Feb 13, 2017
GE Canada, Linamar bosses among women executives to meet with Trump and Trudeau
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are expected to meet with leading women executives at the White House on Monday. The roundtable meeting would be part of the day’s broader agenda, as the president and prime minister meet face to face for the first time since Trump’s Presidential victory.
According to a source with direct knowledge of the matter, the president and prime minister are expected to unveil an entrepreneurship initiative to remove barriers for women in business on both sides of the border.
The meeting is expected to include leading executives from both countries, with upwards of a dozen CEOs making the trip to the White House, according to the source.
Andrée-Lyne Hallé, press secretary for the Prime Minister's Office, confirmed via email to BNN that the meeting is happening. General Electric spokesperson Jennifer Erickson confirmed GE Canada President & CEO Elyse Allan will be in attendance.
Some of the other Canadian executives who may be in attendance include Transalta President & CEO Dawn Farrell and NRStor CEO Annette Verschuren, who previously ran Home Depot’s operations in Canada.
Verschuren and Transalta were not immediately available for comment.
According to the source, the final list of attendees may depend on last minute travel availability, as some of the executives are also busy with their respective company quarterly earnings this week.
Trudeau, a self-described feminist, has made the advancement of women in the workforce a key priority, often speaking out about gender inequality.
Trump, meanwhile, has routinely met with business leaders at the White House since being sworn in to office last month, including visits thus far with CEOs from the automobile sector and drug industry. His business advisory council includes several women CEOs, including General Motors CEO Mary Barra, PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi, and IBM Chief Executive Ginni Rometty.
The women who present today in Washington at the roundtable include (via the Office of the Prime Minister):
Canada:
-Elyse Allan, President and CEO, GE Canada
-Dawn Farrell, President and CEO, TransAlta Corp.
-Linda Hasenfratz, CEO, Linamar Corp.
-Monique Leroux, Chair of Board of Directors, Investissement Québec
-Tina Lee, CEO, T&T Supermarket Inc.
USA:
-Tamara Lundgren, President and CEO, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc.
-Carol Stephenson, Board of Directors, General Motors Company (in place of Mary T. Barra, CEO)
-Julie Sweet, CEO, Accenture – North America
-Annette Verschuren, Chair and CEO, NRStor Inc.
WEIGH IN
