Deborah Rosati, an award-winning entrepreneur and corporate director, has been described in three interconnected ways over her 35-year career: as a champion of corporate governance, a catalyst for change, and a builder of community.
As the founder and CEO of Women Get On Board Inc. (WGOB), a national movement with Ten Years of Trailblazing: Amplifying Women’s Voices, Transforming Boardrooms and Beyond, our mission is to connect, promote, and empower women to serve on corporate boards with confidence and courage.
Dr. Deborah Rosati, FCPA, FCA, ICD.D, GCB.D, CCB.D
Deborah is proud to amplify the voices of women leaders, board members, and professionals across Canada through education, mentorship, and allyship. She believes in the power of three: one woman in the boardroom is a token, two are a presence, and three are a voice.
Deborah is a respected leader in the boardroom, having chaired boards and audit committees, as well as nominating and corporate governance committees, and having served as lead director of public companies. Additionally, Deborah has led and served on numerous special committees with mandates that include initial public offerings and private placements, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and special investigations.
Deborah’s dedication to inclusive governance and board diversity stems from her experiences as often the only woman in the boardroom. These firsthand encounters have reinforced her belief that increasing women’s presence on boards leads to better business outcomes.
Constantly seeking improvement, Deborah aims to challenge expectations and foster positive change. She brings an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) perspective to every board she joins, believing in the power and responsibility of businesses to make the world a better place.
As innovative leaders, Deborah and her co-founders, Dr. Sherry Shannon Vanstone and Lara Zink, founded Women Funding Women Inc. (WFW) to address the funding gap facing women entrepreneurs.
Deborah’s commitment to sustainable change and empowerment, along with her broad governance and financial expertise and engaging demeanour, have made her a sought-after thought leader and speaker. Her perspectives on corporate governance, sustainability, inclusion, and social impact are clearly presented on her website, deborahrosati.ca.
Deborah’s recent awards include:
• BMO Icon Award, 2025
• The CEO Magazine Top 50 Women Over 50, 2025
• The Alumni Brilliance Award (Brock University)
• Honorary Doctorate of Laws-Brock University-June 2023
• Canadian Women Entrepreneur (CWE) award winner-Equity Diversity in the Workplace, 2023
• SustainabilityX Magazine’s inaugural Global 50 Women in Sustainability Award, 2022
• WXN’s Top 100 Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Entrepreneur (2021) and Corporate Director
(2012)
• 2020 “Director to Watch”
Deborah’s social purpose is to get more women on boards—one woman and one board at a time.
I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Deborah for the last two years. It is hard to sum up Deborah’s capabilities in a short note. We both sit on the board of Khiron Life Sciences (V:KHRN), and she is also a Director of TAAL Distributed Networks(C:TAAL) where I serve as President of the company.First of all she is fearless. The environment of a growth company is not for everyone, but for others, we would not have it any other way. Deborah brings passion and enthusiasm to her roles, and is always seen as an open minded problem solver. When a decision needs to be made, and we need to make sure we employ best practices and governance, we look to Deborah. At Khiron Deborah, accepted the leadership role of Audit Chair. She is always ready to lean in when real work needs to be done, and all the time sharing her experience and judgment with management. She gets stuff done, while raising the level of professionalism every time she is in the room.
Often times when we identify a role that needs to be filled or created, usually that is met with an enthusiastic, “ Oh, you know what? I know the perfect person!” Deborah leverages her rolodex unselfishly at every opportunity.
Good governance and policy can not stand in the way of creativity and entrepreneurship. Deborah not only finds the balance, she leads the way.
As the Chair of the Board of a TSXV-listed marketing company, I had the pleasure of working closely with Deborah in her roles as Vice-Chair of the Board and Chair of the Audit Committee. Deborah embodies the ideals one seeks in a corporate director. She listens to understand and keeps an open mind, builds relationships with internal and external stakeholders, acts with courage, stays informed and is always prepared. Her commitment to corporate governance and her business judgment are second to none. Serving on a board with Deborah was a highlight of my career and I count myself lucky to have had the pleasure of serving alongside her.
I have had the distinct pleasure of working with Deborah for the last two years. It is hard to sum up Deborah’s capabilities in a short note. We both sit on the board of Khiron Life Sciences (V:KHRN), and she is also a Director of TAAL Distributed Networks(C:TAAL) where I serve as President of the company.
First of all she is fearless. The environment of a growth company is not for everyone, but for others, we would not have it any other way. Deborah brings passion and enthusiasm to her roles, and is always seen as an open minded problem solver. When a decision needs to be made, and we need to make sure we employ best practices and governance, we look to Deborah. At Khiron Deborah, accepted the leadership role of Audit Chair. She is always ready to lean in when real work needs to be done, and all the time sharing her experience and judgment with management. She gets stuff done, while raising the level of professionalism every time she is in the room.
Often times when we identify a role that needs to be filled or created, usually that is met with an enthusiastic, “ Oh, you know what? I know the perfect person!” Deborah leverages her rolodex unselfishly at every opportunity.
Good governance and policy can not stand in the way of creativity and entrepreneurship. Deborah not only finds the balance, she leads the way.
As the Chair of the Board of a TSXV-listed marketing company, I had the pleasure of working closely with Deborah in her roles as Vice-Chair of the Board and Chair of the Audit Committee. Deborah embodies the ideals one seeks in a corporate director. She listens to understand and keeps an open mind, builds relationships with internal and external stakeholders, acts with courage, stays informed and is always prepared. Her commitment to corporate governance and her business judgment are second to none. Serving on a board with Deborah was a highlight of my career and I count myself lucky to have had the pleasure of serving alongside her.