Conference Key Note Speaker: Penny Collenette

The Conference Key Note Address will be given at the National Arts Centre during the Formal Dinner (February 9th, 2007 7:30 pm).

Penny Collenette enjoys a unique career, one that has taken her from the corridors of political power to the boardrooms of the corporate world, with a stop along the way at the prestigious Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. She currently describes herself as an “accidental academic”.

A lawyer and corporate director, Penny has become a well known and sought after speaker and advisor, both in corporate and government circles. She currently holds two positions at the University of Ottawa. As Executive in Residence at the Management School, she teaches Corporate Governance and Ethics at the EMBA school and writes on ethical and business issues relating to global and corporate governance. As Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law, she designed a new course entitled Whistleblowing: The Busy Intersection of Law and Ethics.

In 2006, she also served as Education Advisor to the Institute of Corporate Directors while in November of 2005, Ms. Collenette was the recipient of an Opinion Leader invitation from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While in Japan, she met with business and public policy leaders and lectured at Keio University in Tokyo.

From 2002-2004, Ms. Collenette was a Senior Fellow at the Center of Business and Government, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Using her extensive background in both the public and private sectors, she has authored several articles which can be found at www.ksg.harvard.edu/cbg/fellows/research.htm.

In the corporate world, she sits as a Director of Holt, Renfrew & Co. Limited, a high end retail fashion company in Canada. Previously, she has served as a director of the Toronto Board of Trade and as a founding Independent Trustee of the Movie Distribution Income Fund of Alliance Atlantis Communications, Inc.

From 1998-2002, Penny held the position of Vice President, Chairman’s Office, George Weston Limited. The well known and highly respected Canadian company employs nearly 145,000 people with sales of $29 billion in 2004, mostly in processing, wholesaling and retailing food in Canada and abroad.

Penny has received numerous awards. In November of 2005, she was named in the Champion category of the Women’s Executive Network list of the Top 100 Powerful Women. In February 2002, Maclean’s magazine named her as one of The 50 Most Influential Canadians and in 1993, Chatelaine magazine named her one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Canada. She is a frequent television and radio commentator.

In addition to academia and the private sector, Penny’s career has spanned the fields of human rights, political organization and government. At 19, she became a political organizer for the Liberal Party of Canada during the Trudeau era. While the Rt. Hon. John Turner was leader, she served as Vice-Chair of the Human Rights Committee for Liberal International. Penny was Director of Volunteers for Jean Chretien’s leadership race in 1984 and Campaign Director in the successful 1990 bid. She worked as National Director and Director of Legal Services for the Liberal Party of Canada for the 1993 election. She was subsequently named Director of Appointments in the Prime Minister’s office, a position she held for over 4 years. Of the 2,554 appointments made during this time, nearly 39% of these appointments were women; a major increase from previous government statistics.

Penny has always maintained her love for education. In addition to holding her B.A. in Law and Political Science from Carleton University, she entered law school at the age of 37. Upon completing her law degree from the University of Ottawa, she articled with the Ottawa law firm of Perley-Robertson, Hill and McDougall. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1993 and is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

Penny Collenette is an energetic fund-raiser, particularly for groups which support women (LEAF - Legal, Education and Action Fund for Women), those who live with disabilities (Ottawa’s Citizen Advocacy) and cancer research funding.

Penny is married to the Honourable David Collenette. The Collenettes have one son, Christopher who is 28 and a graduate of Carleton University. The Collenettes have lived in Ottawa for over 26 years.