Photo courtesy: wxnetwork. Top Row (Left to Right): Robin Kovitz, Dr. Carol Liao, Stacey Madge, and Sara Son Hing. Bottom Row (Left to Right): Zainul Mawji, Jill Nykoliation, Dr. Sarah Saska, and Juggy Sihota.
Photo courtesy: wxnetwork. Top Row (Left to Right): Robin Kovitz, Dr. Carol Liao, Stacey Madge, and Sara Son Hing. Bottom Row (Left to Right): Zainul Mawji, Jill Nykoliation, Dr. Sarah Saska, and Juggy Sihota.

Eight Alumnae Among Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women

An internationally respected leader in corporate law and sustainability and the President and Country Manager of Visa are among eight Queen’s alumnae on this year’s list of Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

The list is compiled by the , an organization that develops and promotes professional women in Canada.   

Here is a look at the eight powerful alumnae:

  • Jill Nykoliation, Com’93, is CEO of , an award-winning marketing and communications agency. Nykoliation launched the agency in 2007, and since then it has been consistently ranked among the top agencies in Canada, winning hundreds of awards, and leading top clients through their marketing strategies, including Apple, CIBC, Nissan, and PepsiCo.
  • Dr. Carol Liao, Artsci’00, is an internationally respected leader in corporate law and sustainability working as an Associate Professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law and is the UBC Sauder Distinguished Scholar of the Dhillon Centre for Business Ethics at the UBC Sauder School of Business. Additionally, she is the Director of the Centre for Business Law and Principal Co-Investigator of the . Her focus on empowering diversity in leadership has earned her the .
  • Sara Son Hing, Artsci’01, MBA’04, is Vice-President, Retail Delivery Model & Advisor Role Strategy at RBC. She joined RBC in 2004 and held various senior roles in sales, operations, customer service, risk management and more. Previously, she served as a chair of a Diversity Leadership Council at RBC.
  • Robin Kovitz, Com’02, is President and Chief Executive Officer of . a purveyor of fine gifts, one of the fastest-growing Canadian companies. Kovitz is one of the , and frequently guest lectures on the topic of “Entrepreneurship through Acquisition” at the Yale School of Management and the Harvard Business School.
  • Stacey Madge, Com’93, is the President and Country Manager of . Since joining Visa in 2017, the corporation has won dozens of awards for inclusion and innovation in the workplace. A champion for women in the workplace, Madge recently moderated a Queen’s Alumni Women in Leadership panel as part of the Queen’s Virtual Homecoming celebration.
  • Zainul Mawji, Com’96, oversees the design and delivery of consumer wireline products and services as the Executive Vice-President of Home Solutions at . Known for championing innovation, she is a respected leader at TELUS.
  • Juggy Sihota, MBA’05, is the Vice-President Consumer Health at and is revolutionizing access to healthcare in Canada with innovative product launches including . Additionally, Sihota advises the City of Vancouver on racial and social-justice matters, is the Director for the Vancouver International Airport Authority and is Vice-Chair for the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation Board.
  • Dr. Sarah Saska, Artsci’07, is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of , a global strategy firm that works “with organizations to build diverse teams, equitable systems, inclusive products, and thriving workplace cultures.” Saska is a TEDx speaker and has appeared on CBC's The National, Fast Company, and in The New York Times.

Many Queen’s alumnae have appeared on Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women’s lists in previous years including CBC TV Dragons’ Den star Michele Romanow, Sc’07, MBA’08, National Football League Chief Operating Officer Mary Ann Turcke, Sc’88, MBA’97, and Leslie O’Donoghue, Law’88, who recently received the Johnson Award from the Calgary Branch of the Queen’s University Alumni Association.

The award winners will be honoured at a on Nov. 25.