Kathy Bardswick is a Canadian business executive. From 2002 to 2016, she was the President and
CEO
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
of
The Co-operators Group Ltd, a Canadian insurance cooperative based in
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...
, Ontario, Canada. She is one of a handful of women at the helm of the top 100 companies in Canada.
Early life and education
Bardswick is one of six children born to Bill Bardswick and his wife Annastasia (née MacNeil).
She earned her B.S. degree in mathematics from the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...
, and her
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...
from
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...
.
Career
Bardswick began her career with The Co-operators right out of business school in 1978. Her mother applied for the job for her and pretended she was Kathy when the company called back.
[ Bardswick appeared at her own interview and landed a position in the ]property and casualty
General insurance or non-life insurance policy, including automobile and homeowners policies, provide payments depending on the loss from a particular financial event. General insurance is typically defined as any insurance that is not determine ...
division in Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie may refer to:
People
* Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a Native American tribe in Michigan
Places
* Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
** Sault Ste. Marie (federal electoral district), a Canadian federal electora ...
as an underwriter
Underwriting (UW) services are provided by some large financial institutions, such as banks, insurance companies and investment houses, whereby they guarantee payment in case of damage or financial loss and accept the financial risk for liability ...
.[ Since then, she has also worked in sales, complex claims, and information systems management.]Calgary
Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...
, The Sovereign General and L'Union Canadienne.[
In March 2002 she was named President and CEO of The Co-operators Group and its institutional investment management subsidiary, Addenda Capital Inc.][ She is one of a handful of women at the helm of the top 100 companies in Canada;]sustainability
Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
policy for all its operations, including office construction and automotive fleets.
Memberships
Bardswick is a past chair of the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF), and is a member of the ICMIF executive.[ She is a board member of the International Co-operative Alliance and Addenda Capital.][ and a former vice-chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Guelph.][ She served on the executive committee of the ]Conference Board of Canada
The Conference Board of Canada is an independent, non-profit applied-research organization based in Canada. It aims to help Canada's leaders make informed, evidence-based decisions using non-partisan and non-ideological analysis.
The organiza ...
from 2004 to 2011.[
She is also a member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives][ and the Council for Clean Capitalism.
She is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events. Her quotes and observations were included in the 2009 book ''Made in Canada Leadership: Wisdom from the Nation's Best and Brightest on the Art and Practice of Leadership''.
]
Honors and awards
In 2014 she was named one of the Top 50 Women of Influence in Canada's Life Insurance Industry by ''The Insurance and Investment Journal'' and one of the Top 25 Women of Influence by the Women of Influence organization.[
]
Personal
She and her husband, Bernie Mutter, have four sons.[ They reside in ]Burlington, Ontario
Burlington, officially the City of Burlington, is a city and List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipality in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region at the west end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Can ...
.[
]
Selected articles
* (with Steward Elgie and David Miller)
References
External links
2013 interview with Kathy Bardswick
Business in Motion Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bardswick, Kathy
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Canadian women chief executives
McMaster University alumni
University of Manitoba alumni
People from Burlington, Ontario