Two financial services executives are among the inaugural recipients of The Catalyst Canada Honours, which recognizes Canadian corporate leaders’ commitment to the promotion of women in business.

On Thursday, Catalyst Canada announced awards for Ed Clark, president & CEO of TD Bank Financial Group, and Sylvia Chrominska, group head of global human resources & communications at Bank of Nova Scotia. A third award goes to Colleen Sidford, vice president & treasurer of Ontario Power Generation Inc.

This year marks the first time that Catalyst has awarded The Catalyst Canada Honours, which were developed in celebration of Catalyst Canada’s 10th anniversary.

“By highlighting the extraordinary achievements of today’s honourees, The Catalyst Canada Honours hopes to inspire a robust pipeline of women and men leaders who will champion the advancement of women in Canadian business,” says Deborah Gillis, vice president, North America, Catalyst.

“We are particularly pleased to celebrate the exceptional leadership of this year’s honourees who understand that what’s good for women is good for business and whose commitment to supporting women has measurably improved progress within their individual organizations and in the corporate sector.”

With the goal of creating visible role models for Canada’s current and future leaders, The Catalyst Canada Honours recognizes a three individuals whose outstanding leadership has made a critical difference to women’s advancement. The three categories of honourees reflect the unique and integral roles individual corporate leaders play in championing diversity. According to Catalyst, these champions can inspire women and men leaders to step up, demonstrate foresight and leadership, and become champions themselves.

In his eight years as president and CEO of TD Bank Financial Group, Ed Clark has successfully created a cultural shift within the bank to make it a more inclusive employer of choice. Having established diversity as a strategic business priority, Clark seeks to understand the barriers to advancement for women and diverse groups at TD Bank Financial Group. His drive to engage TD employees to ensure they feel included regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, abilities or disabilities, through focus groups, interviews, and surveys of employees, has made it possible to maintain an ongoing dialogue while producing lasting change.

As group head, global human resources and communications, at Scotiabank, Sylvia Chrominska has been instrumental in championing a diversity and inclusion strategy that has shaped Scotiabank’s ability to attract and retain employees with varied skills, abilities, experiences, and backgrounds. An avid mentor, champion, and founder of Scotiabank’s Advancement of Women (AoW) strategy, Chrominska has overseen significant progress in this area. As a direct result of her efforts, many women have access to development opportunities, have gained visibility with executives, and have had the opportunity to succeed.

During her five years as vice president, treasurer, Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG), Colleen Sidford has been a champion for women’s advancement both within OPG and in the community. She works with OPG management to remove gender biases and encourage women in their business sectors. She is founder of the emPOWERed Women Program, a leadership development and mentoring program designed to help women at OPG with networking, career development, and mentoring skills.

This year’s winners will be celebrated at The Catalyst Canada Honours dinner on Wednesday, October 6, at the Arcadian Court in Toronto.

IE