BARBARA MCKENZIE
Ms. McKenzie has a long career as a leader, entrepreneur and supporter of small business in Alberta.
She has previously held roles as CEO and Executive Director at Business Link and the Leduc-Nisku Economic Development Association, as well as several senior leadership positions in marketing and brand at Goodwill Industries of Alberta, ATB Financial, and Alberta Pensions Administration.
Ms. McKenzie has an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta and a Diploma in Marketing from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. She holds several certifications in corporate governance, project management, economic development and more.
Ms. McKenzie recently helped support the development of the City of Edmonton’s new innovation entity, Edmonton Unlimited. In her role as Director, Strategic and Operational Growth, she led a portfolio focused on EDI, ESG, revenue generation, government relations, facility management, strategy and business planning, and partnership development.
Ms. McKenzie has led several of her own entrepreneurial ventures, including DB McKenzie Group, which is focused on leading technology in the drone and UAV space to service industries such as construction, energy, agriculture and utilities.
Ms. McKenzie is known for her innovative thinking, with a passion for disruption and a deep knowledge of community. She has built lasting relationships across her career and her leadership will catalyze the growth of MSDC to support economic equality for Metis communities in Alberta.
Ms. McKenzie also gives back to her community and is currently the Vice-chair, and governance chair, for the Christmas Bureau of Edmonton, a board director with Events Edmonton, and sits on Red Deer Polytechnic Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing, and is the chair of the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology School of Business Entrepreneurship Program Advisory Committee. She is a seasoned public speaker and has won awards for many of her initiatives and projects.