industries and Playworks-Parkworks, she feels that play is a right for children throughout the world, in every culture, regardless of background […]
Katie Zeppieri is the founder of GIRL TALK Empowerment, an organization that empowers girls to overcome personal challenges and be inspired to make their mark on the world. Over 10,000 girls have been empowered through GIRL TALK thus far, which has school chapters in Canada, the United States, Uganda and Egypt. Katie is also the […]
With her startup, The Good Cup Project, Kate Tyshchenko is trying to solve the problem of single-use plastic pollution, developing a travel mug with cutlery seamlessly fitted inside its walls. It’s her third venture; Kate previously founded a startup that connects people over home-cooked meals (think Airbnb for dinners), and she still advises corporations on […]
Nicole Bach was born out of witnessing a gap in the market for suiting and wanting to change that with a service tailored to women. The founders Jasmine Janowski (pictured left), Oksana Ringsma (pictured right) and John Chao (not pictured) came together while working for a luxury retail banner, after discovering they shared similar experiences […]
For the first seven years of her life, Gaia Orion spent her time mostly barefoot in Africa, this provided the foundation for her love of nature and aspiration for living free. She studied and graduated in Paris as an architect before moving to Canada, becoming a self-made entrepreneur, and a mother of three. In just ten […]
Kristal has enjoyed a career of almost two decades in the financial industry, specializing in risk management, global transaction banking, and financial regulations. In her current role as SVP Innovation & Insights at Scotiabank, she is responsible for responding to the needs of the market by partnering across Scotiabank to accelerate strategic priorities powered by […]
A serial entrepreneur Elaine has successfully built teams and realigned business strategies for over 15 years. She recently launched Disruption Ventures, a Venture Capital fund that invests in female-founded and managed companies. This was a natural progression for Elaine as she has spent the past 6 years consulting and advising start-ups and early-stage companies, helping […]
Nikki Csek, CEO and co-founder of Csek Creative and NowMedia, is passionate about people. She has cultivated and encouraged a community of diverse people, with various expertise, that has enabled her to thrive in business. She is the current president of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, and has served on boards for many local businesses […]
Emily Mutch is the Tissue Culture Lab Manager at FIGR, a legal cannabis company whose recreational cannabis products are available in a variety of provinces across Canada. With a degree in Biology from the University of Prince Edward Island, and strong family history in farming, Emily is passionate about pursuing a career in botany and […]
At just 10 years old, Madison was selected to perform at the Havelock Country Jamboree, a music festival drawing an audience of 30,000 people. Madison’s passion for music eventually led her to Nashville, where she has since worked diligently to hone her craft. When asked about her songwriting style, she responded, “I write music with […]
Nouhaila Chelkhaoui is the founder of Scale Without Borders one-stop-shop for newcomer tech entrepreneurs in Canada. As an immigrant in tech, her mission is to build a strong and bright community of newcomer tech entrepreneurs and make Canada the #1 startup destination in the world. Nouhaila is also a Programs Lead for the DMZ at […]
A busy career in finance might not seem ideal for taking on extra-curricular activities, and yet Allison Grafton somehow found the time to manage 15 home builds and renovations while working as an investment banker. The passion that inspired this “hobby” eventually led her to change her path completely, and at the age of 40, […]
The idea of predicting the future might sound like a sci-fi plot but Keren Moynihan, Co-founder and CEO of Boss Insights, is helping private companies predict performance in real-time using AI. She is an advocate for data privacy, creating AI that unites rather than divides society and collaborative approaches to democratizing access to capital. We […]
Victoria Sopik and Jennifer Nashmi Co-founders, Kids and Company Winners, Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship, CENTRAL When Victoria Sopik and Jennifer Nashmi cofounded Kids & Company in 2002, their aim was to disrupt the traditional way childcare had been offered by launching as an emergency back-up centre. Their success came after a crucial […]
During our recent trip to Singapore for the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network Summit, we caught up with Angela Fox, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, Dell Australia & New Zealand. In this role, she leads the commercial and public sector strategy and direction of the business while maintaining a commitment to keeping customers at the […]
Pride month might be over but LGBT+ visibility is needed all year round. Meet LGBT Ally Maddy Falle, producer and the Development Manager at Gearshift Films, before taking on this role she worked on television shows like Hockey Wives, NHL Revealed, and Workin’ Moms. In 2015 she was a producer on the viral short film Gay […]
An entrepreneur at heart, Daphne De Groot was driven to create an alternative to Toronto’s outdated real estate model. Today, Daphne is the CEO of Justo — a new type of real estate brokerage. She is responsible for bringing this client-centric real estate brokerage to fruition and providing strategic oversight across the organization. Determined to […]
Caroline Drees is a passionate proponent of diversity and inclusion, and has spent much of her career working to support underrepresented groups, close gender gaps and promote equality in the workplace. The Global Editor, Editorial Learning and Culture, at the global news organization Reuters, her remit includes diversity and inclusion, training, talent and career development […]
