Rebecca MacDonald
Rebecca MacDonald | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Businesswoman |
Rebecca MacDonald (born in 1953 as Ubavka Mitic) is a Canadian businesswoman from Toronto, Ontario of Serbian origin. Recipient of several business awards, she is founder and executive chair of Just Energy Group Inc., an energy commodities trading company.
Career[]
New deregulation in Ontario's natural gas industry prompted Rebecca MacDonald to launch EMI in 1986.[1] Her first company began to lose profits when gas prices fell several years later. In 1997, she re-entered the market by starting Ontario Energy Savings Corp., though the business showed minimum profits. When gas prices began to rise again in 2001, the second company was transitioned into a very profitable fund that became the backbone of Just Energy Group Inc. By taking Just Energy public, Macdonald made the company accountable to a board of directors. When gas prices fell again, the business expanded to the American and European markets, but also came under scrutiny for aggressive sales techniques and charging additional fees.[2]
Extracurricular[]
MacDonald sits on the board of Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., the Royal Ontario Museum and the David Foster Foundation.[3] She donated three million dollars to Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital to fight rheumatoid arthritis, a disease she herself has battled with.[4] In 2017, Macdonald had the honour of ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange.[5][6] That same year, as part of the Horatio Alger Association of Canada, she was one of the hosts of the charity event "Canuck Place Gala", alongside Lorne Michaels.[7]
Honors and awards[]
In 2002, the Rotman School of Management gave MacDonald the Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award.[3] She was also Profit magazine's top Canadian Woman Entrepreneur six years in a row. Profit ranked her company as one of the fastest-growing companies in Canada from 2004 through to 2007. [8] MacDonald is a 2009 Horatio Alger Award Winner[9] and also has an honorary doctorate from the University of Victoria.
In 2018, MacDonald was a recipient of the "Knight of the St. Sava Order of Diplomatic Pacifism" award. The honor was bestowed upon her by the Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic.[10]
References[]
- ^ Scott, Sarah (20 December 2005). "Avon Lady Cleans Up". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "Rebecca MacDonald's Just Energy: Golden era over for gas marketer". The Globe and Mail. 29 May 2013.
- ^ a b "Rebecca MacDonald – Director, Business Development & Corporate Relations".
- ^ "Rebecca MacDonald Centre for Arthritis and Autoimmune Disease — Mount Sinai Hospital - Toronto". www.mountsinai.on.ca.
- ^ PR, Just Energy Group Inc. - (29 March 2017). "Just Energy to Ring NYSE Opening Bell Marking Company's 20th Anniversary". Retrieved 29 May 2018.
- ^ NYSE (13 February 2012). "Just Energy Celebrates Recent Listing on the NYSE rings the NYSE Opening Bell". Retrieved 29 May 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ Bryant, Nolan (23 November 2017). "On the scene: Vancouver celebrates progress in palliative care, Toronto rewards academic achievement - The Globe and Mail". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ "Canada's Entrepreneurs of the Decade". www.profitguide.com.
- ^ "Rebecca MacDonald - Horatio Alger Association Canada".
- ^ "Dačić dodelio najviša diplomatska priznanja, među laureatima modna kreatorka, humintarac, preživeli logoraši Jasenovca..." Blic (in Serbian). 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
External links[]
 | This biography about a Canadian businessperson is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- 1953 births
- Living people
- Businesspeople from Toronto
- Canadian women business executives
- Serbian emigrants to Canada
- Canadian philanthropists
- Knights of the St. Sava Order of Diplomatic Pacifism
- 20th-century Canadian businesspeople
- 20th-century businesswomen
- 21st-century Canadian businesspeople
- 21st-century businesswomen
- 20th-century Canadian women
- Canadian business biography stubs