Carinne Chambers-Saini Founder, Diva International TELUS Trailblazer Award Finalist Carinne Chambers-Saini has led a 15-year journey to create and market the revolutionary product and brand, the DivaCup. As the only real innovation in feminine hygiene in decades, the DivaCup has completely disrupted the industry by providing the most eco-friendly, clean and comfortable way to […]
Jesse Finkelstein Founder, Page Two TELUS Trailblazer Award Finalist Jesse Finkelstein and Trena White have 35 years of combined experience in book publishing. The pair worked together at D&M Publishers until 2012, when the company went into creditor protection. With their backs against the wall, they choose to take a leap of faith […]
Trena White Founder, Page Two TELUS Trailblazer Award Finalist Jesse Finkelstein and Trena White have 35 years of combined experience in book publishing. The pair worked together at D&M Publishers until 2012, when the company went into creditor protection. With their backs against the wall, they choose to take a leap of faith […]
Natalie Voland Founder, Gestion Immobilière Quo Vadis TELUS Trailblazer Award Finalist With a background in social work, Natalie Voland created a unique vision using real estate projects as a tool of economic development and urban regeneration, leading to the creation of over 3,000 new jobs. A Quebec leader in social innovation, Natalie works collaboratively […]
Geetha Moorthy Founder, SAAAC Autism Centre Social Change Award Finalist Geetha founded the South Asian Autism Awareness Centre (SAAAC) in direct response to the growing need for awareness and support for South Asian families impacted by ASD and related developmental disorders. The centre began with two families, a handful of volunteers, and minimal resources. […]
Laurel Douglas CEO, Women’s Enterprise Centre Social Change Award Finalist Laurel Douglas is the CEO of Women’s Enterprise Centre (WEC). WEC is a non-profit organization devoted to helping BC women launch, lead, and scale their own businesses. Under Laurel’s leadership, WEC has become recognized as one of the leading business resources for women entrepreneurs […]
Pascale Bouchard Founder, Leucan Social Change Award Finalist A member of the Quebec Bar, Pascale practiced law for a little over a year before heading into management. She joined Leucan in 2015 as Director of Family Services, and a year later became General Manager. Leucan is a nonprofit organization that supports children with cancer […]
Camille Jagdeo Founder, EDGE1 Equipment Rentals Momentum Award Finalist Born and raised in Guyana, Camille moved to Canada in 1985 and attended the University of Toronto. Her defining moment in entrepreneurship was between 2014 to 2018, where she successfully defended her company’s name against US rental giant Hertz. Camille’s no-nonsense approach has earned her […]
Janet LePage Founder, Western Wealth Capital Momentum Award Finalist For the past decade, Janet has been focused on creating wealth through well-selected real estate investment. Under Janet’s leadership, WWC has placed more than US$ 408 million in private equity and acquired 58 multi-family properties, comprising more than 11,600 rental units, with a purchase value […]
Youlita Anguelov Founder, AgroFusion Momentum Award Finalist Youlita Anguelov moved to Montreal from Bulgaria in 1993 with her six-year-old daughter, two suitcases, and $500. After a decade of working hard to establish herself, she launched AgroFusion. Back then, she was the business and the business was her — in a small warehouse where she […]
Lisa Ali Learning Founder, AtlanTick Repellent Products Ones to Watch Award Lisa’s business idea arose when her two sons were sick with Lyme disease. While focusing on the immediate care of her children, she developed safe, natural formulas to keep them from encountering future tick bites, the source of the disease. As her sons […]
Dina Kulik Founder, Kidcrew Ones to Watch Award Dr. Dina Kulik is a mother and Paediatrician in Toronto. With a focus on superior patient outcomes and education, Dina is one of Canada’s leading child health media experts, providing child health information to parents and the public through television, radio, and print media and via […]
Melissa Kargiannakis Founder, Skritswap Ones to Watch Award Melissa Kargiannakis is the founder and CEO of Skritswap: a Silicon Valley venture capital-funded AI start-up that swaps complex jargon into plain, easy-to-understand language. Imagine a mortgage at a grade six reading level. In just nine months full-time at Skritswap, Melissa led the team to win […]
Benveet Gill Founder, ReYu Paralysis Recovery Centre Ones to Watch Award Benveet has over 10 years of experience as an X-ray technologist specializing in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab. Her life was changed forever when she was paralyzed from the waist down and diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis in July 2012. After years of hard work […]
Melinda Rombouts Founder, Eve & Co Cannabis Ones to Watch Award After a series of agriculture businesses, Melinda tried a new hand — cannabis. She made history as the first woman founder and CEO to receive her cultivation license for cannabis under the Cannabis Act. Now leading a publicly traded recreational cannabis company, Melinda […]
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 […]
Kelly Ann Woods Founder, Gillespie’s Fine Spirits, Switch Spirit Free & Boozewitch Finalist, Diversity Institute Micro-Business Award, WEST Her passion for food and drink came from a “live off the land” way of life in rural Quebec, where she grew up on a hobby farm until the age of 17. Today, Kelly is […]
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 […]
This year marks the 27th year of recognizing the top women entrepreneurs in Canada. We are thrilled to be celebrating another influential collection of business owners. Representing diverse industries and business sizes, and hailing from across the country — here are the 2019 RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Award Finalists. This was a record-breaking […]
When she first launched Abeego, Toni Desrosiers was met with skepticism — people couldn’t imagine giving up plastic wrap. She persevered through the challenge of creating a new market, and now the award-winning entrepreneur can boast years of explosive growth, and her reusable beeswax wrap can be found in more than 1,500 stores, 40 countries […]
Joanna Griffiths launched Knixwear when she became aware of a need in the market for underwear that could handle “little leaks.” She solved that problem, and for the next five years focused on building a brand that helped women get over their insecurities and facilitate conversations. The strategy paid off. Not only is Knix a […]
The ‘Name Her, Nominate Her’ Campaign has officially launched as the 27th Annual RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards Call for Nominations Officially Open. If you know a Canadian female entrepreneur that deserves some recognition — find out how to nominate her below. RBC and Women of Influence are announcing the call for nominations for […]
Seven outstanding female entrepreneur winners awarded out of a record-breaking 7,400 nominees TORONTO, NOVEMBER 21st, 2018 – The 26th annual RBC Canadian Women Entrepreneur Awards, presented by Women of Influence, have named seven winners of this year’s prestigious awards. They join the six recipients of the new up-and-coming entrepreneur ‘Ones to […]
Sept entrepreneures remarquables se sont distinguées parmi 7 400 candidatures, un record TORONTO, LE 21 NOVEMBRE 2018 – Sept lauréates ont été récompensées à la 26e remise des prestigieux Prix canadiens de l’entrepreneuriat féminin RBC, présentés par Femmes d’influence. Elles se joignent aux six lauréates de la nouvelle catégorie Entrepreneure prometteuse, qui avaient été dévoilées en septembre. […]
