Canada’s Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion Mary Ng will be among the more than 150 women who will gather to recognize women in the IT channel who are making a difference.
“We are pleased the minister will be joining us. It is external recognition of the fact that honouring female pioneers in the channel has merit,” says Fawn Annan, president of IT World Canada, and founder of the CDN flagship event. “As luck would have it, our #fearless theme fits quite well with the minister’s own approach to creating policy that supports women, business innovation and small businesses.”
Minister Ng was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Markham—Thornhill in April 2017 and was appointed Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion in July 2018. Throughout her 20 years of public service, she has been a passionate community leader and advocate with a proven track record of results in the areas of education, women’s leadership, job-creation, and entrepreneurship.
As part of her work on the Standing Committee of Industry, Science, and Technology, Minister Ng worked on intellectual property best practices that guided the launch of Canada’s first comprehensive intellectual property strategy proving the tools that protect Canadian business ideas in the global marketplace.
Prior to serving as a Member of Parliament, Minister Ng worked as director of appointments in the Prime Minister’s Office. She also served as the director of policy in provincial education where she built relationships, negotiated with teachers’ unions, and served students while helping to improve Ontario’s education system.
Minister Ng will bring greetings on behalf of the federal government and offer some short some remarks. The keynote speaker for the day will be CBC tech and culture guru Nora Young. Deanna Thomson, Dell EMC’s former Channel Chief will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Four women will be inducted in the Women in the IT Channel Hall of Fame and CDN will recognize a Rising Star and a Mentor of the Year.
The luncheon will be held at the Credit Valley Golf and Country Club.