TORONTO, ON – Thursday, December 1, 2011 – The Women’s Executive Network (WXN) today announced the recipients of 2011 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards, celebrating the professional achievements of women across the country.

Co-presented by Scotiabank and KPMG, Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards has become one of Canada’s most recognizable honours and is bestowed on Canada’s highest achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. To date, 584 women across the country have received this distinction, including 83 women who have gone on to be inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Hall of Fame.

The distinguished Top 100 Award Winners will take part in Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Summit at the Allstream Centre in Downtown Toronto. The Summit, an afternoon of learning and peer-mentoring delivered via panel discussions and breakout sessions led by Top 100 Winners, provides a half day of leadership development and networking opportunities.  Following the Summit, Award Winners will be honoured at an evening Gala in front of an audience of 1200. Margaret Atwood, a 2011 Top 100 Award Winner, will provide the keynote address.

Winners of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards are selected by an independent advisory board. The Awards span nine categories: Scotiabank Corporate Executives, KPMG Professionals, CIBC Entrepreneurs, Xstrata Nickel Trailblazers & Trendsetters, WXN Foundation Champions, TELUS Future Leaders, Sun Life Financial Arts & Communications, Accenture Corporate Directors and Norton Rose OR LLP Public Sector Leaders.  Award Winners and Hall of Fame inductees will also be honoured in their own communities of Vancouver and Calgary in 2012.

”We are thrilled to recognize this year’s extraordinary group of Top 100 Winners, honouring leadership talent from coast to coast,” said Pamela Jeffery, Founder, Women’s Executive Network. “Our Top 100 Winners form an amazing community of high-achieving women who are inspirations to Canada’s next generation of leaders.”

“We are proud of our long standing partnership with WXN and applaud the many ways the organization encourages the professional development of executive-minded women in the workplace,” said Sylvia Chrominska, Group Head of Global Human Resources and Communications at Scotiabank. “All of us at Scotiabank congratulate this year’s WXN Top 100 honourees. Their achievements inspire and challenge us to continue to explore our own potential.”

 “We are committed to improving equity and supporting women in the workplace, and our partnership with WXN helps us do that” said Michael Bach, Director of Equality and Inclusion at KPMG. “We are excited to celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s Top 100 Winners who inspire us with their leadership, determination and success.”

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About the Women’s Executive Network

Since 1997, WXN has created and delivered innovative networking, mentoring, professional and personal development to inspire and applaud our community of 17,000 smart women and their organizations in the pursuit of excellence.  WXN is Canada’s leading organization dedicated to the advancement and recognition of women in management, executive, professional and board roles.  WXN enables our partners and corporate members to become and to be recognized as employers of choice and leaders in the advancement of women.

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.  More information and details are available at wxnetwork.com or top100women.ca.

For additional information or interview requests, please contact:

Scott Bartley

Women’s Executive Network

416-361-1475 ext. 240

647-405-0001 mobile

sbartley@wxnetwork.com

 

Caitilin Doherty

North Strategic (for WXN)

(416) 371-3762 mobile

caitilin.doherty@northstrategic.com