Toronto, ON, Nov. 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) is pleased to announce the 2019 Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame (ABHF) recipients of this year’s prestigious national awards.
Brenda LaRose, Métis, Manitoba Métis Federation, will be the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award and Kylik Kisoun Taylor, Inuit, will be named the 2019 National Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneur. Both awards were founded and are exclusively sponsored by ESS Support Services Worldwide, a division of Compass Group. The award ceremonies will take place January 29, 2019, at the CCAB Annual Toronto Gala at the Weston Harbour Castle. The gala’s lead sponsor is Bruce Power.
Ms. LaRose’s rich history of accomplishment in the field of recruitment and executive search has given Indigenous perspectives a powerful voice in organizations across Canada. She is the founder of Higgins Executive Search, a firm specializing in recruiting Indigenous professionals for board-level positions, leadership succession and executive recruitment.
Brenda started up the boutique executive search firm in 1999 and, since then, she has worked tirelessly to establish her company as Canada’s leader in placing senior Indigenous executives and board members. The firm is internationally recognized for its expertise in recruiting Indigenous professionals. In the spring of 2017, Higgins Executive Search merged with Leaders International Executive Search, a national firm in Montreal and part of an international network of 47 offices globally.
Active at the community level, Brenda currently serves as the Past Chair of the Board of Trustees for Winnipeg’s Seven Oaks Hospital, The Wellness Institute and The Seven Oaks Foundation and is the current Chair of the Governance Committee. She also serves as a Board Member for The Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Air North- Yukon’s Airline, and Métis Infinity Investments LLP.
“I am deeply honoured to receive this award. To be considered for such recognition by the CCAB and be counted amongst the group of past recipients is truly humbling. I am very thankful to the CCAB for this honour.”
-Brenda LaRose, Partner, Higgins Executive Search
“CCAB is proud to recognize the lifework of Brenda LaRose who has done so much to advance the careers, influence and visibility of Indigenous professionals. Brenda’s networking and recruiting skill has helped organizations of all stripes to attract Indigenous leaders who have made a true difference.”
-JP Gladu, President and CEO, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business
“We are proud to join with CCAB in honouring Brenda LaRose’s many accomplishments with the ABHF Lifetime Achievement Award. We look forward to celebrating Brenda’s incredible impact on the professional development of Indigenous leaders at the CCAB Toronto Gala.”
-G. Kyle Dudley, Director, Aboriginal Relations and Operational Support, ESS North America, ESS Support Services Worldwide
Tundra North Tours President Kylik Kisoun Taylor, the recipient of the 2019 CCAB National Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneur Award, established his tourist company in 2006 with the dream of sharing Inuit culture and love of the Arctic with the world. Based on his vision of providing visitors with truly authentic arctic experiences that allow them to immerse in the land, cultures and history of the North, Kylik Kisoun has built a truly unique and highly successful tourist enterprise.
In summer, Tundra North offers tours to traditional Whaling and Tipi Camps where guest experience Inuialuit and Gwich’in culture and values. In winter, the firm offers the only Indigenous Signature Experience in Northern Canada where guests from around the world get to build and sleep in their own igloo, drive an ice road, herd Reindeer and drive to the Arctic Ocean.
Kisoun Taylor founded his firm with the goal of giving guests a transformative experience that would shape their understanding of Inuit beliefs, morals and traditions and the sustainability and beauty they create. In so doing, he has built bridges of respect and created a valuable source of tradition-based employment.
“I am extremely honoured and blessed to receive such a prestigious award. Thanks to the CCAB for shining a light on young Indigenous entrepreneurs and being so supportive of our businesses.”
- Kylik Kisoun Taylor, President, Tundra North Tours
“Kylik Kisoun Taylor’s journey is a model for Indigenous entrepreneurial success. He has shown our young people that dreams can come true when love of our culture and land is combined with business skill and the drive to succeed.”
-JP Gladu, President and CEO, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business
“The success of Tundra North Tours and its imaginative business model are tributes to Kylik Kisoun Taylor’s entrepreneurial spirit and the love he holds for the Inuit way of life. We are proud to join with CCAB in recognizing his wonderful achievements in entrepreneurial excellence.”
-G. Kyle Dudley, Director, Aboriginal Relations and Operational Support, ESS North America, ESS Support Services Worldwide
“We at CCAB are excited by the future and honoured by the past. Business excellence is born of people with ideas and the courage to make them into realities. We congratulate our 2019 ABHF recipients and look forward to celebrating them at our 21st Annual Toronto Gala.”
-JP Gladu, President and CEO, Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business
About CCAB
CCAB is committed to the full participation of Indigenous peoples in Canada’s economy. A national, non-partisan association, CCAB offers knowledge, resources and programs to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal owned companies that foster economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples and businesses across Canada.
About the Aboriginal Lifetime Achievement Award
The Aboriginal Lifetime Achievement Award is part of CCAB’s Aboriginal Business Hall of Fame, which recognizes Aboriginal persons whose business leadership has made a substantive contribution to the economic and social well-being of Aboriginal people over a lifetime. The inaugural award was given in 2005 and there have been over 23 laureates since then.
About the National Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneur Award
The National Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneur Award is presented annually to an Indigenous entrepreneur under the age of 35 and includes a $10,000 financial prize.
For more information, visit https://www.ccab.com/awards/
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