Janice Fukakusa C.M.

Janice Fukakusa is Toronto Metropolitan University‘s Chancellor. She serves as a corporate director with extensive banking and financial services experience, and was RBC’s Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer, retiring in 2017 following a distinguished 31-year career. She currently serves on the boards of corporate and not-for-profit organizations.

Janice was inducted into Canada’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame and, in 2016 she was named one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking by American Banker magazine for the fourth consecutive year. In 2021, she was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada for her leadership and mentorship in banking, and for her boundless community engagement, notably in health care and education.

Get to know Janice Fukakusa C.M.

What are your hopes for the next generation of women in tech?
That women embrace the idea of supporting other women entrepreneurs with action in 3 ways: by investing in the businesses of women entrepreneurs; by sharing their skills with other up and coming women; and by coaching young women to not shy away from going into business for themselves.

What’s the greatest piece of advice you’ve ever received?
It is advice I did not follow - a senior executive told me to take a job outside of Toronto to get ahead. I could not do that so I decided instead to take lateral positions outside of my comfort zone to broaden my skills. It taught me resiliency, one of my greatest career assets.