Six Exemplary Canadian Business Leaders Named Catalyst Honours Champions for 2021, Role Models for Inclusive Leadership

Honourees to be recognized at Catalyst Honours 2021 on October 27 and 28.

TORONTO, June 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Catalyst announced today that six exceptional Canadian corporate leaders have been named Catalyst Honours Champions for 2021. All have made transformational contributions to advancing women and championing inclusion in the workplace and are role models for inclusive leadership in corporate Canada. The Champions will receive their awards at Catalyst Honours 2021, a dynamic virtual conference taking place on October 27 and 28.

"These remarkable individuals have demonstrated bold and intentional leadership to create workplaces where advancing women and inclusion is a priority," said 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."

The 2021 Catalyst Honours Champions are:

Company/Firm Leader:

• Evan Siddall, former President & CEO, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

Business Leaders:

• Lorraine Gray, Director, Stations Services, Hydro One
• Bhushan Ivaturi, Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer, Enbridge Inc.
• Deland Kamanga, Head of Global Markets, BMO Capital Markets
• Alice Wong, Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Officer, Cameco

Emerging Leader:

• Eguono Onoyovwi Omotayo, Director of Product, Enterprise CRM, CIBC

"Our 2021 Champions are inspiring role models whose actions have had a powerful impact on the careers of women across corporate Canada," said Vandana Juneja, Executive Director, Canada, Catalyst.  "Each of these individuals has inspired their organizations to prioritize 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."

Manulife is the Presenting Sponsor for the event. "As a global organization, we recognize the importance of championing diversity at all levels and have established goals that will help to build a more inclusive culture and drive change. 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," said Michelle Taylor-Jones, Vice President, Global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Manulife.

Since 2010, Catalyst has annually celebrated individuals who advance women and advocate for inclusive workplaces in Canadian business. 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.

About the Catalyst Honours Champions for 2021:

• Evan Siddall (Company/Firm Leader Champion) is a passionate advocate of inclusion and diversity, 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 organization to increase representation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) employees to 30% by 2025. Known as a passionate and courageous leader, Evan 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. Evan's visionary and unwavering efforts to foster inclusive workplaces make him a role model for business leaders everywhere.
  
• Lorraine Gray (Business Leader Champion) 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.
  
  Lorraine is a tireless supporter of people and is passionate about engineering, in particular, 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 program. In 2020, Lorraine was recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women by Women's Executive Network.
  
• Bhushan Ivaturi (Business Leader Champion) is a long-time advocate of inclusion and diversity. As Chief Information Officer 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. Bhushan launched the Women in Technology (WIT) program 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. Bhushan 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.
  
• Deland Kamanga (Business Leader Champion) is an accomplished senior leader with a deep passion for advancing 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 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 programs and policies that drive a more inclusive culture, including returnships, parental leaves, and hiring procedures that directly impact women. His championship of DEI 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 (Business Leader Champion) 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 energize 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, Alice 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, Alice has provided leadership for first-collaboration agreements with Cameco's Indigenous communities, helping the organization become one of Canada's largest industrial employers of Indigenous Peoples. She is a true role model for inclusive leadership.
  
• Eguono Onoyovwi Omotayo (Emerging Leader Champion) is a visionary leader who inspires others with her passion and commitment to building inclusive and purpose-driven teams. Eguono 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, she is acutely aware of the power of representation and early mentorship and promotes inclusive talent practices in the workplace. Eguono 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, organizations that support youth in their careers and business startups. Eguono is married with a three-year-old and enjoys family time above all else.

Catalyst Honours 2021 sponsors:

Presenting Sponsor – Manulife

Day Sponsors – Accenture Canada and BMO

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

About Catalyst
Catalyst is a global nonprofit working with some of the world's most powerful CEOs and leading companies to help build 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 Honours
Catalyst Honours recognizes exceptional role models who are accelerating progress for women in the workplace. Launched in Canada in 2010, Catalyst Honours has recognized 60 outstanding individuals as representing the gold standard for inclusive leadership.

Contact
Francine Beck
Canada Communications Consultant
Catalyst
[e-mail]

Naomi R. Patton
Vice President, Global Communications
Catalyst
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SOURCE Catalyst