Linda Hasenfratz

Linda Hasenfratz is an award-winning businesswoman and the CEO of Guelph-based Linamar, Canada’s second-largest automobile parts manufacturer. Her father, Frank Hasenfratz, established the company in 1966, soon after arriving as a refugee from Hungary. Armed with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Western Ontario, Hasenfratz joined her father’s firm in 1990. She worked her way up from machine operator to CEO, earning an Executive MBA, also from Western, in the process. She assumed leadership of Linamar from her father in 2002, and by 2009, the company’s profits had begun to surge, a trend that has continued. Under her leadership, Linamar has established 60 manufacturing locations in 17 countries. The recipient of several honorary degrees and many prestigious awards, including Earnst and Young’s 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year, Hasenfratz is a dynamic and inspiring advocate for women in STEM careers.

“What’s most important to me is the message to other women out there that they can take their businesses wherever they want. Gender doesn’t matter when you’re an entrepreneur.”