Denise Carpenter is an experienced board chair, director, C-suite executive, and executive coach with broad experience in several business sectors. She has spent her career advocating for companies and governments on issues that matter most to Canadians and acting as a trusted confidant to senior executives and governments.
Denise has worked within various complicated business and governance structures and has led numerous efforts to create critical alignment with executives, board directors, management, and other stakeholders. She has a strong track record in building shareholder value, and relationships that deliver value to multiple stakeholders in complex business, government, and not-for-profit environments. She is an early thought leader and advocate of ESG, social impact and corporation's purposetion.
She works to help individuals and organizations deliver measurable outcomes. Denise’s most recent work focuses on renewable energy enterprises, utilities, (regulated and non-regulated) energy security, climate change, artificial intelligence, serving the underbanked, health insurance and health care. In addition to being a director at the Ontario Medical Association, she is also the Independent Chair of Blue Cross Canada, Board director of Cashco Financial Inc, Chair of the Board at Ronald McDonald House Charities Toronto, Chair of the board at EnerFORGE, Chair of the board at Oshawa Power and Utilities Corporation, board director Synergy North.
She has served as a guest lecturer and executive in residence at the University of Alberta’s MBA program and guest lecturer at the Fellows Program, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard. She has written and lectured widely on diversity of thought, governance as a business enabler and stakeholder relationships. In 2022 she was selected as a BMO Honouree at the BMO Celebrating Women on Boards event. In 2018 Denise was appointed to the Diversity 50 Cohort, recognizing Canada’s most diverse and eligible board candidates. She is an active and accredited member of the WGOB, Institute of Corporate Directors, The International Coach Federation and the International Women’s Forum.
She has been honoured by Global TV as a Woman of Vision; by the YWCA with a Woman of Distinction Award; and has twice been named one of Alberta’s 50 Most Influential People by Alberta Venture magazine. Her passion is exploring the world, its people, and its cultures. She lives in Toronto and continues to travel widely. Denise is in her second two-year term.