Linda Hasenfratz, chief executive of one of Canada’s largest and most diversified manufacturing companies, has been named 2016 Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year by the University of Victoria Peter B. Gustavson School of Business.
Hasenfratz heads Guelph, Ont.-based Linamar Corporation, a company with 48 plants and 19,500 employees around the globe and billions of dollars in sales. Linamar is known for its precision machining and forging in the automobile and industrial sectors.
She is the 13th Distinguished Entrepreneur for the business school, and the first woman since the award was launched in 2004.
A gala will be held Sept. 12 to honour Hasenfratz and celebrate the award, which is given to leaders who have achieved success through their business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit.
“Linda Hasenfratz is a Canadian leader in the automotive industry, and we are delighted to honour her with the 2016 award,” said Peter Gustavson, chairman of the Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year committee.
“Her entrepreneurial spirit is recognized on an international scale and her impact within the automotive industry — and within Linamar — is remarkable.”
He praised Hasenfratz for dedication to seeing women progress in business.
UVic’s recognition is the latest honour for Hasenfratz.
In January, she was elected as chairwoman of the influential Business Council of Canada, previously known as the Canadian Council of Chief Executives. The group’s 150 members employ 1.4 million Canadians and represent more than half of value of the Toronto Stock Exchange.
“Innovation is quite simply the cornerstone to competitiveness and prosperity in any industry,” Hasenfratz said at the time. “Let’s make Canada the most innovative country in the world — a hub of technology, skill and ingenuity.”
In December, Hasenfratz and her father, Frank Hasenfratz, chairman of the board of Linamar, were inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.
She was the EY Entrepreneur of the Year national award winner in 2014. In 2006, then-prime minister Stephen Harper appointed her as one of the 10 CEOs representing Canada on the North American Competitiveness Council.
Hasenfratz attended Western University, where she earned an honours bachelor’s degree in science in 1989, followed by a master’s degree in business administration from Western’s Ivey School of Business in 1997.
Linamar’s brand is named partly in her honour. Her father, who founded the company in his basement 50 years ago, named it after daughters Linda and Nancy, and wife Margaret.
When Hasenfratz joined Linamar in 1990, she learned about the company on the ground floor. She worked as a machine operator, graduating to more senior positions and served as president from 1999 to 2002, when she moved into her CEO position.
In its March annual report, Linamar saw sales rise 24 per cent from 2014 to $5.2 billion US. Operating earnings climbed by 33 per cent to $597 million. “We are thrilled to deliver another record year on sales and earnings at Linamar, our fifth consecutive year of doing so,” Hasenfratz said. “Financially, we again saw strong, industry leading, double-digit top and bottom line growth.”
The previous year, Linamar acquired or moved into joint ventures with three forging and aluminum casting companies.
AN ILLUSTRIOUS LIST
Previous winners of the University of Victoria Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year:
• 2015: David Foster, businessman,
philanthropist and record producer
• 2014: Dennis Washington, founder
of The Washington Companies
• 2013: Brandt C. Louie, chairman
of London Drugs.
• 2012: Dennis (Chip) Wilson, founder of Lululemon Athletica
• 2011: J.R. Shaw, founder of Shaw Communications
• 2010: Alex Campbell Sr., co-founder
of Thrifty Foods.
• 2009: Sir Terence Matthews, chair
of Mitel Corporation, and chair and founder of Wesley Clover
• 2008: Clive Beddoe, founding
shareholder in WestJet
• 2007: David Black, president
of Black Press
• 2006: Gwyn Morgan, former president and CEO of EnCana Corp.
• 2005: Dave Ritchie, chair and former CEO of Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc.
• 2004: Jeff Mallett, former president and chief operating officer of Yahoo!
