Wendy Burdon McDonald - Burnaby

Wendy Burdon McDonald is a dynamic entrepreneur and leader in the field of business in British Columbia. Since 1944, she has been building a highly successful enterprise on what began as a small machine shop in Vancouver. Under her leadership, the BC Bearing Group is now an international group of companies, with 60 locations and over 500 employees.

Mrs. McDonald is a dedicated humanitarian and leader in the community. In 1990, she was the first woman to be elected chairman of the Vancouver Board of Trade in its 103-year history. She has served on various boards and advisory councils, including the BCIT Board of Governors, and as a Trustee at UBC's University Hospital. She remains Chairman Emeritus of the BC Chapter of the Canadian Council for the Americas, and the Pacific Corridor Enterprise Council. She is also a Director of the CHILD Foundation, and a board member of the British Columbia Paraplegic Foundation.

Wendy Burdon McDonald has received honourary doctorates from Simon Fraser University and BCIT. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 1997. She was recognized as Canadian Businesswoman of the Year in 1982, and as Leading Woman Entrepreneur of the World in 1998. She has received the RBC Canadian Woman Entrepreneur Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Influential Women in Business Awards, and the Lifetime Achievement PEAK Award at Women in Finance. In 2002, she was inducted into Sales and Marketing Executives International Hall of Fame.