Deborah Rosati

“It is my passion that drives me as an Entrepreneur.”

Deborah Rosati, an award-winning entrepreneur and corporate director, has been defined in three interconnected ways throughout her 35-year career – as a corporate governance champion, catalyst for change and community builder.

As the founder and CEO of Women Get On Board Inc. (WGOB), a 950+ member social-purpose company, Deborah is building a community of the next generation of women corporate directors. WGOB amplifies the voices of women leaders, board members and professionals across Canada through education, mentorship and allyship. It’s been called The Power of Three – one woman in the boardroom is a token, two is a presence, and three is a voice.

Deborah is a leading and serving corporate director, currently chairing the board of Profound Impact Corporation and has chaired many public company audit committees and nominating & corporate governance committees. In addition, Deborah has led and served on numerous special committees with various mandates (including going public, going private, M&A, restructuring and special investigations).

Deborah’s passion for good governance and board diversity is rooted in her board journey when she was often the only woman in the boardroom. These first-hand experiences cemented Deborah’s conviction that having more women on boards makes better business sense.

Never satisfied with the status quo, Deborah always seeks ways to challenge expectations and drive change. She brings an environmental, social and governance (ESG) lens to every board she serves on, as she believes in the power and responsibility of business to change our world for the better.

As a visionary leader, Deborah recently launched Women Funding Women Inc. (WFW) with her co-founders, Sherry Shannon Vanstone and Lara Zink, to bridge the funding gap for female founders.

Deborah’s commitment to sustainable change and empowerment, deep governance knowledge, financial expertise and dynamic personality have made her a sought-after thought leader and speaker. Deborah’s thought leadership on corporate governance, sustainability, EDI and social impact is profiled on her website, deborahrosati.ca.

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“As leaders, we have a civic duty to elevate the next generation of women leaders by advocating for their economic empowerment and financial freedom so they can make independent decisions. We can achieve this empowerment through education, mentorship, and allyship.”

I Am Unbreakable® Magazine: Connection Is a Powerful Force

Connection is a powerful force. Over the course of my 35-year career as an entrepreneur and corporate director, I’ve discovered that authentically connecting with others can make a considerable impact. The key to growing your network? Connecting with others intentionally, with the long view in mind. In my latest article in I Am Unbreakable® Magazine, I discuss how you can employ the powerful force of connection to meet your goals. I focus on three ideas: 1. Communicate with gravitas [...]

50/50 Women on Boards: How to Position Your Board Value Proposition

On October 17-18, 2024, I had the pleasure of speaking at two virtual sessions for 50/50 Women on Boards alongside Deb Voorheis, Partner at Bigwin Group Talent Strategy on the topic How to Position Your Board Value Proposition. In the sessions, we explored how to identify the right board for you, articulate the value you bring to a board, and craft an effective board value proposition to differentiate yourself in the boardroom.

Women of Influence+ Profiles Deborah Rosati

Women of Influence+ recently featured Deborah Rosati in a new profile, "From Breaking Barriers to Building Boards: How This Entrepreneur is Elevating Women in Leadership." The article outlines her journey from being the only woman at the table to creating pathways for the next generation of female leaders. In the piece, Deborah also shares her advice for women looking to grow their careers, expressing her desire to give back. “My goal is to connect, promote, and empower,” she [...]

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Deborah, as Founder and CEO of Women Get on Board was instrumental in facilitating my board career by providing advice on criteria’s to be given an opportunity to sit on a board. Deborah has grown WGOB from a Toronto based organization to one that is national. She willingly shares her 20+ years experience of sitting on boards for the benefit of others. She is a mentor, sponsor and promoter of numerous women in their board journey. She provides thought leadership and gives back to her community with the invaluable work on CPA Canada’s advisory committees. I know that my board journey would look a lot different without the support and insight of Deborah and WGOB.”

Wendy Kei, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D, Chair of Ontario Power Generation, member of Women Get On Board, Mentor for the Inaugural WGOB Mentorship Program

Deborah Rosati is Canada’s Connector. She focuses her time, energy, passion, insights and wisdom towards connecting, promoting and empowering women to corporate boards. Deborah unites women and men across the country in an effort to drive diversity and women’s equality in boardrooms. Deborah founded Women Get On Board in 2015, and has since established a community of over 650 women and men who are on their board journey. Through Women Get On Board, panels discussions, podcasts and more, Deborah has elevated the bar for good governance, boardroom diversity, equity and inclusion. Furthermore, through Women Get On Board’s Mentorship program, Deborah is grooming the next generation of corporate directors. Deborah leads with passion and inspires everyone she meets with her relentless energy and commitment to helping people and companies flourish.

Deborah’s authenticity and approach to relationship building is unrivaled in the realm of board diversity and corporate board building.

Alyssa Barry, CPIR, Principal & Cofounder, irlabs, Advisory Council member & Sponsor of the WGOB Mentorship Program

Deborah has a unique ability to see a need, but then to invest the effort to create a vision and an ecosystem to address the need. We came together with a shared vision of helping accelerate gender parity on corporate Boards. From that shared vision, we co-created and co-deliver the Getting Board Ready program, targeted at women looking to land their first corporate Board seat. I have had an inside view to her passion, her collaborative nature, her willingness to pay it forward, her expertise, and her acute business savvy. A well of ideas, she seems to have a sixth sense on how to brand and market, and is a force to be reckoned with.

Andrea Plotnick, Ph.D, SVP Board and Executive Solutions at LHH-Knightsbridge & Co-Facilitator with Deborah on the Getting Board Ready Program

Deborah is an outstanding change advocate and continually connects, promotes and empowers women for board service. She is an exceptional entrepreneur who is able to apply her training as a financial expert and operational knowledge of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of running a business, to educate and empower her young team. I believe unequivocally that Deborah is a deserving recipient of an RBC Canadian Entrepreneur Award and I am honoured to support her nomination.

Donna Price, Governance Coach