Six ‘exceptional’ corporate leaders in Canada have been crowned as Catalyst Honours Champions for 2021; for their commitment to advancing women in the workplace.
All six leaders have made transformational contributions to advancing women and championing inclusion in the workplace; and are role models for inclusive leadership in corporate Canada, confirmed Catalyst Inc. They include Evan Siddall, former President & CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; Lorraine Gray, Director, Stations Services of Hydro One; Bhushan Ivaturi, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer of Enbridge Inc; Deland Kamanga, Head of Global Markets of BMO Capital Markets; Alice Wong, Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Officer of Cameco; and Eguono Onoyovwi Omotayo, Director of Product, Enterprise CRM at CIBC.
EXEMPLARY BOLD & INTENTIONAL LEADERSHIP
“These remarkable individuals have demonstrated bold and intentional leadership to create workplaces where advancing women and inclusion is a priority,” commented Catalyst President & CEO Lorraine Hariton. “Their exemplary efforts, especially during these extraordinary times, are a testimony to the power of what’s possible when we work to create inclusive environments; where all employees feel engaged, accepted and empowered to succeed.”
Adding to her comments, Vandana Juneja, Executive Director, Canada at Catalyst, stated: “Our 2021 Champions are inspiring role models whose actions have had a powerful impact on the careers of women across corporate Canada. Each of these individuals has inspired their organisations to prioritise strategies to advance women and inclusion; and make meaningful progress towards that goal. We congratulate them and thank them for their hard work and commitment.”
Catalyst has annually celebrated individuals who advance women and advocate for inclusive workplaces in Canadian business, since 2010. Nominees are evaluated in a rigorous process. The 2021 Champions exemplify Catalyst research findings linking diverse, inclusive workplaces to innovation, team citizenship, productivity and stronger business results. More details about the 2021 Champions can be found below.
COMPANY/FIRM LEADER CHAMPION
Evan Siddall, former President & CEO of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
A passionate advocate of inclusion and diversity, Siddall has been championing progress at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and beyond. His commitment to gender equity and inclusion has been transformational, driving an increase in the proportion of women executive leaders from 27% to 61.5%; and women in CMHC’s leadership pipeline from 31% to 53%; and securing a commitment from the organisation to increase representation of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) employees to 30% by 2025. Known as a passionate and courageous leader, Siddall has always stood firm for inclusion, setting goals and publishing them to ensure accountability. He is also committed to allyship, regularly meeting with equity-seeking groups to understand the realities of their experiences and how he can better support them. Siddall’s “visionary and unwavering efforts to foster inclusive workplaces make him a role model for business leaders everywhere”, highlighted Catalyst.
BUSINESS LEADER CHAMPIONS
Lorraine Gray, Director, Stations Services of Hydro One
Gray is a professional engineer with over 16 years in the electricity sector. She has spent her career at Hydro One in progressively senior positions. As the Director of Station Services, she leads over 700 employees that support over 300 transmission stations and 1000 distribution stations across Ontario. Gray is a tireless supporter of people and is passionate about engineering; particularly encouraging and supporting women to seek out non-traditional roles. She demonstrates this through her long-time leadership and support of Hydro One’s Women in Trades, Technology, and Engineering employee resource group; of which she is a founding member, and serving as an Executive Committee member of the Hydro One Women in Engineering Partnership. She also serves as an Ontario Tech University Engineer in Residence, supporting their Women in Engineering programme. In 2020, Gray was recognised as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by Women’s Executive Network.
Bhushan Ivaturi, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer of Enbridge Inc
Ivaturi is a long-time advocate of inclusion and diversity. As CIO and Senior Vice President of Technology & Information Services (TIS) at Enbridge, Bhushan’s influence has resulted in TIS exceeding industry benchmarks for inclusion of women across all but one job level; including promotion of women into vital leadership roles. Ivaturi launched the Women in Technology (WIT) programme at Enbridge that is building a strong pipeline of talent across managerial job levels; and is designed for sustainability.
He is also an active sponsor for Employee Resource Groups, such as FEMINEN (FEMales IN Engineering) that fosters engagement, attraction and retention of women working in science and engineering functions at Enbridge. Ivaturi has helped elevate diversity and inclusion in TIS to an all-time high, including building a management team that is 67% diverse and 100% diverse at the VP-level. Known for fostering open discussions about diversity and inclusion, he is an “active mentor who walks the talk of a true inclusive leader”, noted Catalyst.
Deland Kamanga, Head of Global Markets of BMO Capital Markets
Kamanga is an accomplished senior leader with a deep passion for advancing DE&I in the workplace, industry and society. As Head of Global Markets at BMO Capital Markets, Deland leads by example; encouraging senior leaders to become inclusion and equity advocates and challenging every employee to live with these same values. Deland is an active member of BMO’s Leadership Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Co-Chair of the BMO Capital Markets Diversity Steering Committee; Co-Chair for BMO’s Black Latino Advisory Council; and Executive Sponsor for BMO’s Black Professionals Network Canada ERG.
With his guidance, BMO Capital Markets has enhanced programmes and policies that drive a more inclusive culture, including returnships, parental leaves and hiring procedures that directly impact women. His championship of DE&I has led to an increased presence of women at all levels in Global Markets; and more women with the potential to advance to senior roles across the firm. Deland’s contributions extend into the community as Board member of both the Jackie Robinson Foundation and Women in Capital Markets and on the Board of Trustees for Sick Kids Hospital.
Alice Wong, Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Officer of Cameco
Wong is an influential and respected leader who challenges the status quo by asking tough questions and pushing for fairness and progress. As Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Officer at Cameco, one of the largest global providers of the fuel needed to energise a clean-air world, she is a tireless champion for the advancement of women in a male-dominated industry.
Under her leadership, Cameco increased the representation of women in its workforce between 2014 and 2020; despite experiencing workforce reduction of more than 35% in that same period. During this challenging time, Wong worked with the Cameco leadership team to commit to advancing and retaining women; increasing overall representation of women from 23% to 25%, and management-level representation from 15% to 25%. In addition to her championship of women, Wong has provided leadership for first-collaboration agreements with Cameco’s Indigenous communities; helping the organisation become one of Canada’s largest industrial employers of Indigenous Peoples. Catalyst describes her as a “true role model for inclusive leadership”.
EMERGING LEADER CHAMPION
Eguono Onoyovwi Omotayo, Director of Product, Enterprise CRM at CIBC
Omotayo is a visionary leader who inspires others with her passion and commitment to building inclusive and purpose-driven teams. She holds both engineering and MBA degrees and applies her expertise as Director of Product, Enterprise Client Relationship Manager (ECRM) at CIBC. As a Black woman in STEM, Omotayo is acutely aware of the power of representation and early mentorship; and promotes inclusive talent practices in the workplace. She was a featured speaker at the 2018 Move the Dial Global Summit, which promotes women in technology; founded TEO Consulting, a career coaching company; and was a volunteer mentor for RYFC and RISE, organisations that support youth in their careers and business startups.
CHAMPIONING DIVERSITY
All six champions will receive their awards at Catalyst Honours 2021, a virtual conference taking place on 27-28 October 2021. Manulife is this year’s presenting sponsor of the event. “As a global organisation, we recognise the importance of championing diversity at all levels and have established goals that will help to build a more inclusive culture and drive change,” stated Michelle Taylor-Jones, Vice President, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Manulife. “Beginning in June 2020, we announced our commitment of $3.5 million over the next two years to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in our workplace and the communities we serve.”
Other event sponsors and partners include Accenture, BMO Bridgeable, CIBC, HSBC Bank Canada, Shaw Communications, Starbucks and Uber. Click here to see last year’s winners.
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