Karin McCaskill, former senior vice-president, general counsel, and secretary of Sobeys Inc.’s parent company Empire Co., will receive the BLG Stephen Sigurdson Lifetime Achievement award at the 2019 Canadian General Counsel Awards ceremony in June.
McCaskill lead the legal team through Sobeys $5.8-billion acquisition of Safeway in 2013, a deal that at the time involved 213 stores, 199 in-store pharmacies, 62 gas stations, 10 liquor stores, four distribution centres and 12 manufacturing facilities across Western Canada. The deal saw Sobeys emerge as a national player in the crowded grocery industry.
She is seen as one of the leading labour and employment practitioners in Canada and a mentor for other women in this area of the law. McCaskill was a founder and director of the Canadian Association of Counsel to Employers; president of the Association of Canadian General Counsel and an early signatory to the Legal Leaders for Diversity and Inclusion initiative.
The awards, founded by The National Post and ZSA Legal Recruitment, will be presented June 10 at the Fairmont Royal York hotel in Toronto. Here are the finalists:
Canadian General Counsel of the Year
- Jeff Davis, chief legal and corporate affairs officer, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
- Andrés Durán, general counsel, EllisDon Corp.
- Yonni Fushman, executive vice-president, chief legal officer and secretary, Aecon Group Inc.
- Bob Rooney, executive vice-president and chief legal officer, Enbridge Inc.
- James Scarlett, executive vice-president and chief legal counsel, Hydro One Ltd.
- Phillip Shaer, chief legal officer, Canopy Growth Corp.
Baker McKenzie Innovation
- Richard Brait, general counsel, Siemens Canada.
- Nicolas Chaput, legal counsel, Uber Canada.
- Simon Fish, general counsel, Bank of Montreal.
- Giuliana Marinelli, senior counsel, Royal Bank of Canada.
- Peter Nguyen, general counsel, corporate secretary and privacy officer, Resolver Inc.
- Andrea Wood, chief legal and governance officer, Telus Corp.
Business Achievement
- Jody Becker, chief strategy officer and senior vice-president, EllisDon Corp.
- Karen Decker, chief underwriting counsel, international operations, Stewart Title Guaranty Co.
- Adrian Lang, head of operations and small business solutions, Bank of Montreal
- Steven Prisco, regional vice-president, Canada central, Aramark Canada Ltd.
- Noah Waisberg, co-founder and CEO, Kira Systems
Osler Purdy Crawford Deal Making
- François Duquette, vice-president, legal affairs, investment, Caisse de Dépôt et placement du Québec
- Anita Mackey, senior vice-president and associate general counsel, Bank of Nova Scotia
- Mark Platteel, general counsel, ACS Infrastructure Canada Inc.
- James Rickert, managing director, Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
- Phillip Shaer, chief legal officer, Canopy Growth Corp.
- Jill Swainson, chief legal officer and corporate secretary, Aurora Cannabis Inc.
Litigation Management
- Rebecca Burrows, assistant general counsel, KPMG
- Alan Dabb, vice-president legal services, Telus Corp.
- Jody Evely, assistant vice-president and U.S. general counsel, CN Railway Co.
- Louise-Hélène Sénécal, assistant general counsel litigation, Air Canada
- Kathrine Smirle, senior counsel and director, banking litigation, Royal Bank of Canada
- Yasmin Visram, senior managing counsel, Industrial Alliance Insurance & Financial Services Inc.
Mid-Market Excellence
- Angela Avery, general counsel, vice-president business development, Athabasca Oil Corp.
- Mike Brady, executive vice-president, general counsel and secretary, NorthWest Healthcare Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
- Ruth Chun, general counsel, Newstrike Brands Ltd.
- Loreto Grimaldi, senior vice-president, general counsel and corporate secretary, ECN Capital Corp.
- Gregory Michael Joffe, general counsel, InstarAGF Asset Management Inc.
- Neil Said, legal counsel, Forbes & Manhattan Group
Environmental, Social and Governance
- Benoit-Marc Boyer, Archdiocese of Montreal
- Kate Chisholm, senior vice-president, chief legal and sustainability officer, Capital Power Corp.
- Susan Kennedy, general counsel and corporate secretary, Ornge Inc.
- Éric Labbé, legal services and corporate secretary, Canadian Malartic GP
- Stéphanie Lachance, vice-president, responsible investment, Public Sector Pension Investment Board
- Jennifer Suess, general counsel, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust
Tomorrow’s Leader
- Elisabeth Demone, vice-president, chief legal officer and secretary, Symcor Inc.
- Ratika Gandhi, head of legal and compliance, Alcon Canada Inc.
- Christelle Gedeon, chief legal officer, Aphria Inc.
- Preston MacNeil, counsel, Bank of Montreal
- Megan McLeese, legal counsel, Northleaf Capital Partners
- Elizabeth Saati, assistant vice-president and counsel, Manulife Financial Corp.
Financial Post
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