BIV is pleased to recognize six outstanding leaders with 2021 Influential Women in Business (IWIB) Awards.
This year’s recipients are respected by their peers for their leadership within their respective fields and in the broader community. They have had, and continue to lead, highly successful careers; they have broken through glass ceilings and are working to help create a more inclusive, sustainable and accessible future.
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner is Joy MacPhail, a co-owner of OutTV and current board chair of the Insurance Corp. of British Columbia. MacPhail served Vancouver-Hastings as a member of B.C.’s legislative assembly from 1991-2005, during which she held a number of senior leadership positions, including deputy premier, leader of the opposition and minister of finance.
In alphabetical order by last name, here are 2021’s five Influential Women in Business Award winners.
Lotte Davis co-founded AG Hair in 1989. It is one of North America’s only professional hair-care companies that formulates and manufactures its own products. Davis is also the founder and CEO of One Girl Can, a charitable organization that strives to alleviate gender inequality by providing education, empowerment and mentorship to girls living in extreme poverty in Africa.
Carol Liao is an associate professor and director of the Centre for Business Law at the University of British Columbia’s Peter A. Allard School of Law. Liao is at the forefront of the intersection between climate change and corporate governance as co-lead of the Canada Climate Law Initiative.
Valerie Mann has led a distinguished 30-year career at Lawson Lundell LLP, where she is currently a senior partner. In 2012, she became the first female managing partner in the firm’s 130-year history. She leads Lawson Lundell’s technology practice group, which she founded 20 years ago.
Erinn Pinkerton is BC Transit’s first female president and CEO. She has been recognized as one of Mass Transit Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 transit professionals in North America. Under her leadership, BC Transit is aiming to run a fully electric fleet by 2040.
Juggy Sihota is the vice-president of consumer health at Telus Corp., where she is responsible for the national strategy, execution and operation of the company’s consumer health business. Sihota and her team have rapidly expanded Babylon by Telus Health to offer virtual health-care services to 25 million Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic.
BIV and Minerva BC, with support from Vancity, are also proud to recognize Megan Newman with the 2021 Michelle Pockey Leadership Award and bursary. For the first time in the award program’s three-year history, two additional bursaries are being awarded to Katelyn Beale and Nikki Fraser.
Five individuals joined me in the difficult task of selecting this year’s IWIB winners from a pool of dozens of applicants. On behalf of BIV, thank you to Kate Furber (IWIB 2019), Ana Maria Llanos (IWIB 2020), Karimah Es Sabar (IWIB 2016), Ratana Stephens (IWIB 2020) and Kaley Wilson for their time and insight. Another thank you to Minerva BC’s Tina Strehlke, Furber and Llanos for selecting this year’s Michelle Pockey Leadership Award recipients.
In any other year, we would have honoured our IWIB winners in-person at a large gala luncheon, typically held on International Women’s Day. This year, we recognized recipients at a March 8 virtual awards luncheon.
A video of this year’s event will be available for viewing at biv.com/iwib.
New podcast series focuses on Women in Leadership
In honour of International Women’s Day and BIV’s Influential Women in Business Awards, Business in Vancouver is proud to present a special Women in Leadership edition of BIV’s daily business podcast.
Starting March 9, the series will explore the topics of leadership, adversity, growth and inclusion with four female leaders.
Hosted by Hayley Woodin and presented in partnership with the Women’s Enterprise Centre, the four-part series includes conversations with B.C. Finance Minister Selina Robinson, Vancouver Airport Authority CEO Tamara Vrooman, Vancouver Island University chancellor and Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council president Judith Sayers and Webnames.ca co-founder and CEO Cybele Negris.
Watch the series this week at biv.com/video and listen to the conversations at biv.com/audio. Episodes in the series will also be posted to biv.com/article/WIL throughout the week.
