Six Exemplary Canadian Business Leaders Named Catalyst Honors Champions for 2021, Models of Inclusive Leadership

The winners will be recognized at the Catalyst Honors 2021 on October 27 and 28.

TORONTO, June 15, 2021 / PRNewswire / – Catalyst today announced that six outstanding Canadian business leaders have been named Catalyst Honors Champions for 2021. All have made transformational contributions to the advancement of women and advocacy for inclusion in the world. workplace and are role models of inclusive leadership in business. Canada. The champions will receive their awards at the Catalyst Honors 2021, a dynamic virtual conference taking place on October 27 and 28.

“These remarkable individuals have shown bold and intentional leadership in creating workplaces where the advancement of women and inclusion are a priority,” said Catalyst President and CEO. Lorraine Hariton. “Their exemplary efforts, especially in these extraordinary times, are a testament to the power of what is possible when we work to create inclusive environments where all employees feel engaged, accepted and empowered to succeed. “

The 2021 Catalyst Honors Champions are:

Company / Company manager:

• Evan siddall, Former President and CEO, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

Business leaders:

• Lorraine Gray, Director, Station Services, Hydro One
• Bhushan Ivaturi, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Enbridge Inc.
• Deland Kamanga, Head of Global Markets, BMO Capital Markets
• Alice wong, Senior Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer, Cameco

Emerging leader:

• Eguono Onoyovwi Omotayo, Product Manager, Corporate CRM, CIBC

“Our 2021 champions are inspiring role models whose actions have had a powerful impact on the careers of women across the company. Canada,” noted Vandana juneja, Executive director, Canada, Catalyst. “Each of these people inspired their organizations to prioritize strategies to advance women and inclusion and make meaningful progress towards this goal. We congratulate and thank them for their hard work and commitment.”

Manulife is the presenting sponsor of the event. “As a global organization, we recognize the importance of championing diversity at all levels and have set goals that will help create a more inclusive culture and foster change. june 2020, we announced our commitment to $ 3.5 million over the next two years to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in our workplaces and in the communities we serve, ”said Michelle taylor jones, Vice President, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Manulife.

Since 2010, Catalyst has annually celebrated people who advance women and champion inclusive workplaces in Canadian businesses. Candidates are assessed through a rigorous process. The 2021 Champions illustrate the results of Catalyst research connecting diverse and inclusive workplaces with innovation, team citizenship, productivity and better business outcomes.

About the Catalyst Honors Champions for 2021:

• Evan siddall (Business Champion / Business Leader) is a strong advocate for inclusion and diversity, championing progress at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and beyond. Her commitment to gender equity and inclusion has been transformational, leading to an increase in the proportion of female executives from 27% to 61.5% and women in CMHC’s leadership pipeline from 31%. to 53% and securing a commitment from the organization to increase representation of Black, Indigenous and Colored (BIPOC) employees will increase to 30% by 2025. Known as a passionate and courageous leader, Evan has always advocated for inclusion, setting goals and publishing them to ensure accountability. He is also committed to allying himself, regularly meeting with equity-seeking groups to understand the realities of their experiences and how he can best support them. Evan’s visionary and steadfast efforts to foster inclusive workplaces make him a role model for business leaders around the world.
  
• Lorraine Gray (Entrepreneurial Champion) is a professional engineer with over 16 years in the electricity sector. She has spent her career at Hydro One in increasingly senior positions. As Director of Station Services, she manages more than 700 employees who support more than 300 transmission stations and 1,000 distribution stations across Ontario.

  Lorraine tirelessly supports people and is passionate about engineering, in particular, encouraging and supporting women to seek non-traditional roles. She demonstrates this through her leadership and long-standing support to the Hydro One Women in Trades, Technology and Engineering resource group, of which she is a founding member, and member of the Executive Committee of the Hydro One Women in Partnership. Engineering. She is also Engineer-in-Residence at Ontario Tech University, supporting their Women in Engineering program. In 2020, Lorraine was recognized as one of the from Canada Top 100 Most Influential Women of the Women’s Executive Network.
  

• Bhushan Ivaturi (Champion of Business Leaders) is a long-time advocate for inclusion and diversity. As Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Information Technology and Services (TIS) at Enbridge, Bhushan’s influence has enabled TIS to exceed industry standards for the inclusion of women at all but one level of employment, including the advancement of women into critical leadership roles. Bhushan launched the Women in Technology (WIT) program at Enbridge, which builds a strong talent pool at all levels of leadership roles and is designed for sustainability. He is also an active sponsor of employee resource groups such as FEMINEN (FEMales IN Engineering) which promotes engagement, attraction and retention of women working in science and engineering functions at Enbridge. Bhushan has helped raise diversity and inclusion in TIS to an all-time high, including building a 67% and 100% diverse leadership team at the Vice President level. Known for fostering open discussions about diversity and inclusion, he is an active mentor who speaks like a true inclusive leader.
  
• Deland Kamanga (Business Leader Champion) is an accomplished senior leader with a deep passion for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, industry and society. As Head of Global Markets at BMO Capital Markets, Deland leads by example, encouraging senior leaders to become advocates for inclusion and equity and challenging every employee to live by those same values. Deland is an active member of the BMO Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Steering Committee, Co-Chair of the BMO Capital Markets Diversity Steering Committee, Co-Chair of the BMO Black Latino Advisory Council and Executive Sponsor of the Black Professionals BMO Network Canada ERG. With her guidance, BMO Capital Markets has improved programs and policies that foster a more inclusive culture, including returns, parental leave and hiring procedures that have a direct impact on women. Her DCI designation has led to an increased presence of women at all levels in global markets and more women with the potential to advance to leadership positions within the company. Deland’s contributions extend to the community as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jackie Robinson Foundation and Women in Capital Markets and of the Board of Trustees of Sick Kids Hospital.
  
• Alice wong (Business Leader Champion) is an influential and respected leader who challenges the status quo by asking tough questions and advocating for fairness and progress. As Senior Vice President and CEO of Cameco, one of the world’s largest suppliers of the fuel needed to energize a clean air world, she is a tireless champion for the advancement of women in a world. male dominated industry. Under his leadership, Cameco increased the representation of women in its workforce between 2014 and 2020, despite a workforce reduction of more than 35% during the same period. During this difficult time, Alice worked with Cameco’s leadership team to commit to advancing and retaining women, increasing overall female representation from 23% to 25% and representation at the executive level. from 15% to 25%. In addition to her women’s championship, Alice has shown leadership through first collaboration agreements with Cameco’s Indigenous communities, helping the organization become one of the from Canada the largest industrial employers of indigenous peoples. She is a true model of inclusive leadership.
  
• Eguono Onoyovwi Omotayo (Champion of Emerging Leaders) is a visionary leader who inspires others through her passion and commitment to building inclusive and motivated teams. Eguono holds an engineering degree and an MBA and applies his expertise as a Product Manager, Corporate Client Relationship Manager (ECRM) at CIBC. As a black woman in STEM, she is keenly aware of the power of advocacy and early mentoring and promotes inclusive talent practices in the workplace. Eguono was a guest speaker at the Move the Dial 2018 Global Summit, which promotes women in technology; founded TEO Consulting, a career coaching company; and was a volunteer mentor for RYFC and RISE, organizations that support young people in their careers and business creation. Eguono is married with a three year old child and above all loves spending time with his family.

Sponsors of the Catalyst Honors 2021:

Presenting Sponsor – Manulife

Sponsors of the day – Accenture Canada and BMO

Other Sponsors and Partners – Bridgeable, CIBC, HSBC Bank Canada, Shaw Communications Inc., Starbucks and Uber for Business

About the catalyst
Catalyst is a global, non-profit organization that works with some of the world’s most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help create workplaces that work for women. Founded in 1962, Catalyst drives change with pioneering research, practical tools and proven solutions to accelerate and advance women into leadership, because progress for women is progress for everyone.

About Catalyst Honors
Catalyst Honors recognizes outstanding role models who accelerate the advancement of women in the workplace. Launched in Canada in 2010, Catalyst Honors recognized 60 exceptional personalities as representing the gold standard for inclusive leadership.

Contact
Francine Beck
Canadian Communications Advisor
Catalyst
[email protected]

Naomi R. Patton
Vice President, Global Communications
Catalyst
[email protected]

SOURCE Catalyst

Related links

www.catalyseur.org