The Business without Borders HSBC International Business Awards celebrates the very best of Canadian companies doing business internationally.
The program recognizes both small-to-medium and large enterprises, as well as those doing business in the fast growing regions of Asia Pacific and Latin America.
Companies are selected by a panel of expert judges based on their overall achievements in international trade, and the merits of their international business strategies.
Winners of these awards enjoy recognition as world-class leaders in international business, and benefit from:
- Recognition at a Gala Celebration
- National multi-media coverage showcasing their achievements
- Use of awards logo and promotional rights
- Enhanced reputation with customers, investors, and industry peers
Award Categories:
International Business of the Year
Small-to-Medium Enterprise
• Revenue between CAD$5 million and $50 million in your company’s most recent fiscal year
• At least 10% of total revenue from exports or service contracts in each of your two most recent fiscal years
Large Enterprise
• Revenue greater than CAD $50 million in your company’s most recent fiscal year
• At least 10% of total revenue from exports or service contracts in each of your two most recent fiscal years
Leadership in International Trade
Asia Pacific
• At least 10% of total revenue from exports or service contracts in Asia-Pacific in each of your two most recent fiscal years
Latin America
• At least 10% of total revenue from exports or service contracts in Latin America in each of your two most recent fiscal years
Click here to see what our 2011 winners have to say about the awards!
Check out this year's winners »
Does your company have an international success story to share? This is your opportunity to receive the recognition you deserve.
Know a company that deserves to be considered for these awards?
Media Enquiries:
Fabrice de Dongo
Senior Manager, Public Affairs
HSBC Bank Canada
(416) 868-8282
These awards are offered by HSBC Bank Canada.
Awards and prizes must be accepted as offered. Awards and the prizes are not transferable or convertible to cash. HSBC Bank Canada reserves the right to make substitutions in the event of non-availability of any prize or any component thereof. Terms and conditions may apply to the receipt of any prize, including the use of the Awards logo. A copy of the applicable terms and conditions will be provided to each of the finalist companies, prior to the announcement of the winning companies. HSBC Bank Canada reserves the right to cancel this Awards Program, or any component thereof, at any time for any reason whatsoever. By participating in the Awards Program, the applicants unconditionally agree to be bound by the decisions of HSBC Bank Canada in any way relating to this Awards Program, as may be determined by HSBC Bank Canada in its sole discretion, which will be final and binding in all respects.
Winners of the 2011 Business without Borders HSBC International Business Awards were selected by a panel of experts drawn from The Economist Intelligence Unit, Import-Export Canada, The University of British Columbia, McGill University, Canadian Business and The Globe and Mail. Due diligence was conducted by PwC Canada on all finalists prior to the selection of winners.
Winners of the 2012 Business without Borders HSBC International Business Awards will be selected by a panel of judges drawn from Export Development Canada, The Economist Intelligence Unit, Import-Export Canada, The University of British Columbia, McGill University, Les Affaires, Canadian Business and The Globe and Mail. Due diligence will be conducted by PwC Canada on all finalists prior to the selection of winners.
Elena Cherney
Editor, Globe and Mail Report on Business, Toronto
Elena Cherney is the Editor of the Globe and Mail's Report on Business. Before joining the Globe in 2007, Elena spent seven years covering Canadian business news as a Toronto-based correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. She has also worked as a reporter for the Montreal Gazette and the National Post. Educated at Yale University, Elena grew up in Montreal.
Keith Head
Sauder School of Business, Strategy and Economics Division, HSBC Professorship of Asian Commerce, Vancouver
Keith Head is a Professor in the Strategy and Business Economics division at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. He holds the HSBC Professorship in Asian Commerce. Professor Head teaches courses on international business management and the international economy. He obtained his B.A. at Swarthmore College in 1986 and his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991. Professor Head's research interests include multinational enterprises, international trade, and economic geography. His recent papers include “FDI as an Outcome of the Market for Corporate Control: Theory and Evidence” (Journal of International Economics, January 2008, with John Ries) and “The Puzzling Persistence of the Distance Effect on International Trade” (Review of Economics and Statististics, February 2008, with Anne-Celia Disdier). In September 2007, his book, Elements of Multinational Strategy was published by Springer.
Steve Maich
Steve Maich, Editor and Publisher, Canadian Business, Toronto
Steve Maich is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Business magazine, and Executive Editor of Maclean's. He is a bestselling author, public speaker, and three-time National Magazine Award winner for his writing. In 2009, Steve led the most comprehensive re-design and relaunch in the 82-year history of Canadian Business magazine. Last year, he helped lead a small team that brought Maclean's to the iPad, the first major magazine brand in the country to hit Apple's revolutionary device. In addition to serving as publisher of all Rogers business magazines, Steve is now focused on the company's digital strategy and how to bring the country's best magazine brands, from Chatelaine to Moneysense, onto your smartphone, your tablet and your desktop.
Joy Nott
President of the Canadian Importers and Exporters Association (I.E. Canada)
Ms. Nott brings over 20 years of experience in customs compliance to the I.E. Canada team. Prior to joining I.E.Canada, Joy Nott was a Vice President and Managing Consultant for JPMorgan Global Trade Management Services based in the Toronto, Ontario area and specialized in matters of customs and international trade for both Canada and the U.S. based clients. Prior to joining J.P.Morgan, Joy spent a number of years developing her expertise employed as a Senior Manager with public accounting firms of KPMG LLP and Deloitte & Touche LLP as a Customs and International Trade consultant. The accounting firm environment provided her with extensive experience related to advising multinational clients in terms of meeting import and export requirements while minimizing costs. Her experience with professional tax and supply chain advisers has given her a background rich in understanding how customs and trade issues play an important role in developing corporate strategies. Her experience in advising how matters such as income tax transfer pricing and customs valuation fit into complex international restructuring plans have been key to her success as a consultant. She joined the professional accounting firms as a consultant after 10 years of varied experience in senior management roles with well-established customs brokers/freight forwarders. Joy’s credentials include a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec in 1987. She later sought and received honours when writing for her qualified customs brokers’ status in 1990. In 1993, Joy gained her professional customs brokerage status.
William Polushin
Director and Founder, Program for International Competitiveness, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal
William Polushin is Founding Director of the Program for International Competitiveness: Trade and Innovation at McGill University. He is also President of AMAXIS Inc., an international business and operational development services firm headquartered in Montreal, and an Adjunct Professor in international competitiveness and management in the Desautels Faculty of Management. Over the past 17 years of his 22 years in industry, Mr. Polushin has been at the forefront of international business development across the Americas and, more recently, in South Asia and Europe. His experience spans several sectors and industries, including manufacturing, engineering and construction, environment, information technology, and transportation. Prior to establishing AMAXIS, Mr. Polushin worked with SNC-Lavalin International as Vice President Business Development, Mexico and the Caribbean. His professional credentials also include assignments with the Canadian Embassy in Chile and Petro-Canada Products. Mr. Polushin is President of the Canada-Mexico Education Foundation, past Chair of AmCham Canada’s Quebec Chapter, previously President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, and, in 2000, Member of the Strategic Infrastructure Committee for Mexican President Vicente Fox’s Transition Team. Mr. Polushin is a graduate of the North Americas Business Fellows Program – a trilateral MBA program offered by McGill University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. He also has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Finance and Marketing (with Distinction) from the University of Alberta.
Justine Thody
Editorial Director Americas, Economist Intelligence Unit, New York
Justine Thody is Editorial Director, Americas for the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group. Justine leads a team of expert editors who leverage the EIU’s country and industry expertise, economic modelling, and a proprietary global panel of 130,000 senior executives to develop fresh thinking on the leading strategic challenges facing decision makers across a range of industries and geographies. Having directed the EIU’s team of Latin America editors and economists for six years prior to 2010, Justine is one of the Economist Group’s leading experts on Latin America. She often speaks at high profile events on Latin America, the global economy, and the research conducted by the thought leadership team. Justine joined the EIU in 1998 as a Latin America analyst. Prior to 1998, Justine worked as a business analyst for McKinsey & Company, a management consultancy, and a political and security risk analyst for Control Risks Group, an international business risk consultancy. She is widely travelled, and holds a BA and an M.Phil from the University of Oxford and speaks Spanish and Portuguese.
Jared Mitchell
Managing Editor, Business without Borders and Awards Chairman, HSBC International Business Awards
Jared Mitchell is the managing editor of Business without Borders’ English-Canadian website and chairman of the HSBC International Business Awards. He has been a senior editor, associate foreign editor and features editor for Maclean’s and has served as senior contributing correspondent to Financial Post Magazine and contributing editor to Report on Business Magazine. He has written for most Canadian consumer magazines and has had a prolific freelance career in corporate writing. In addition he is a published novelist with three titles in print and is the inventor of on-line photonovellas. He has created art videos which have been exhibited around the world including at the legendary Oberhausen International Short Film Festival in Germany.
Stephen Callaghan
Regional Vice President – Ontario Region, Commercial Markets and Small Business, Export Development Canada
Stephen joined EDC in 2000 and is currently the Regional Vice-President for the Ontario Region at Export Development Canada (EDC). Stephen is responsible for the leadership of the Ontario team in the Commercial markets and Small Business segment at EDC. Stephen has held a variety of leadership positions at EDC, including District Manager for the regional office in Mississauga and Manager of the Ontario regional Contract Insurance and Bonding team. Stephen has a Bachelor of Commerce from McMaster University. EDC is Canada’s export credit agency, offering innovative commercial solutions to help Canadian exporters and investors expand their international business. EDC’s knowledge and partnerships are used by more than 8,300 Canadian companies and their global customers in up to 200 markets worldwide each year. EDC is financially self-sustaining and is a recognized leader in financial reporting, economic analysis and has been recognized as one of Canada’s Top 100 Employers for nine consecutive years.
Keith Head
Professor, Sauder School of Business, Strategy and Economics Division, HSBC Professorship of Asian Commerce, Vancouver
Keith Head is a Professor in the Strategy and Business Economics division at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. He holds the HSBC Professorship in Asian Commerce. Professor Head teaches courses on international business management, government and business and macroeconomics. He obtained his B.A. at Swarthmore College in 1986 and his Ph.D. in economics, supervised by Paul Krugman, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1991.Professor Head's research interests include international trade, multinational enterprises, and economic geography. His recent papers include “Quality Sorting and Trade: Evidence from French Wine” (The Review of Economic Studies, forthcoming) and “Gravity, Market Potential, and Economic Development” (Journal of Economic Geography, 2011). His current work estimates the impact of exchange rates on cross-border travel and examines the import sourcing patterns of Chinese cities.
Duncan Hood
Editor, Canadian Business
Duncan Hood is the editor of Canadian Business, the country's top business magazine. Prior to that, he was the editor of MoneySense for two years, during which time the personal finance magazine was named Magazine of the Year. He has also worked as a senior editor at Maclean's. Hood is one of Canada's top National Magazine Award winners, with three Golds, two Silvers, and six Honourable Mentions. He has degrees in journalism and physics and has completed the Canadian Securities Course.
Joy Nott
President, Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters, Toronto
Ms. Nott brings over 20 years of experience in customs compliance to the I.E. Canada team. Prior to joining I.E.Canada, Joy Nott was a Vice President and Managing Consultant for JPMorgan Global Trade Management Services based in the Toronto, Ontario area and specialized in matters of customs and international trade for both Canada and the U.S. based clients. Prior to joining J.P.Morgan, Joy spent a number of years developing her expertise employed as a Senior Manager with public accounting firms of KPMG LLP and Deloitte & Touche LLP as a Customs and International Trade consultant. The accounting firm environment provided her with extensive experience related to advising multinational clients in terms of meeting import and export requirements while minimizing costs. Her experience with professional tax and supply chain advisers has given her a background rich in understanding how customs and trade issues play an important role in developing corporate strategies. Her experience in advising how matters such as income tax transfer pricing and customs valuation fit into complex international restructuring plans have been key to her success as a consultant. She joined the professional accounting firms as a consultant after 10 years of varied experience in senior management roles with well-established customs brokers/freight forwarders. Joy’s credentials include a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec in 1987. She later sought and received honours when writing for her qualified customs brokers’ status in 1990. In 1993, Joy gained her professional customs brokerage status. In 2011, Joy gained her P.Log designation (Professional Logistician).
Stéphane Paquet
Associate Publisher and Editor in chief for Les Affaires Group
Stéphane Paquet has been the Editor-in-Chief of Les Affaires since September 2010. He has an illustrious career in journalism spanning 20 years and across a variety of roles and cities. Prior to Les Affaires, he spent seven years with La Presse in a number of positions including journalist, overseeing the economic reporting division and reporting abroad with five months spent in China in 2008. Stéphane has also worked at The Sun as an economic journalist followed by the National Assembly and held various roles across the Maritimes, Regina and Montreal. He holds a Masters in Communication from the University of Quebec in Montreal, and a Graduate Diploma in World Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
William Polushin
Director and Founder, Program for International Competitiveness, Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, Montreal
William Polushin is Founding Director of the Program for International Competitiveness: Trade and Innovation at McGill University. He is also President of AMAXIS Inc., an international business and operational development services firm headquartered in Montreal, and an Adjunct Professor in international competitiveness and management in the Desautels Faculty of Management. Over the past 18 years of his 23 years in industry, Mr. Polushin has been at the forefront of international business development across the Americas and, more recently, in South Asia and Europe. His experience spans several sectors and industries, including manufacturing, engineering and construction, environment, information technology, and transportation. Prior to establishing AMAXIS, Mr. Polushin worked with SNC-Lavalin International as Vice President Business Development, Mexico and the Caribbean. His professional credentials also include assignments with the Canadian Embassy in Chile and Petro-Canada Products. Mr. Polushin is President of the Canada-Mexico Education Foundation, past Chair of AmCham Canada’s Quebec Chapter, previously President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, and, in 2000, Member of the Strategic Infrastructure Committee for Mexican President Vicente Fox’s Transition Team. Mr. Polushin is a graduate of the North Americas Business Fellows Program – a trilateral MBA program offered by McGill University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey. He also has a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Finance and Marketing (with Distinction) from the University of Alberta.
Charlene Rooke
Group Editor, Custom Content, at The Globe and Mail
Charlene Rooke is the Group Editor, Custom Content, at The Globe and Mail, which produces magazines, special reports and in-newspaper series for blue-chip clients. The leader of consumer, custom and association magazine for 20 years, she is a former editor at Western Living, enRoute, Avenue (Calgary), Fairmont Magazine, Mercedes-Benz Magazine, Experience and the alumni magazines of the Universities of Alberta and Calgary. Her writing has also been published in Afar, Marie Claire, Flare, Fashion, Marketing, BC Business, Vancouver, WestWorld and online in OnAir andSparksheet. She is the author of travel guidebooks on Edmonton and Vancouver.
Justine Thody
Editorial Director Americas, Economist Intelligence Unit, New York
Justine Thody is Editorial Director, Americas for the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the business-to-business arm of The Economist Group. Justine leads a team of expert editors who leverage the EIU’s country and industry expertise, economic modelling, and a proprietary global panel of 130,000 senior executives to develop fresh thinking on the leading strategic challenges facing decision makers across a range of industries and geographies. Having directed the EIU’s team of Latin America editors and economists for six years prior to 2010, Justine is one of the Economist Group’s leading experts on Latin America. She often speaks at high profile events on Latin America, the global economy, and the research conducted by the thought leadership team. Justine joined the EIU in 1998 as a Latin America analyst. Prior to 1998, Justine worked as a business analyst for McKinsey & Company, a management consultancy, and a political and security risk analyst for Control Risks Group, an international business risk consultancy. She is widely travelled, and holds a BA and an M.Phil from the University of Oxford and speaks Spanish and Portuguese.
Jared Mitchell
Managing Editor, Business without Borders and Awards Chairman, HSBC International Business Awards
Jared Mitchell is the managing editor of Business without Borders’ English-Canadian website and chairman of the HSBC International Business Awards. He has been a senior editor, associate foreign editor and features editor for Maclean’s and has served as senior contributing correspondent to Financial Post Magazine and contributing editor to Report on Business Magazine. He has written for most Canadian consumer magazines and has had a prolific freelance career in corporate writing. In addition he is a published novelist with three titles in print and is the inventor of on-line photonovellas. He has created art videos which have been exhibited around the world including at the legendary Oberhausen International Short Film Festival in Germany.
Does your company have an international success story to share?
Know a company that deserves to be considered for these awards?
Step 1. Review the Awards Criteria below.
Step 2. Select one of the following options:
I want to nominate a company for the Business without Borders HSBC International Business Awards
Nominate »I would like to fill out an application form
Application Form »Nomination Form:
Did you mean to Apply? Click hereIs there a Canadian company that you admire? Nominate them here. The deadline for nominations to be received is March 16, 2012.
Award Criteria:
- Operating for at least two years continuously since January 1, 2010
- Registered in Canada
- Majority (at least 50.1%) Canadian-owned (as defined in the Investment Canada Act)
- A significant portion of business generated from outside Canada: at least 10% of revenue must have come from exports or service contracts, in each of your two most recent fiscal years
- Small-to-medium enterprise category: revenue between CAD$5 million and $50 million in your company’s most recent fiscal year
- Large enterprise category: revenue of more than CAD$50 million in your company’s most recent fiscal year
- Leadership in Asia-Pacific: at least 10% of your company’s total revenue must have been derived from exports to or service contracts in the Asia-Pacific region in each of your two most recent fiscal years
- Leadership in Latin America: at least 10% of your company’s total revenue must have been derived from exports to or service contracts in the Latin American region in each of your two most recent fiscal years
Applicants are also judged in part on their dedication to corporate social responsibility.
Winners will be announced at a gala celebration on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 in Toronto, ON.
The 2011 Winners
The inaugural HSBC International Business Awards received over 60 entries across all categories. The overall quality of the submissions was excellent, which demonstrates the success and sophistication of Canadian companies doing business in the global marketplace.
Read on below to learn more about the winning companies, and how they are leading the way in delivering Canadian products and services to the world.
International Business of the Year
Awarded for overall excellence in doing business abroad, through innovative export strategies, understanding of foreign markets and their ability to overcome challenges. Two awards were given: one for small-to-medium enterprises and one for large enterprises.
Small Medium Enterprise
Company name: Toon Boom
Company info:
Toon Boom Animation Inc. is a global leader in animation software, offering user-friendly animation applications. Toon Boom caters to the needs of children, home users, creative professionals as well as students, educators and schools.
Why they won: By effectively positioning its software it has helped foster animation schools and industries throughout the world. The company caters to educators across the globe as well as major film makers in the world’s established animation capitals.
Link to more information about winner >>
Large Enterprise
Company name: Forensic Technology
Company info:
Forensic Technology has developed an international standard with its Integrated Ballistic Identification System that allows crime lab technicians to automate, digitize and integrate information from bullets and casings.
Why they won: By balancing people, processes and technology Forensic Technology has helped customers to maximize use of the product so they could better solve crimes.
Link to more information about winner >>
Leadership in International Trade
HSBC has honoured companies who have made extraordinary success out of their ventures in two of the world’s fast-growing regions: Latin America and Asia-Pacific
Asia Pacific
Company name: B+H Architects
Company info:
B+H Architects are a global architectural firm headquartered in Toronto and with eight international offices. It has expertise in design, problem-solving and construction of large, technically complex projects around the world.
Why they won: By understanding the significant opportunities developing in the Asia-Pacific region and by co-ordinating the capabilities of all their global offices, B+H has won some of the Far East’s most challenging and prestigious architectural contracts.
Link to more information about winner >>
Latin America
Company name: Bassett & Walker International (BWI)
Company info:
BWI is major agricultural commodities broker, linking farmers in Latin America with food processors around the world.
Why they won: BWI assumes risk on behalf of each player in the value chain and reduces wasted food with efficiencies. It has reduced the number of parties handling food transactions through its proprietary Online Trading System software. In addition its multilingual and peripatetic staff stay in constant personal contact with trading partners.
Link to more information about winner >>
2011 Gala celebration
May 10, 2011
Toronto - Art Gallery of Ontario
Winners were announced and recognized for their hard work and success in growing their businesses internationally at a gala celebration held Tuesday, May 10th, 2011, at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
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