Penny Collenette
LL.B (Ottawa), of the Bar of Ontario, Senior Fellow, Centre of Business and Government, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University ( 2002-2004)
Penny, a lawyer, public commentator and educator, has had a unique career which spans public, corporate and academic worlds. Her career path has taken her from a Prime Minister’s office to boardrooms and classrooms. From 2002-2004, she was a Senior Fellow at the Centre of Business and Government, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.Penny currently holds two appointments at the University (Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Law and Executive in Residence at the Telfer School of Management) where she specializes in issues relating to governance, ethics, whistleblowing, corporate social responsibility and director training. In 2009, she was invited to present as an expert in ethics at the Oliphant Commission and she has recently been inducted into the honour society at the Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa.
Previously, she was Director of Appointments, Prime Minister’s Office (1993-1997). During her tenure, the number of female appointments increased to 39%, a major jump in statistics. As well, a tone of transparency and professionalism in the system became apparent.
Penny next entered the world of commerce and business world when she became Vice President, Chairman’s Office, George Weston Ltd. The well known and highly respected company which was founded in 1882, employs nearly 155,000 people and produces billions of dollars in sales, mostly in processing, wholesaling and retailing food in both Canada and abroad. For six years, Penny was also a Director of Holt Renfrew Ltd., a privately owned Canadian luxury goods retailer.
In the not-for-profit world, she has served as a Director of the Toronto Board of Trade and is currently a member of the Advisory Council for the Prosperity Fund, a community endowed foundation which supports long term care institutions as well as a member of the National Committee for the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards. She is a long time fundraiser for Citizen Advocacy of Ottawa (an organization which supports individuals living with disabilities) and she is also a member of the executive of the Ottawa chapter of the Harvard Club.
In 2002, Maclean’s magazine named Penny as one of 50 most influential people in Canada. In 2005, the Women’s Executive Network named her as a Champion in their list of Canada’s Top 100 Powerful Women. In 2008, she was named as one of 100 women to the inaugural list of the International Alliance for Women. She has also been the recipient of an Opinion Leader’s Invitation from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While in Japan, she met with business and public policy leaders and lectured at Keio University in Tokyo. In 2010, Penny was inducted into the Common Law Honour Society, the Common Law Section's most prestigious alumni distinction.
Penny is married to the Honourable David Collenette. The couple have one son, Christopher, who is studying law at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and is married to Dr. Rachel O’Farrell. They have two children, Charley and Cate.