Following up on its “Best Brands of 2016,” Canadian Business has named Canada’s Most Powerful Business People 2016.
The list reveals the top 50 dealmakers, financiers, entrepreneurs and rainmakers that “really calls the shots in corporate Canada.” Topping the list is not the newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who came in fourth spot, but is Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. Taking second spot is President & CEO of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Mark Wiseman, followed by OMERS Ventures CEO John Ruffolo.
Ex-BlackBerry co-Founders Mike Lazaridis captures 5th place while Jim Balsillie, who is now an “innovation lobbyist,” captures 13th position. BlackBerry’s current CEO John Chen is one of Canada’s most powerful execs and is 27th on the list for assisting BlackBerry in its potential turnaround.
From a Canadian carrier perspective, Rogers CEO Guy Laurence is 31st for “upending the telecommunications sector,” where the publication notes, “early in his tenure, Guy Laurence dismissed a regulatory complaint filed by a competitor as coming from ‘crybaby’ Bell.” Laurence was also highlighted for “demonstrating a keen understanding of the new media landscape” and building partnerships with Vice Media and Spotify.
Darren Entwistle, President & CEO of Telus, made the cut at number 35. Entwistle, who took over the role after Joe Natale stepped down earlier this year, is “determined as ever to finish what he started in 2000, turning the western telephone company into the country’s most dynamic communications carrier and dominant manager of digitized health records.”
Other notable inclusions are Tobias Lütke of Shopify, Ryan Holmes of Hootsuite, Iain Klugman of Communitech, Stewart Butterfield from Slack, and Kirstine Stewart from Twitter. Missing from the list is BCE President and CEO George Cope.
