Their place at the top

Four University of Calgary alumnae honoured among Canada's most powerful women by the Women's Executive Network. 

By Erin Mason

The Women’s Executive Network named the 2010 recipients of Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100™ Awards, and four University of Calgary alumnae received the prestigious honour. University of Calgary alumni connections to this year’s Top 100 are:

• Lesley Conway, MBA’89, president of Hopewell Residential Communities Inc.
• Susan Gallacher, BComm’84, president and CEO of DirectCash Bank
• Lakshmi Raj, BSc’95, co-CEO and co-founder of Replicon Inc.
• Dr. Vianne Timmons, PhD’93, president and vice-chancellor, University of Regina

We spoke with two recipients, Lesley Conway and Dr. Vianne Timmons for their reactions to the award.

Leslie Conway was honoured with the Scotiabank Corporate Executives Award.

“It is a great honour and privilege for me personally," says Conway. “I am humbled by the cross section of successful, dynamic women who I stand beside with this award. More than anything I truly appreciate the opportunity to learn from these women and to be given the opportunity to be a strong role model and mentor to all the young women with leadership dreams in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.”

When asked to impart advice to new alumni on their career aspirations, Conway responsed, “use a positive attitude to your advantage–it wins the day every time.”

Dr. Vianne Timmons received the Cisco Public Sector Leaders Award.

“I am very honored to be included in the top 100 list,” says Timmons. “I am awed by the level of achievement of the women on the list.”

“I am so privileged to be president of a Canadian University. It is a great job, no two days (are) the same. There are many challenges and also many opportunities.”

When asked to give new grads a bit of advice on their career, Timmons says. “Believe in yourself, take risks and strive for excellence. Surround yourself with positive people. Find mentors and take advantage of their knowledge and advice. Ensure you always acknowledge those who have supported you.”

On behalf of the Alumni Association and the 140,000 University of Calgary alumni around the world, congratulations and thanks to each of teyhse alumnae for making a difference in our communities. 

To learn more about the Top 100 Most Powerful Women, please visit www.top100women.ca