2007 Women Of Distinction recipient Kiki Delaney: Corporate Leadership

Kiki Delaney

Shifting the philanthropic values of corporate Canada

YWCA Toronto woman of distinction 2007, corporate leadership

Dedicated to excellence in leadership within the business community, Kiki Delaney has forged a path for women in a field that has long been an old boy’s network. Once told not to sit at the main boardroom table, today Ms. Delaney is widely recognized as the "Queen of Bay Street," presiding over the world of personal and institutional capital management and overseeing a portfolio worth over $1.8 billion. As President and Chief Investment Officer of C.A. Delaney Capital Management Ltd., Ms. Delaney has not only created one of the first female-led investment firms in Toronto, but has quietly and without fanfare extended her professional leadership to countless other women through her ever-steady mentoring, philanthropic and advisory efforts. In dedicating herself to raising women’s profile in business, public office, health, culture and the arts, Kiki Delaney sets an example by making an impact on the world around her. She is the recipient of the 2007 YWCA Toronto Woman of Distinction Award for Corporate Leadership.

The daughter of immigrants - her mother lived through the horrors of Nazi-occupied Holland - Kiki Delaney’s contributions to Canadian society are a tribute to her parents, who taught her that freedom is never a guarantee. Born and raised in Winnipeg, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree and graduated in 1969 from the University of Manitoba. She took a job as a Sales Assistant at Merrill Lynch, initiating her career in investment management at a time when the business community was decidedly disinclined to allow women into its ranks, literally having to enter business luncheons at clubs from the back door. She joined Guardian Capital Investment Counsel as an Investment Analyst in 1972, and became a Chartered Financial Analyst in 1977, eventually rising to Executive Vice President and then on to partner at Gluskin Sheff & Associates before she founded C. A. Delaney in 1992 – all this while balancing the responsibilities of motherhood, raising four active boys.

Throughout her successful investment career, Kiki Delaney has blazed a trail for women in her professional life by mentoring other women and contributing her knowledge and exemplary skills to industry-related organizations, such as the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts, where she was Director, and the Ticker Club, the prestigious investment leader association, of which she was the second-ever woman president in its 78-year-history, to name only two. Her achievements were marked by the Consumers Choice 2006 Businesswoman of the Year award.

In addition to her exceptional business triumphs, Ms. Delaney continually offers her time and expertise to many organizations created to enhance the lives of women, including the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), the Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF), the National Ballet School and Sheena’s Place, which raises awareness and offers resources relating to eating disorders. Known for her sage advice, keen negotiating skills and tremendous generosity, Kiki Delaney is also a supporter of women who seek public office. Backing the campaigns of Barbara Hall, Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (and 1998 Woman Of Distinction Alumna), and the Honourable Dr. Carolyn Bennett, Member of Parliament, she has chaired fundraisers, offered leadership gifts and provided expert policy advice, often at a moment’s notice.

Dedicating as much commitment to her volunteer work as she does to her own business, Kiki Delaney shows her mettle as a first-rate organizer and negotiator, currently serving on the Board of Directors of the National Arts Centre Foundation and the Institute for Research on Public Policy, as well as the Board of Trustees of the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto. From hosting fundraisers in her home, to raising awareness of organizations in the community at large, to backing political events, it comes as no surprise that Kiki Delaney was the 2004 Israel Cancer Research Fund Woman of Action. In 2001, she was one of five women who contributed a significant sum for the statue of the "Famous Five" to commemorate Person’s Day, October 18, 1929. Today, the Parliament Hill statue acts as a beacon of hope for all Canadian women. Most recently, the Governor General has announced that Ms. Delaney will be honoured with an Order of Canada. Kiki Delaney is the recipient of the 2007 YWCA Toronto Woman of Distinction Award for Corporate Leadership.