TORONTO – Seven outstanding women in the communications, broadcasting and information technology sectors are being honoured by Canadian Women in Communications for their contribution to their companies and as role models of leadership with its prestigious Annual Awards.
The presentations will be made at CWC’s 2013 Annual Awards Gala at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier in Ottawa on April 16th. The event, which is known for attracting hundreds of top business and government leaders, will be hosted by Juno-award-winning R&B singer/songwriter Jully Black.
“This year’s award recipients are singular contributors to the industry,” said Judith Campbell, Acting President of CWC. “They are wonderful examples of the abilities and leadership excellence that our organization promotes and helps develop.”
“This diverse group reflects how much CWC itself has grown and expanded in recent years,” added CWC Chair Patricia Douey. “Leadership talent such as these award winners is a key reason that Canada’s technology, media and telecom companies play a pivotal role in furthering Canada’s digital innovation agenda.”
CWC Woman of the Year:
Margot Micallef, Vista Radio Ltd.
CWC’s Woman of the Year is the only female President and CEO of a major Canadian radio broadcaster. An outstanding example of women’s leadership and achievement, Margot took just eight short years to grow Vista from a stand-alone station to a corporation with 64 licenses in three provinces.
CWC Leadership Excellence Award Recipients—Presenting Partner KPMG:
Pamela Dinsmore, Rogers Communications
Pam is a lawyer and Vice President, Regulatory-Cable at Rogers. Throughout her career, she has been a tireless advocate of women’s advancement in Canada’s communications industry. As a member and former Chair of CWC’s Board of Directors, Pam led program development and successfully campaigned for greater corporate support and funding.
Tina Gokstorp, CTAR Corp
A true trailblazer, Tina has been a thought leader and model of success for women in some of the most technical, business-focused and entrepreneurial aspects of the telecommunications industry. Now 19 years in, she is Co-founder and President of CTAR Corp, the Canadian master distributor of Motorola’s Passive Optical LAN.
Mary Hayes, Engage Learning Systems
For over 30 years, this owner/CEO of Engage Learning Systems and Workbay.net has used multimedia to publish, teach and develop educational and instructional tools and content. She has leveraged today’s information technology to redefine learning, creating programs for groups as diverse as Canada’s First Nations people, Walmart and McDonald’s.
Juggy Sihota-Chahil, Telus
The Vice President of Customer Experience, Strategy and Development at Telus has broken much new ground in her 17 years in the industry. She has built high-performance teams to make amazing gains in client loyalty, profitability and satisfaction. Juggy is one of Telus’ youngest VPs and a winner of Business in Vancouver’s 2012 Forty Under 40 award.
Muriel Solomon, Shaw Media
Now Senior Director of Marketing at Shaw, Muriel has been a leadership dynamo and a mentor par excellence. With 12-plus years at some of Canada’s largest and most successful media, broadcasting and communications companies, she now oversees marketing, on-air and publicity activities across 18 specialty channels, including HGTV, Showcase and History.
Terri St. Louis, beIN Sport
Before her recent move to Florida to anchor beIN Sport USA Network, she was one of Manitoba’s most popular radio personalities, a TV anchor and sports broadcaster. Terri was Board Chair of the Manitoba Chapter of CWC, encouraging women to make the most of training and mentoring opportunities, hone their abilities, and never stop challenging themselves.
