Celebrating 10th anniversary of Top 100 Awards, Women’s Executive Network reveals 2012 Winners
Listen to President Piercy interviewed by Wei Chen on CBC Morning
December 5, 2012
(Interview starts at 20:37)
Belleville – December 4, 2012 – Loyalist College President Maureen Piercy has been recognized as a recipient of a prestigious 2012 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award in the Public Sector Leaders category.
Marking a decade of celebrating female leaders, the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) revealed the recipients of the 10th annual Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award earlier today. Each year, these awards celebrate the professional achievements of women across the country in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.
Board Chair Stuart Wright congratulated President Piercy on behalf of the Board and the College community. “Maureen is an outstanding leader,” he said. “Under her leadership, the College has undergone a massive physical expansion and significant enrolment growth. These results reflect the professionalism she exudes when dealing with complex and challenging matters. Two qualities stand out in my mind; her seemingly tireless work ethic and her compassion and concern for the student and employee bodies at Loyalist College. It has been and continues to be a delight to work with Maureen and to witness first-hand the results that have been achieved under her Presidency.”
President Piercy joins a community of 653 women who have received the Top 100™ Award over the last decade, recognizing the highest achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors in Canada. Winners are selected based on their strategic vision and leadership, their organization’s financial performance, and their commitment to their communities.
“It is a great honour to be recognized by the Women’s Executive Network,” said President Piercy. “As a proud Loyalist graduate, it is a wonderful privilege to lead my alma mater. This award is a validation of the superior quality of education that Loyalist College provides and to the loyalty of graduates like me.”
Since being appointed as Loyalist College’s first woman President in 2005, Maureen has driven three priority objectives for the College: Academic/Service and Systems Excellence; Access Leadership; and Sustainability and Capacity-Building. To bring Loyalist closer to its surrounding communities, she is actively involved in community governance and economic development organizations, and encourages Loyalist employees and students to share their time and talents with the community. In 2009, Maureen was appointed by Minister of Defence Peter MacKay to serve as Honorary Colonel of 8 Air Communication and Control Squadron, 8 Wing, CFB Trenton. Despite a challenging economy, President Piercy has maintained Loyalist’s financial health through prudent and creative management of the College. To strengthen the College’s core activities and viability, President Piercy and her team have moved toward commercializing College research and development initiatives. For example, Loyalist established infiniteSpaces Virtual World Design Centre, an award-winning Virtual Learning platform which provides immersive, experiential learning experiences to Loyalist students, as well as national and international clients.
“On behalf of the WXN community of 18,000 women, we congratulate each of this year’s Winners who we honour as part of the 10th year of the Top 100 Awards,” said Pamela Jeffery, Founder, Women’s Executive Network. “This is an extraordinary group of female leaders who join our community, and they truly embody the qualities WXN strives to recognize; they are dynamic, inspiring and engaging leaders blazing new trails for the next generation.”
Co-presented by Scotiabank and KPMG, WXN has awarded an outstanding group of women this year from a variety of industries ranging from corporate executives and entrepreneurs to trailblazers and trendsetters changing the world with their professional contributions. This year, WXN celebrates a decade of the Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards, paying tribute to the 653 incredible women who have received this honour to date, including 88 who have joined the Top 100 Hall of Fame. The complete list of 2012 Top 100 Award Winners can be found at top100women.ca
Maureen and her colleagues will be celebrated on December 5 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto, where the Top 100 Award Winners will lead WXN’s afternoon leadership Summit, appropriately themed “An Afternoon of Inspired Leadership,” offering insight to the more than 400 women in attendance. Award Winners will then be celebrated at the Top 100 Awards 10th annual Gala Dinner that evening. Gala attendees will hear from Laureen Harper, who will present the Public Sector Leaders Award category, as well as from keynote speakers Jeanne Beker, entrepreneur and TV personality, and Bonnie Brooks, Hudson’s Bay Company President and CEO.
Top 100 Awards enjoys a strong commitment from corporate supporters. For a complete list of Partners, click here http://www.top100women.ca/?w=top100.toronto.
About the Women’s Executive Network (WXN)
At WXN, we inspire smart women to lead. WXN creates and delivers innovative networking, mentoring, professional and personal development to inform, inspire connect and recognize our community of 18,000 smart women and their organizations in the pursuit of excellence. WXN enables our partners and corporate members to become and to be recognized as employers of choice and leaders in the advancement of women.
Founded in 1997, WXN is Canada’s leading organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of women in management, executive, professional and board roles. WXN is a Founding Member of the Canadian Board Diversity Council, dedicated to increasing the diversity of Canada’s corporate boards. In the fall of 2008, WXN launched in Ireland, a first step in creating an international community of female leaders.
In June 2012, WXN Founder Pamela Jeffery was named the only Canadian resident to Fast Company’s 2012 League of Extraordinary Women, in the leadership category. In its inaugural year, the League of Extraordinary Women recognizes 60 women from the world’s largest companies, innovative start-ups, philanthropic organizations, government and arts for their dedication to changing the lives of women and girls everywhere. WXN is the only Canadian-based organization on the list. Other Charter members include Hillary Clinton and Melinda Gates.
As individuals, we can inspire and be inspired. To our community of members and partners, we thank you for inspiring WXN to lead.
More information and details are available at wxnetwork.com or top100women.ca.
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For more information, please contact:
Jennifer Britton
Jennifer.britton@northstrategic.com
North Strategic (for WXN)
289-380-2327
Loyalist College contact:
Kerry Lorimer, Manager of Corporate Communications and Media Relations
Loyalist College
613-969-1913, ext. 2536