AWARD WINNERS
Congratulations to all finalists and our award winners for 2019!
ACCOUNTANCY LEADER OF THE YEAR
Cathy Cobey – EY
Ionela-Maria Florescu – Manulife Investment Management
Jean M. Jen – Anandia
Laura Reid – Worldsource Wealth Management Inc.
Michelle Alphonso – Grant Thornton LLP
Nadia King – PwC Canada
WINNER:
Nadia King – PwC Canada
Judges citations:
Innovation, sharing of knowledge and transparency is at the forefront of what Nadia does. This is not limited to her clients but also with her colleagues at PwC. She is an exemplary member of the team and this year’s Accountancy Leader of the Year.
DIVERSITY AMBASSADOR OF THE YEAR
Catherine Philogène – RBC Global Asset Management
Chantal McNeily – Sun Life Global Investments
Kristy Duncan – Women in Payments
Marissa Teeter – IG Wealth Management
Meryl Afrika – Canadian Association of Urban Finance Professionals (CAUFP)
Sue Britton – FinTech Growth Syndicate
Shemina Jiwani – AscendantFX Capital Inc.
Shannon Pestun – ATB Financial
WINNER:
Meryl Afrika – Canadian Association of Urban Finance Professionals (CAUFP)
Judges citations:
During her tenure as president of CAUFP Meryl has managed to advocate for people of colour working in the financial industry. Her effort in getting the largest financial institutions to sign up to CAUFP continue to pay off not only for the organisation but also for the wider financial industry in Canada.
DIVERSITY INITIATIVE OF THE YEAR
Sahar Nezami – CIBC
The Big Push
Tamara Bonn – TD Wealth
MSCI Executive Diversity and Inclusion Team
PSP Investments
WINNER:
The Big Push
Judges citations:
Sharon Zohar’s The Big Push has found an innovative way to make it easier for women to start and build their own businesses. As a business owner herself she recognised that sometimes it is not only funding that is needed but expertise, knowledge and a network. Her work enables women-led businesses to grow and fall back on experienced leaders.
EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR
Cumberland Private Wealth
CPP Investment Board
Coast Capital Savings
WINNER:
CPP Investment Board
Judges citations:
The submission of the CPP Investment Board stood out as they as a company has recognised that each of their employees has completely individual requirements and needs when in comes to parenthood, physical health mental health etc. This has led to impressive programs and schemes being in place to answer for these requirements. In addition the Investment Board does not only look for gender parity within its own teams but also looks to have women on executive boards on companies they invest in. It is not just about ticking boxes but about bringing about and asking for change wherever possible.
FINANCE TEAM (LED BY A WOMAN)
Alia Abaya – Alterna Savings
Audrey Santo Domingo – BGRS
Greet Gemels – The Advantage Group International, Inc
Joanna Lipfeld – Lynx Equity Limited
Kelly Francia – Ernst & Young
Lana Legostaeva – Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards
Melissa Richards – ATB Financial
Patrizia Ferrarese – Investment Planning Counsel
WINNER:
Lana Legostaeva – Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards
Judges citations:
Under the leadership of Lana Legostaeva the Finance Team of Invest Ottawa & Bayview Yards have achieved impressive results. They haved scaled up operations, managed the corporate integration of the two entities and taken on the full scope accounting for some of their offices. Their work and the targets they have achieved is proof that with steady leadership, clear communication of business objectives and some flexibility a small team can make a might impact on a business and its success.
FINANCIAL ADVISER OF THE YEAR
Aseel El-Baba – RBC
Bhavna Duggal – EY Canada
Kusum Sen – Desjardins Financial Security
Laura Tutte – TD Wealth Private Investment Advice ~ Integrated Wealth Planning
Michelle Alphonso – Grant Thornton LLP
Rita Li – RBC
Tara Kelly – BMO Nesbitt Burns
Tina Tehranchian – Assante Capital Management Ltd.
WINNER:
Tina Tehranchian – Assante Capital Management Ltd.
Judges citations:
Tina’s holistic approach to her clients and their needs made her submission stand out. Her aim is first and foremost to improve people’s lives by enabling them to be financially savvy. She is an expert and advocates on a national level for better financial education.
FINTECH PROJECT OF THE YEAR (LED BY A WOMAN)
Aisling Doherty – Mercer Global Investments
Andrea Karrys – President’s Choice Financial
Alexandra Nuth – Brightside by ATB Financial
Serena Chan – IBM
Danielle Skipp – BloombergSen Investment Partners
Jennifer McDonald – Mylo Financial Technologies Inc.
Michelle Joliat – BMO Financial Group
Michele Poole – Buckzy Payments
Sandy Hung – Impack Hub Inc.
Saba Shariff – Symcor Inc.
WINNER:
Saba Shariff – Symcor Inc.
Judges citations:
Saba Shariff and her team had the task of launching Symcor’s first new line of service in 20 years. On their journey to achieve this they have managed to get some of Canada’s largest banks involved be supportters as well as fostered industry wide collaboration in the form of the COR.IQ fraud Alliance. This represents a joined-up effort to stand up to and prevent fraud and protect customers in Canada.
FUND MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Danielle Graham – Dream Maker Ventures
Kathrin Forrest – Sun Life Global Investments (Canada) Inc.
Sarah Riopelle – RBC Global Asset Management
WINNER:
Sarah Riopelle – RBC Global Asset Management
Judges citations:
With managing $125bn in assets Sarah has her work cut out. She and her team manage over 100 different strategies and have managed for 100% of the assets to be ahead for their benchmark over the 3-year period. Apart from this she takes every possible opportunity to give back and share her story to encourage others and mentor them.
INVESTMENT BANKER OF THE YEAR
Julie Yung – Citibank Canada
Scarlett Crockatt – Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets
WINNER:
Scarlett Crockatt – Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets
Judges citations:
Scarlett’s diligent work in achieving ambitious objectives have made her an embodiment of success in finance. She has contributed to the Government’s Interim Report on Sustainable Finance and leading various multi-billion Dollar projects and buy-outs. She continually advocates for and drives postive change for diversity by example.
LEGAL ADVISER OF THE YEAR
Jessica Thrower – Minden Gross LLP
Patricia McLeod – Calgary Cooperative Association
WINNER:
Patricia McLeod – Calgary Cooperative Association
Judges citations:
In her role as elected board chair of Calgary Co-op Patricia contributes to the strategy of the organisation. One of her stand-out accomplishments is the development of the first enterprise-wide compliance system as AltaLink and establishing a Code of Ethics. She has proven to be a leader who can take charge duirng a transformation and provide not only valuable insights but apply creative thinking to solve problems.
ONE TO WATCH
Amber French – Catalyst Capital
Ellis Odynn – Digital Finance Institute
Ester Ania Garcia – Scotiabank
Garima Chaudhary – Oracle
Julia Kassam – CIBC – Innovation Banking
Julia Howe – State Street Global Advisors
Kathryn Buis – BMO Financial Group
Roba Elakawy – Leon Frazer & Associates
Shipra Singh – Genpact
Justine Melman – Flybits
WINNER:
Ellis Odynn – Digital Finance Institute
Judges citations:
Already a thought leader and champion of innovation, Ellis has come a long way in the past three years. Her clarity of vision when it comes to Canadian leadrship in FinTech is astonighing and shows that, though she has had an amazing journey already, it has just begun.
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
Krystelle Bilodeau – Bank of Canada
Louise Pitt – RPIA
Michelle Joliat – BMO
Sherry Cooper – Dominion Lending Centres
Susan MacDonald – Fiera Real Estate
Nathalie Racine – RBC Wealth Management Dominion Securities
WINNER:
Michelle Joliat – BMO
Judges citations:
Michelle Joliat’s career is a template on how through hard work, positive leadership and honesty you can achieve amazing things. Her approach to all things is customer-centric and shows that the needs of the customer and succcfully addressing that need is crucial. Changes in multi-nationals are famously hard to achieve in a short amount of time and without losing sight of the original aim they set out to achieve. But with her team, Michelle have found an innovative solution to give their clients a cutting-edge experience.
PERSONAL & PRIVATE BANKER OF THE YEAR
Julie Yung – Citibank Canada
Liang Tang – RBC
Supreet Warna – HSBC
WINNER:
Supreet Warna – HSBC
Judges citations:
Supreet’s strategic vision and experience in channel and distribution strategy stood out. She has led teams to overcome business challenges and successfully driven the transformation of the branch banking experience. The customer experience is at the forefront of each project she leads and takes an innovative approach to solving their problems.
SPECIALIST INVESTOR OF THE YEAR
Christine Xu – Moneybroker Canada
Faru Chen – CIBC
Ida Khajadourian – Richardson GMP Khajadourian Wealth Management
Jennifer Mooney – Lynx Equity Limited
Laviva Mazhar – Luge Capital
WINNER:
Ida Khajadourian – Richardson GMP Khajadourian Wealth Management
Judges citations:
In her career of 19 years Ida has supported always strived to have a positive impact on her clients and to help them achieve their objectives. She has become an expert in evolutionary portfolio construction using alternative strategies and her due diligence and risk reward-oriented approach make her stand out in the industry.
WEALTH MANAGER OF THE YEAR
Alana Riley – IG Wealth Management
Jackie Porter – Carte Wealth Management
Mary Hagerman – Desjardins Wealth Management
Zainab Williams – Elleverity Wealth Management
Keeley Simpson – BMO Nesbitt Burns
Rita Li – RBC Dominion Securities
Ifeoma Idoko – Rothenberg Capital Management
WINNER:
Alana Riley – IG Wealth Management
Judges citations:
Unafraid to ask the tough questions and demanding and bringing about change has been Alana’s attitude in the past 18 months. Acknowledging that their teams had to represent their client base she successfully launched the ‘Women of the West’ Committee to focus on enhancing the performance of the female advisors and giving them a platform to share concerns and ideas to improve their working environment. She has not limited herself to work within IG Wealth Management but has also undertaken industry-wide efforts to promote diversity.
WOMAN OF THE YEAR
Ann Kaplan – iFinance Canada
Christina Camacho – Ivy Lender
Cindy David – Cindy David Financial Group Ltd.
Patricia Dunwoody – Canadian ETF Association
Scarlett Crockatt – Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets
Simonne LeBlanc – Ethoca
Jasmine Konsorada – PwC
Susan Hall CFA, M.Sc., FCSI – Coast Capital Savings
Tina Tehranchian – Assante Capital Management Ltd.
WINNER:
Ann Kaplan – iFinance Canada
Judges citations:
Ann Kaplan’s work in the past 23 years has led her to be one of the leading champions of Entrepreneurship in Canada. In addition to her job she advocates for international regulations, platforms and industry change. Being a leader within the financial markets she makes sure to find time to mentor students of finance and entrepreneurs who are just starting out. Her devotion to sharing her knowledge and expertise are commendable and make her the Woman of the Year.
This award is sponsored by Unicef