Women are in charge
These five CEOs have shattered the silicon ceiling
Heather Anne Ritchie, 35
Her backstory: Ritchie calls herself a “recovering publicist”—she spent eight years working as a communications consultant for tech start-ups.
Her company: In 2015, she founded Repable, which monitors the public profiles of competitive online gamers.
Fun fact: Her earliest introduction to tech was an online Star Wars role-playing game. She’s still friends with many of her teammates.
Huda Idrees, 26
Her backstory: Idrees is a coding wizard and the former chief product officer at Wealthsimple.
Her company: Dot Health is a platform that does what the Ontario government couldn’t: it teams up with hospitals to provide digital health records to clients.
Fun fact: She’s a former child prodigy who started her own web consulting firm when she was just 12 years old.
Janice Diner, 55
Her backstory: She was the first Canadian creative director to work with a little-known start-up called Facebook, creating brand partnerships with the social network from 2005 to 2009.
Her company: She runs Horizn, which uses games to educate people about new products from companies like Google and Motorola.
Fun fact: Diner rang the opening bell at the London Stock Exchange as part of a Canadian fintech tour.
Chakameh Shafii, 27
Her backstory: Shafii is a graduate of U of T’s engineering school and a former project manager at GE.
Her company: After struggling with anxiety, Shafii founded TranQool, a one-stop digital platform where clients could receive affordable video counselling from licensed therapists.
Fun fact: She loves skydiving in her spare time.
Candice Faktor, 39
Her backstory: She has spent her whole career in tech. Most recently, she was the GM of Wattpad, growing its user base to 45 million in three years.
Her company: Faktory Ventures is a microfund that helps founders scale their ideas. Her clients include an AI company and the maker of a wearable device that helps people with heart conditions.
Fun fact: In 2005, she created a proto-Yelp review site called OurFaves.
The Incredible Rise of Tech
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Heather Anne Ritchie, 35
Her backstory: Ritchie calls herself a “recovering publicist”—she spent eight years working as a communications consultant for tech start-ups.
Her company: In 2015, she founded Repable, which monitors the public profiles of competitive online gamers.
Fun fact: Her earliest introduction to tech was an online Star Wars role-playing game. She’s still friends with many of her teammates.
Huda Idrees, 26
Her backstory: Idrees is a coding wizard and the former chief product officer at Wealthsimple.
Her company: Dot Health is a platform that does what the Ontario government couldn’t: it teams up with hospitals to provide digital health records to clients.
Fun fact: She’s a former child prodigy who started her own web consulting firm when she was just 12 years old.
Janice Diner, 55
Her backstory: She was the first Canadian creative director to work with a little-known start-up called Facebook, creating brand partnerships with the social network from 2005 to 2009.
Her company: She runs Horizn, which uses games to educate people about new products from companies like Google and Motorola.
Fun fact: Diner rang the opening bell at the London Stock Exchange as part of a Canadian fintech tour.
Chakameh Shafii, 27
Her backstory: Shafii is a graduate of U of T’s engineering school and a former project manager at GE.
Her company: After struggling with anxiety, Shafii founded TranQool, a one-stop digital platform where clients could receive affordable video counselling from licensed therapists.
Fun fact: She loves skydiving in her spare time.
Candice Faktor, 39
Her backstory: She has spent her whole career in tech. Most recently, she was the GM of Wattpad, growing its user base to 45 million in three years.
Her company: Faktory Ventures is a microfund that helps founders scale their ideas. Her clients include an AI company and the maker of a wearable device that helps people with heart conditions.
Fun fact: In 2005, she created a proto-Yelp review site called OurFaves.
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