Hydro Ottawa CEO “most powerful woman”

OTTAWA, ONTARIO - Rosemarie T. Leclair, president and CEO of the Hydro Ottawa Group of Companies, received the prestigious 2010 Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards, in the professionals, acknowledging her many contributions to Canada's energy sector.

Ms. Leclair previously earned this honour in 2007.

The Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Awards is Canada's most recognizable award for the country's highest achieving female leaders in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Leclair joins a community of 522 women across Canada who has received this recognition.

"Through her steadfast commitment to excellence, Rosemarie Leclair's leadership has transformed the Hydro Ottawa Group of Companies into one of our country's leading integrated utilities, poised to capture all the promise of the burgeoning energy industry," said Pierre Richard, chair of the board of Hydro Ottawa Holding Inc. and Hydro Ottawa Limited. "We are very proud to have Ms. Leclair leading our group of companies, and we would like to congratulate her on this accomplishment."

As president and CEO of the Hydro Ottawa Group of Companies, Leclair leads one of Ontario's largest electricity providers, which distributes electricity to 300,000 customers in the Ottawa area and generates 160,000 megawatt hours of clean, renewable energy per year. A seasoned public policy and strategic management professional, Leclair has served as deputy city manager of Public Works and Services for the City of Ottawa, and as a special advisor to the Province of Ontario.

"With vision and determination, Rosemarie has advanced the environmental sustainability and social prosperity of our community," Mr. Richard added. "Under her leadership, the Hydro Ottawa Group of Companies has learned to compete, to grow, and to achieve, delivering more than $87 million in dividends to the City of Ottawa, its sole shareholder. The company also continues to earn accolades for its innovations and best practices, including being named one of "Top 25 Employers" in the National Capital Region. This award is clearly well deserved."

"Every year, we honour the exceptional female leaders of Canada," said Pamela Jeffery, founder of the Women's Executive Network. "They each have remarkable achievements and Top 100 is a mark of their success and how they have supported their communities, companies, and organizations. Our Top 100 community is a powerful group of women who are at the top of their game."