A scientist helping unravel the deep mysteries of space and the CEO of popular apparel company Roots are among nine Queen鈥檚 University alumnae named to this year鈥檚 list of
The annual list is produced by the Women鈥檚 Executive Network as a way to honour and celebrate women who have made a positive impact on their companies, industries, and communities.
The nine alumnae are:
鈥 Farah Bastien, MMA'16, is the director of research and development with MLSE (Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, the company that owns the NHL鈥檚 Maple Leafs and the NBA鈥檚 Raptors. She led MLSE's data science practice, developed advanced data systems for hockey and basketball, and introduced crucial roles to the organization such as research scientists and data engineers.
鈥 Lindsay Cook, Artsci鈥06, is a vice-president at Loblaw Companies Limited in charge of social media, brand, and loyalty marketing. Cook started at Loblaws as a summer student while taking political science at Queen鈥檚. In 2013, she made Marketing magazine's Top 30 Under 30. Today, her passion for customer-focused thinking has driven her to become a leader in the retail-marketing field.
鈥 Victoria Granova, MBA鈥19, is an industry leader, educator, and passionate advocate for diversity and gender inclusion in the cybersecurity industry. Granova is a security technical program manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and founder of , an edtech startup. She also teaches cybersecurity and financial data privacy at Smith School of Business, Toronto Metropolitan University, and York University.
鈥 Morgan Lehtinen, Artsci鈥16, PhD鈥23, is a chemist, entrepreneur, and scientific communicator focused on finding creative ways to combat the planet鈥檚 most pressing problems. She is the co-founder of , an organization that provides critical resources to support the commercialization of sustainable chemical technologies. While at Queen鈥檚, she helped build a more inclusive campus by co-founding the Queen鈥檚 Chemistry Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness Society, and inspired female entrepreneurs as program coordinator for the Dunin-Deshpande Queen鈥檚 Innovation Centre鈥檚 Konnect program.
鈥 Sona Mehta, MBA鈥04, is a TD Bank senior vice-president who leads the bank鈥檚 Canadian personal-banking deposits, products, and services businesses. Mehta鈥檚 parents initially struggled after immigrating to Canada in the 1970s. That experience made Mehta passionate about helping new Canadians. She leads TD鈥檚 focus on the newcomer-to-Canada and student segments and contributes to the bank鈥檚 Pan-Asian Employee Resource Group.
鈥 Nathalie Nguyen-Quoc Ouellette, MSc鈥13, PhD鈥17, is the deputy director at the , whose research focuses on the formation and evolution of galaxies. The public may be more familiar with her as the Canadian outreach scientist for the . She appears in the media to help the public understand the latest discoveries made by the revolutionary $10-billion telescope.
鈥 Meghan Roach, Com鈥05, is the president and CEO of the popular Canadian clothing, footwear, and apparel company Roots, which has more than 100 stores across the country and celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. She is also the vice-chair of the
鈥 Joanne Sallay, Com鈥04, helps elementary and high school students in Ontario and across Canada achieve academic success as president and CEO of , an in-person and online tutoring service that provides academic support from certified teachers. Sallay also volunteers as chair of theunder the Children鈥檚 Aid Foundation of Canada which provides financially deserving high-school students with scholarships and free formal attire for prom and graduation ceremonies.
鈥 Lara Speirs, Artsci鈥92, is a lawyer and chief legal officer with Randstad Canada (the world's largest human resource services provider). Previously she held several legal counsel positions with Scotiabank, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, and the Department of Justice Canada. She sits on the organizing committee of the annual charity ride for cancer research, as well as several not-for-profit boards with a focus on youth and women, including
For Sallay, being named to this year鈥檚 list is a full circle moment. Early in her career, she attended the Top 100 Awards Gala after graduating from Queen鈥檚 and was in awe of the accomplishments of the women on stage.
鈥淔ast forward to present, I am both humbled and honoured to join this year's inspirational recipients to carry the light forward and ultimately pass the torch to the next generation of women leaders,鈥 Sallay said.
Many Queen鈥檚 alumnae have appeared on Canada鈥檚 100 Most Powerful Women鈥檚 lists in previous years. Former recipients include Habitat for Humanity Canada CEO Julia Deans, Artsci鈥85; now-retired Lt. Gen. Christine Whitecross, Sc鈥84, who was once the Canadian military's highest-ranking woman; CBC TV Dragons鈥 Den star and tech entrepreneur Michele Romanow, Sc鈥07, MBA鈥08; and former National Football League Chief Operating Officer Mary Ann Turcke, Sc鈥88, MBA鈥97.
The recipients will be celebrated Nov. 30 during a ceremony in Toronto.
