Entrepreneurs Awards

Recognizing women who own and operate thriving businesses

FATEN ALSHAZLY

BSC., MFA Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, WEUSTHEM INC.

BIO: Faten is one of Atlantic Canada’s Top 25 Most Powerful Women, one of five honourees by Women Get On Board, Executive of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, one of five Women of Inspiration, a Woman of Influence, a Woman of Excellence and a Diva of Color. Faten represents Canada at the Gerety Awards and serves on the boards of Efficiency One and is Vice- Chair of the Chamber of Commerce.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Tenacity pays off. Too often we are discouraged by the barriers and the mountains we need to climb, but tenacity to reach the goals we set for ourselves can reap numerous rewards.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: Being powerful should be related to how one empowers others. Individual power is a fallacy, no such thing exists. It is one that you gain by giving those who do not have power, true power.

JENN DENOUDEN

Chief Executive Officer and President,

AVANA DEVELOPMENTS INC.

BIO: Jenn Denouden is the President and CEO of Avana, a female-led real estate company ranked one of Canada’s Fastest-growing Companies. She is dedicated to fighting for equality and is passionate about engaging on topics like pay equity, female leadership, the right to affordable housing and re-inventing yourself beyond your wildest dreams.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: The most important lesson I have learned in my career is to focus on your purpose. There will always be people who have something negative to say, but put your head down, work hard, and allow your purpose to lead you.

ON MOTIVATION: My family. I want to create not only a better economic future for my kids but a brighter environmental future as well. The impact we have today will forever affect future generations. I want to leave the world a better place than I came into it.

ANU BIDANI

B.SC, MBA

Founder and Chief Executive Officer,

STEM MINDS CORP

BIO: Anu Bidani is the founder and CEO of STEM Minds, a social enterprise that empowers youth to develop a love of learning through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) education. Prior to starting STEM Minds, Anu worked as an executive in Capital Markets. She is an award-winning entrepreneur who is passionate about empowering the next generation of global leaders and innovator.

ON MOTIVATION: I am inspired and motivated by how the “power of our voices” can have an impact. We all can do our part by standing up for our beliefs and values and never give-up.

MY RAW COURAGE:I AM authentic in my #standinrawcourage as I believe that authentic conversations, no matter how hard they are, will ultimately have a positive impact to our society as a whole.

POWER SONG: “I Believe In You”, Amanda Marshall.

SUZAN GALLUZZO

B.A.

Chief Executive Officer, SUZAN GALLUZZO FITNESS

BIO: Suzan Galluzzo is a nutrition specialist, fitness expert and innovator behind Best of You — an online transformation program born from her passion for health and commitment to help others. Through food and fitness, Galluzzo transforms celebrities, politicians, working professionals and stay-at-home moms by teaching them how to heal their bodies from the inside out. Best of You celebrates 8,000-plus client success stories and currently serves over 1,000 active clients worldwide.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Nothing can disqualify people from living the way they want faster than their own beliefs, and to achieve the outcomes they want, they must unapologetically defend what they believe in.

MY RAW COURAGE: “I AM UNSTOPPABLE” — and this is because I believe if you love something, you cannot fail.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: To harness the ability to connect to people emotionally, and use it to ignite momentum towards positive change.

LÉONIE CÔTÉ-MARTIN

BSN President, SERENIS

BIO: With a bachelor’s degree in nursing (2016), Léonie Côté-martin acquired Serenis’s first franchise in 2017 and bought the company in 2018. Léonie stands out for her sense of entrepreneurship, her daring to innovate in the health sector and her great human and interpersonal qualities. A natural leader, unifier and recognized negotiator, she is a source of inspiration for nurses wishing to improve their working conditions and an example for many entrepreneurs.

MY RAW COURAGE: I AM empowered. I take action, I find solutions and we solve problems as a team.

ON WHAT MAKES A LEADER: Communicate transparently and know how to trust.

POWER SONG: “Seven Nation Army”, The White Stripes.

ROBIN KOVITZ

President and Chief Executive Officer,

BASKITS INC.

BIO: Robin Kovitz leads Baskits Inc., which designs, manufacturers and delivers unique and luxurious gifts across Canada and the U.S. Baskits has been featured in publications including: Forbes, House & Home, Elle Canada and Canadian Business. Robin lives in Toronto with her husband and two children. She is a frequent guest lecturer at the Yale School of Management and the Harvard Business School on the topic of “Entrepreneurship through Acquisition”.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: Being powerful, to me, means having control over or influence over people or things. To me, being powerful comes with a tremendous responsibility - to use your power for good and not evil!

POWER SONG: “Fighter”, Christina Aguilera AND “Stronger”, Britney Spears. I think I just gave away my age!

TOP 100 | 35

LISE LAPOINTE

BA

Chief Executive Officer, TERRANOVA SECURITY

BIO: Lise Lapointe is a visionary and entrepreneur dedicated to cyber security awareness. Her team's mission is to effectively counter all cyber threats. Making her home in Laval, Que., Lise plans to scale up her company to continue to support all organizations and security leaders in their security awareness journey. July 2020, Lise was named One of Canada's Top 20 Women in Cyber Security by IT World Canada.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: You have to focus on what you want to achieve and this will make you unstoppable.

ON WHAT MAKES A LEADER: Their ability to bring people together toward a united goal.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: It's a very strong word and it comes with the responsibility to do good and help others achieve their goals, objectives and dreams.

ALLISON TAYLOR

MBA

Chief Executive Officer, Co-founder, Portfolio Manager, INVICO CAPITAL CORPORATION

BIO: Allison Taylor leads Invico, providing strategic oversight on all investment, compliance and accounting functions. Since 2005, she's helped grow the firm's assets under management to over $1.2 billion whilst setting inclusivity standards industry-wide, employing a diverse workforce that is majority female. In 2019, Allison was named ‘Female Executive of the Year' at the Wealth Professional Women in Wealth Management Awards. She's also an avid runner and completed over 50 marathons.

POWER SONG: “Ordinary Day”, by Great Big Sea.

DEBORAH ROSATI

FCPA, FCA, ICD.D Founder and Chief Executive Officer,

WOMEN GET ON BOARD INC.

BIO: Deborah Rosati has spent more than 35 years growing businesses from ground up. Early on, Deborah realized that entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to make a positive impact on the world, so she spent her career advising and building companies in both a leadership and corporate governance capacity. In 2015, Deborah founded Women Get On Board Inc. (WGOB) her social purpose company with a simple goal: get more women on boards.

ON MOTIVATION: My passion to get more women on corporate boards — it is my social purpose.

MY RAW COURAGE: I AM Fearless. I have the courage to stand up for what I believe in, do the right thing and be independent-minded.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: “Power is like being a lady...if you have to tell people you are, you aren't” – Margaret Thatcher.

DR. POOJA VISWANATHAN

Bmath, PH.D

Chief Executive Officer and Founder,

BRAZE MOBILITY INC.

BIO: Following her passion to address accessibility issues after a visit to a long-term care facility, Pooja completed trans-disciplinary doctoral and post-doctoral research, publishing several peer-reviewed conference and journal articles on “smart” wheelchairs, and received many prestigious awards. She is Founder and CEO of Braze Mobility, which commercialized the world's first blind spot sensors for wheelchairs. Pooja leads important conversations around diversity and inclusion, and the role of clinical research and evidence in assistive technology development.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Listen with empathy and compassion, lead with kindness and conviction.

MY RAW COURAGE: I AM resilient because “life is not about how many times you fall down. It's about how many times you get back up.”

ANNA SINCLAIR

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, TOTAL MOM INC; Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SINCLAIR CREATIVE AGENCY INC.; VP Strategic Partnerships, BRIDGING THE GAP VENTURES; Council Member, FORBES BUSINESS

BIO: Anna Sinclair is an award-winning entrepreneur who is building transformational programs with her startup Total Mom Inc. The network is supporting 20,000-plus women and is becoming Canada's fastestgrowing business community for moms with services, products and programs including a national Pitch competition & business conference and a digital network. Her extensive portfolio features working alongside celebrity clients & North America's largest brands spanning the public, private, and non-profit sectors.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: That when you stand for the transformation of others, everything in your life aligns. Having a strong sense of purpose and impact is the wind beneath my wings.

ON MOTIVATION: Connecting and working alongside entrepreneurs through a diverse lens to solve the world's biggest problems.

CYNTHIA WEEDEN

President and Founder, FUTURESHIELD INC.

BIO: Cynthia Weeden is a passionate business leader with over 30 years of strategic experience, including senior management roles at global companies. Cynthia works directly with leaders in public safety and brings the best technology solutions to Canada from around the world to make our communities safer. Cynthia assists key players in Canadian security and emergency management as they work to integrate innovative technology into their daily operations.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Every day can bring a new opportunity so keep eyes wide open, listen to others, communicate readily, and bounce don't break when it all doesn't go the way you planned.

MY RAW COURAGE: I AM strong. People describe me as that most often, so yah, I am strong. Very strong.

ON WHAT MAKES A LEADER: Inspiration. Drive. Dedication. Lead others to find their path to power.

ANNE WHELAN

B.A, MBA, ICD.D Chief Executive Officer, SEAFAIR CAPITAL

BIO: Anne is principal shareholder and CEO of Seafair Capital, a social purpose in community and behavioural health, social services, safety and health technology. Employing over 1,000 individuals, Anne brings a socioentrepreneurial passion to the businesses and cultivates them to ‘do well while doing good’. Anne brings her authentic self to national boards including CSA and the Bank of Canada and contributes her time and talent to various other community organizations.

MOST IMPORTANT CAREER LESSON: Put people first. If you don’t have the right people with you, nothing else matters.

ON MOTIVATION: Doing well while doing good - it’s our mantra.

MY RAW COURAGE: I AM tenacious. I can keep my eyes on the goal through pretty challenging circumstances.

JULIA ZHANG

President and Chief Executive Officer, JD DEVELOPMENT GROUP and REZ-ONE MANAGEMENT CORP; President, JEFFERSON HOMES LIMITED

BIO: Julia Zhang established JD Development Group in 2010, maintaining her role as CEO since. With her ownership, the company’s student residences are home to over 3,000 students, serviced under a property management arm. The property portfolio further includes nine residential projects across Ontario, with three coming. A female entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry, Julia has built a residential development company that converts sites with high potential into thriving communities.

ON WHAT MAKES A LEADER: Real leadership is a combination of vision, integrity and knowledge, to let others thrive.

ON WHAT POWERFUL MEANS: Stepping into your power and leading the change you want to see in your organization, community and the world.

POWER SONG: “Hero” by Mariah Carey.

Put people first. If you don’t have the right people with you, nothing else matters

~ Anne Whelan

You have to focus on what you want to achieve and this will make you unstoppable

~ Lise Lapointe