WBE Canada
About WBE Canada

MEET WBE CANADA

check markSupport for Canadian Women-Owned Businesses

check markSupport for Corporate & Government Buyers and Supplier Diversity Initiatives

check markCreating Strong Partnerships

Women Business Enterprises Canada Council (WBE Canada) is a Canadian non-profit organization that is opening doors for Canadian women-owned businesses to supply chains across Canada, North America and globally.

WBE Canada represents Canadian Women Business Enterprises (WBEs) that are changing supply chains around the globe.

Our WBEs represent some of the most successful suppliers and innovators Canada has to offer. Our mandate is to build connections between Canadian women-owned businesses and corporate/government buyers and ensure that existing barriers are removed and supply chains are more diverse and inclusive.

OUR VISION

To empower and facilitate the success of women-owned businesses with equitable access within supply chains to drive innovation, social value and economic growth in communities across Canada.

 

OUR MISSION

To build and grow a strong Canadian ecosystem that connects women-owned businesses to procurement opportunities through advocacy, certification, development, and promotion and helps corporations & governments to deliver on their supplier diversity commitments.

OUR VALUES

LEADERSHIP

We commit to building strong and caring communities

 

INNOVATION

We continue to learn, improve, and innovate with audacity

 

INTEGRITY

We build trust through responsible actions and honest relationships

OUR WORK

WBE Canada is the bridge between Canadian women-owned businesses and larger corporate and public buyers that were previously out of reach. As a quality third-party certifier of businesses owned, managed, and controlled by women, we have been connecting them to corporate supply chains since 2009. Our work focuses on 3 areas...

ACCELERATING SUPPLIER DIVERSITY 

Corporate Members - WBE Canada partners with Private and Public organizations committed to supporting Canadian WBEs through their supply chains. We provide training, programs, tools and resources to help our members develop and evolve supplier diversity initiatives. WBE Canada also enables connections between Canadian women-owned businesses and buyers in our Member organizations through our events, networking and matchmaking opportunities.

CANADIAN WBE DATABASE DEVELOPMENT

Certified WBEs - WBE Canada certifies Canadian businesses that are at least 51% owned, managed and controlled by women and introduces them to opportunities with both private and public organizations. We have the largest database of certified women-owned suppliers in Canada. Our WBEs span across a variety of industries, purchasing categories, sizes and geographic locations. Our Corporate Members have 24/7 access to the database with added support of data reporting services.

EMPOWERING WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES

In addition to certification, WBE Canada delivers programs that ramp up the capacity of WBEs to bid successfully on large procurement opportunities. We actively seek new partnerships to ensure holistic support for women-owned businesses across industries, stages of growth and business needs. Resources like Toolbox, workshops, training webinars, networking and other programming are customized for the needs of our WBE community.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

WBE Canada is governed by a voluntary Board of Directors representing Corporate Members and Certified WBE (Women Business Enterprises) community. Our Board of Directors is instrumental in charting the strategic direction of WBE Canada.

Madeleine Baker_Headshot_250x300

MADELEINE BAKER
Board Chair
Chair, Executive Committee

Director, Products and Services
TELUS

Janice Tee_Headshot_250x300

JANICE TEE

Board Vice-Chair
Senior Manager, Global Human Resources and Talent Management
Magna

Andy Thompson_Headshot_250x300

ANDY THOMPSON
Board Treasurer
VP, Network Infrastructure Transformation
Nokia

Laura Didyk_Headshot_250x300

LAURA DIDYK
Board Secretary
VP, Client Diversity
Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

Celso Afonseca

CELSO AFONSECA
Manager, Sustainable Procurement
Metrolinx

Christine Canning_Headshot_250x300

CHRISTINE CANNING
Chair, Business Development Committee
Managing Director, Supplier Relationship Management
BMO

Daelan Burgess

DAELAN BURGESS
Assistant Director of Global Supplier Recovery
General Motors LLC

Genevieve Sharkey

GENEVIÈVE SHARKEY
Chief Procurement Officer Purchasing & Materials Management Division  City of Toronto

Jen McAvoy

JEN MCAVOY
Chair, Certification Committee
VP, Client Engagement
Cotton Candy

Jennifer Cooke_Headshot_250x300

JENNIFER COOKE
Corporate Lead / Women in Trade
Export Development Canada (EDC)

Martin Grenier_Headshot_250x300

MARTIN GRENIER
Chair, Nomination Committee
Vice President, Procurement
Cogeco

Megan Quintin_Headshot_250x300

MEGAN QUINTIN
Senior Director, Global Procurement
RBC

Michael Bourne_Headshot_250x300

MICHAEL BOURNE
Senior Manager, Procurement Business Operations, Policies, Controls, Supplier Diversity and Ombudsman
IBM

Shannon Walker Headshot

SHANNON WALKER
Vice-Chair, Supplier Advisory Committee
President, WhistleBlower Security Inc.
WBE Representative

Stephanie Khurana_Headshot_250x300

STEPHANIE KHURANA
Chair, Supplier Advisory Committee
President, Netchem
WBE Representative

MEET THE WBE CANADA TEAM

Silvia Pencak

SILVIA PENCAK
President & CEO

Alexandra Roy

ALEXANDRA ROY
Marketing Manager

Aneta Krzysciak

ANETA K
Executive Assistant to President & CEO

ARA WOLE-SOWOLE
Digital Marketing Specialist

Catherine Grosz

CATHERINE GROSZ
Membership Manager

Charli Law Jury

CHARLI LAW JURY
Finance & Operations Director

Ezgi Gizem Cagatay

EZGI CAGATAY
Member Community Lead

Frank Eluaka

FRANK ELUAKA
Data & Technology Manager

Grace Orikhi

GRACE ORIKHI
Certification Coordinator
(Maternity Leave)

Jennifer Popowycz

JENNIFER POPOWYCZ
Certification & Community Director

Judy Carswell

JUDY CARSWELL
Chief Editor

Martha Osinbajo_Headshot_250x300

MARTHA OSINBAJO
Certification Admin Assistant

MASHA SHAVRINA
Digital Media Specialist

NYOTA KABIKA
Bilingual Project Administrator

SRIRAM RAJARAMAN
Business Development Manager