Karen Sheriff (born February 8, 1958) is an American-born, Canadian business executive. Since January 2015, she has served as president and CEO of Q9 Networks, Inc. She previously served as president and CEO of Bell Aliant. She has received numerous honours, including being named one of the Top 50 CEOs in 2012 and 2014 by ''Atlantic Business Magazine''.

Early life and education

Sheriff was born Karen Handler in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois. Her father, Milton E. Handler, was a manufacturer who held several patents; her mother was a housewife who later ran her own store. She earned a bachelor's degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

, and mathematics at

Washington University Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

in St. Louis in 1979, as well as her

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in marketing and finance at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1984.

Career

After graduation, Sheriff joined

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

, where she filled eight marketing positions over a period of 10 years. She then joined

Ameritech AT&T Teleholdings, Inc., formerly known as Ameritech Corporation (and before that American Information Technologies Corporation), is an American telecommunications company that arose out of the 1984 AT&T divestiture. Ameritech was one of the sev ...

, working in corporate marketing and branding. After the latter's 20% acquisition of Bell Canada, in 1998 she moved from Chicago to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

to take on the role of head of product development for Bell. In 1999, she was named senior vice president of product management and development for Bell Canada. In January 2000, she advanced to chief marketing officer, and in June 2003, moved into the role of president of small and medium business. She was promoted to COO of Bell Aliant Regional Communications LP in July 2008. From November 2008 to January 2011, she served as president and CEO of Bell Aliant Regional Communications LP. From January 2011 to December 2014 she was CEO of Bell Aliant Inc. In 2013, Sheriff's pension package at Bell Aliant was reportedly in excess of $5.5 million. Her executive compensation package totalled over $3.6 million, including her salary of $750,000. In September 2014, she announced her intention to retire from Bell Aliant, effective December 31. In November 2014, she was named the new president and CEO of Q9 Networks, a Toronto-based data services provider, beginning on January 5, 2015.

Other activities

Sheriff is chair of the board of trustees for the Gardiner Museum in Toronto. In 2012, she was appointed to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board by the Canadian government.

Honors

Sheriff was named one of the Top 50 CEOs by ''Atlantic Business Magazine'' in 2012 and 2014. In 2013 and 2014 she was named one of the Top 25 Women of Influence by the Women of Influence organization. In 2012 she was honored as Woman of the Year by the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Women in Communications. The Women's Executive Network included Sheriff on their list of Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women on three occasions, and inducted her into its Top 100 Women Hall of Fame in 2007.

Personal

Sheriff and her husband have two children. They reside in Toronto, Ontario. She has dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheriff, Karen Bell Aliant Canadian women in business Washington University in St. Louis alumni University of Chicago Booth School of Business alumni 1958 births Living people American chief operating officers