Women in financial services honoured by WXN

The Women’s Executive Network (WXN) announced the list of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award Winners on Wednesday.

The Top 100 Award recognizes women across Canada who advocate for diversity in the workforce and inspire the next generation of leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

The awards are presented in 10 different categories. Numerous women in the financial services sector were honoured in the 2019 Top 100 Awards.

The Intact Professional Awards category recognizes women who play a leadership role within their organization. The 2019 winners included Beata Caranci, senior vice president and chief economist, TD Bank Group; Diane McCurdy, president and chief executive officer, McCurdy Financial Planning Inc.; and Patrice Walch-Watson, senior managing director, general counsel and corporate secretary, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

Women who have made notable contributions to Canadian society were honoured with the CIBC Trailblazers & Trendsetters Awards. Recipients of this year’s award included Laurie Clark, co-founder, principal and director, Canchek Corporation, and founder and chief executive officer, Smarten Up Institute Inc.; Sharon Kim, managing director and global head foreign exchange sales, TD Securities; Gillian Riley, president and chief executive officer, Tangerine Bank; and Christine Robertson, president, Indigena Holdings.

The KPMG Future Leaders Awards, which recognizes women under the age of 30 who have distinguished themselves early in their career, were given to Angie Hall, assistant vice president, HSBC Bank Canada and Caroline Tutakiewicz, director and head of financial investigations, financial crimes, Royal Bank of Canada, among others.

Frances Donald, managing director, chief economist and head of macro strategy, Manulife and Xiaoyu Mavis Shang, vice president, pricing and analytics, RBC Insurance, were among the recipients of the Mercedes-Benz Emerging Leaders Awards. Those awards honour women between ages 30 and 40 who have a proven passion for learning and innovation.

The HSBC Corporate Executives Awards recognize women who hold senior positions in Canadian companies, pension funds and co-operatives. Among the 2019 recipients were Monika Federau, senior vice president and chief strategy officer, Intact Financial Corporation and Catherine Milum, head of wealth sales, wealth and asset management, Canada, Manulife Investment Management.

Samra Zafar, director, business finance, BMO Bank of Montreal, was among the recipients of the RBC Championships Awards, which recognize women who have helped with the advancement of women in the workplace.

Additionally, 10 women were inducted into the WXN’s Top 100 Hall of Fame in 2019, which honours women who have won the Top 100 Award for the fourth time. The inductees included Dr. Heather Munroe-Blum, chairperson, CPPIB Board of Directors, CPP Investment Board and Sandy Sharman, chief human resources and communications officer, CIBC.

For a full list of winners, visit WXN’s website.

Maddie Johnson

Maddie is a freelance writer and editor who has been reporting for Advisor.ca since 2019.