Jennifer Gillivan

Jennifer Gillivan is President and CEO of the IWK Foundation. The Foundation is the primary fundraising and outreach partner of the IWK Health Centre, which provides critical and specialized care to women, children, youth, and families throughout the Maritimes. Jennifer is very passionate about the rights of women and Children in our society.

Jennifer has an extensive background in philanthropy, partnerships, public speaking, strategy, marketing, and leadership. Born and educated in Dublin, Ireland Jennifer immigrated to Canada in 1982. Prior to joining the IWK Foundation, Jennifer worked with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for 14 years most recently as Director of Partnerships, Communications, Marketing and Brand for the CBC across Canada.

Jennifer is a seasoned executive leader as well as a passionate motivational speaker and contributor to her community and country. Jennifer is an active community volunteer: Jennifer is the Past Chair of the Board of Directors of Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations, the largest funder of Children’s health next to government in Canada. Jennifer is a Frank H Sobey Awards for Excellence in Business Studies, Trustee. Jennifer is also the Co-Chair of the Sobey mental health partnership with CCHF and Sobey Family Foundation and Corporation across Canada. Jennifer was appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada 2016-2018 to serve as a member of The Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments in Nova Scotia and she has served on many national and regional boards over the years.

Jennifer was awarded Atlantic Business Magazine Top 50 CEO Award for 2014, 2015, 2017 & 2018, 2019. Jennifer was inducted into the 2019 Atlantic Business Magazine Hall of Fame. Jennifer was awarded the RBC Top25 Canadian Immigrant award for 2017 and awarded for the Top 25 Maritime Immigrant award for 2017.The Halifax Chamber of Commerce awarded Jennifer with: The Halifax Business- Person of the Year 2017. Jennifer was awarded nationally by RBC Women of Influence Entrepreneur Award 2014. Jennifer was featured in “Canada 150 Women” published in November 2017. Jennifer received National Professional of the Year award by Women of Distinction in 2016. Jennifer was awarded by Bank of Montreal Community & Charitable Giving Award and has received two CBC English Television Awards, The Halifax Ambassador Award, and a Progress Halifax Women of Excellence Award.

Jennifer is passionate about her community and her country. Jennifer and her husband Joe call Halifax home along with their family and are proud Grandparents to Nora, Franklin and Malachy.

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https://youtu.be/MPMwgtUD_Hw

Cathy Thorpe joined Nurse Next Door as President in 2014 with the mission of growing the business across both Canada and the US, and achieving a new level of operational excellence. Under her tenure, the company has accelerated its growth and now has over 400 locations globally.

In 2016, Cathy was promoted to President & CEO, with a goal of taking the organization to global heights and expanding its international footprint. Since then, Nurse Next Door has opened master franchises in both England and Australia, and is currently exploring other markets.

An accomplished leader, Cathy brings over two decades of leadership experience in the retail industry to Nurse Next Door. She previously served as President of Please Mum and Director of Canadian Operations for The Gap and The Gap Kids, where she was responsible for 150
stores and 1,000+ employees.

Cathy’s diverse experiences have inspired and enabled her to accelerate growth and disrupt the traditional home care industry model. However, her business goals go beyond market expansion. Through Bold Kindness, her culture and leadership philosophy, she has developed self-led leaders across the brand’s system, resulting in an average NPS score of 78+ among clients and 82+ among caregivers. Through her book, Bold Kindness: A Caring, More Compassionate Way to Lead, Cathy is bringing her Bold Kindness philosophy to other business leaders, and motivating them to disrupt traditional business practices. Cathy is also
the host of How to Care, a podcast/ conversation series on business leadership.

Individual and company awards under Cathy’s leadership include:

- Business in Vancouver, Influential Women in Business Award (2024)
- Business in Vancouver, CEO of the Year Award (2020)
- Entrepreneur Magazine, Franchise 500 (2016, 2019)
- Waterstone, One of Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures (2018)
- Entrepreneur Magazine, Top 50 Franchise System (2018)
- Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (2016)
- Canadian Business PROFIT 500 Ranking (2018, 2019)

Cathy is an active participant in the business community. Since 2017, Cathy has been an Independent Director on the National Pharmasave Board where she helps monitor Pharmasave’s performance and supports the development of their strategic plan. For the last six years, she has also served on the Board of the Wood Automotive Group, based in Calgary, where she is an active contributor to their strategic plan.

When not at Nurse Next Door, Cathy is spending time with her two children and dog Henry, enjoying Vancouver’s natural beauty, trail running or exploring the world and learning about foreign cultures and languages.

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