Toronto – Eight graduates of programs at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management are among one hundred prominent women named to the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) list of Canada’s Most Powerful Women for 2017. The awards were presented last night at a gala dinner in Toronto.
“We are tremendously proud of these exceptional Rotman alumni. Their determined leadership has created value for their shareholders and shared value in their communities. Trail blazers for women in business, they have also provided role models for the next generation of executives,” says Dean Tiff Macklem.
Kathleen O’Neill, BCom ’75, was inducted into the WXN Top 100 Hall of Fame, an honour given to past recipients of awards who have continued to do notable work. She is Corporate Director of several companies including: ARC Resources Ltd.; Finning International Inc.; Invesco Canada Funds; and, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. A CPA by training, she has successfully transitioned from partner and corporate executive at PwC and BMO Bank of Montreal respectively to experienced corporate director.
Carol Banducci, BCom’82, received the HSBC Corporate Executives award. She is Executive Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer, IAMGOLD Corporation and oversees all aspects of finance, information technology and investor relations and helps drive corporate strategy. In 2016, she partnered with the University of Toronto’s department of psychiatry to launch a fundraising initiative for the prevention and early detection of mental illness in young people.
Joanna Rotenberg, JD/MBA’01, received the HSBC Corporate Executives Award. She is Group Head, BMO Wealth Management, BMO Financial Group. She credits her combined JD/MBA degree as a catalyst for her success. Having realized she wanted to invent deals rather than execute them, she’s built a career doing just that. She joined BMO Financial Group in 2010 and set about helping shape its strategy, and was named Group Head of BMO Wealth Management in November of 2016. She is an active board member with several organizations in Toronto and also serves on Ontario’s Panel on Economic Growth and Prosperity.
Kim Shannon, MBA’93, received the Entrepreneurs Award. She is President & Co-Chief Investment Officer of Sionna Investment Managers, which she founded in 2002. She has more than 30 years of investment management experience, including holding senior executive leadership roles at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Canada and the CFA Society Toronto. She currently serves on the boards of the CFA Institute Board of Regents and Brandes Institute. She is a multiple WXN Top 100 winner.
Patti Perras Shugart, MBA’88, received the HSBC Corporate Executives Award. She is Managing Director & Global Head, Corporate Banking & Global Credit, at RBC Capital Markets where she oversees more than 500 professionals in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia who specialize in lending, trading credit and loan portfolio management for corporate and institutional clients. Named a Champion of Change by Women in Capital Markets and a recipient of their Leadership Award in 2010, she plays a key role in advancing women, diversity and inclusion both at RBC and in the industry.
Andrea Stairs, JD/MBA’00, received the HSBC Corporate Executives Award. She is managing director of eBay Canada where she leads the Canadian strategy and operations of one of the world’s largest online marketplaces and Canada’s second largest e-commerce business. She is responsible for cultivating eBay’s community of Canadian users and for overseeing all of eBay’s Canadian functions. Stairs sits on several boards, including The Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC), Ontario’s Panel for Economic Growth & Prosperity and the Rotman School of Management’s equity, diversity and inclusion committee.
Kim Van Der Son, MBA’86, received the KPMG Professionals Award. She is Managing Partner, Global Board Practice of Egon Zehnder. She has wide-ranging executive experience, having served in functional and operational roles across the professional services, financial services and consumer sectors, plus her consulting experi-ence has given her extensive exposure to most other sectors. She currently leads the global board practice at Egon Zehnder, serving as a trusted adviser to large-cap chairmen, boards and chief executive officers on all facets of maximizing human capital, including talent management, board and CEO succession planning and governance.
Catherine Wood, Executive MBA’08, received the HSBC Corporate Executive Award. She is Senior Vice-President & Head of Online Brokerage, Digital Advice, Insurance Products and Marketing for QTrade Financial Group. She is a member of Qtrade’s senior executive team, setting strategies to strengthen the brand and business. Before joining Qtrade, she worked in senior management for leading national financial institutions and founded her own company, which helped firms digitally brand their businesses. She is a trustee for the Institute for Advanced Financial Education and a multiple Top 100 winner.
In addition, eight other women who graduated from the Rotman School’s Executive Programs, The Judy Project or the Directors Education Program were honoured.
- Veni Iozzo, Executive Vice-President, Communications & Public Affairs,
- Jennifer Reynolds, President & Chief Executive Officer, Toronto Financial Services Alliance,
- Sherry Peister, Board Chair, Green Shield Canada & The Green Shield Canada Foundation,
- Claire Kennedy, Partner, Corporate Tax & Transfer Pricing Lawyer, Bennett Jones, who is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Rotman School and the Chair of the University of Toronto’s Governing Council,
- Valerie Mann, Partner, Lawson Lundell LLP,
- Karen Adams, President & Chief Executive Officer, Fundserv,
- Leslie Woo, Chief Planning Officer, Metrolinx,
- Sandy McIntosh, Executive Vice-President, People and Culture, and Chief Human Resources Officer, Telus.
Launched in 2003, the Top 100 Awards celebrate the incredible accomplishments of Canada’s leading female executives who have raised their voices, overturned obstacles, empowered the voiceless and paved a path for the next generation. The Awards also applaud the organizations and networks that support them. The full list of WXN’s 2017 Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners can be found at https://www.wxnetwork.com/top-100/top-100-winners/.
The Rotman School of Management is located in the heart of Canada’s commercial and cultural capital and is part of the University of Toronto, one of the world’s top 20 research universities. The Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables our graduates to tackle today’s global business and societal challenges. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.
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