Meet the Finalists — 2026 Awards

01 — 5 finalists

Woman of the Year

Honouring a woman whose leadership has changed lives beyond her own field.

Dahabo Ahmed-Omer

Chief Executive Officer, BlackNorth Initiative

Leads one of Canada's foremost CEO-driven movements against anti-Black systemic racism, working with companies representing more than $1 trillion in combined market value.

Farah Nasser

Journalist, keynote speaker and board member, Canadian Journalism Foundation

Spent 25 years as one of Canada's most trusted news anchors, then stepped away at the height of her career to speak and advocate on leadership, trust and technology.

Yasmeen Khan

Founder, The Intentional Currency · Co-Founder, Mali Invest

Built one of the leading financial literacy platforms for Muslim women, now reaching women in more than 80 countries.

Zena Chaudhry

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sakeenah Canada and Sakeenah US

Founded a shelter and support network for women, children and families that has grown into a nationally recognized organization serving tens of thousands.

Fatima Laher

Deputy Chair, Deloitte Canada & Chile

From a segregated school under apartheid to the most senior governance role below the Chair at a $4-billion firm — and decades spent opening doors for others.

Chosen your Woman of the Year?

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02 — 5 finalists

Entrepreneur of the Year

Honouring a founder who built something that outgrew the idea it started from.

Flordeliza Dayrit

Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Milo Productions Inc.

Co-wrote and directed an animated feature that opened in more than 1,600 theatres worldwide, and has produced over 50 television series for young audiences.

Robleh Jama

Founder, Tomorrow · Co-creator of the Shop app

Started making iPhone apps instead of just downloading them, sold his studio to Shopify, and co-created a shopping app now used by more than 100 million people.

Dr. Mohamad Sawwaf

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Manzil

Built North America's leading Islamic finance company, with more than $250 million under management, and helped shape federal halal mortgage policy in Canada.

Danish Yusuf

CEO and Co-Founder, Zensurance

Founded Zensurance, Canada's leading insurtech for small-business coverage, growing it to a team of 350+ and a network of more than 50 insurance carriers.

Salman Ebrahim

Founder, Lucid Corp

Founder of a North American leader in custom PET food packaging, proving that 100% recyclable, high-performance solutions and commercial success can go hand in hand.

Chosen your Entrepreneur of the Year?

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03 — 6 finalists

Professional Excellence

Honouring sustained excellence at the top of a profession.

Justice Faisal Mirza

Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Central West Region

Argued leading cases at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada for twenty years before his appointment, and co-founded the Sentencing and Parole Project.

Farah Khan

Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services, Trillium Health Partners

The first hijab-wearing executive at Canada's largest academic community hospital, and a 2025 Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing.

Nadia Malik

Aerospace and business transformation executive, Bombardier

More than 20 years shaping some of the industry's most significant aircraft programs, and transformation work that generated over $400 million in enterprise value.

Rizwan Khalfan

Executive Vice President and Vice Chair, Strategic Growth, Innovation & Partnerships, TD Bank Group

Nearly 25 years at TD translating emerging technology into business outcomes, including the digital work behind the bank's #1 J.D. Power mobile ranking.

Zahid Fazal

Managing Partner, Assurance, EY Canada

Twenty-nine years of audit experience across mining, aerospace, shipping and technology, and the leader of EY Canada's digital and data analytics strategy.

Zahid Salman

President and Chief Executive Officer, GreenShield

Led GreenShield's transformation into Canada's first non-profit “payer-provider,” growing it more than 2.5 times to serve eight million Canadians.

Chosen your Professional Excellence?

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04 — 5 finalists

Trailblazer in Science, Research & Technology

Honouring discovery that left the lab and changed practice.

Dr. Aadil Ali

Vice President, Clinical Development, Traferox Technologies

His work on 10°C organ preservation extended the safe window for donor lungs from 6–8 hours to beyond 24, and is now standard of care in transplant programs worldwide.

Dr. Baseer Khan

Ophthalmologist and Founder, Clarity Eye Institute

Grew a single Scarborough office into Ontario's largest ophthalmic group, designed surgical instruments used internationally, and runs eye camps in Jordan and Lebanon.

Dr. Jibran Khokhar

Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair, Western University

Canada Research Chair in Translational Neuropsychopharmacology, with 90+ papers and open-source neuroscience tools built for labs in low-resource settings.

Dr. Maha Othman

Professor, Queen's University · Clinician-scientist in hemostasis

Chairs the international committee that sets standards for diagnosing disseminated intravascular coagulation, with more than 140 peer-reviewed publications.

Dr. Ali Ghorbani

Professor & Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Cybersecurity; Founding Director, Canadian Institute for Cybersecurity

Four decades advancing cybersecurity in Canada — 300+ papers, four patents, three startups, and the founding of the country's first dedicated cybersecurity institute.

Chosen your Trailblazer in Science, Research & Technology?

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05 — 5 finalists

Artist of the Year

Honouring work that carries a culture forward.

Chef Moeen Abuzaid

Chef, Arbequina · Toronto

Left Amman for New York with a few words of English, and now reimagines the cuisine of his homeland through a zero-waste kitchen in Roncesvalles.

Farkhunda Muhtaj

Captain, Afghanistan Women's National Team · Social activist

Led the evacuation of more than 300 Afghans, including the Afghanistan Youth National Team, in 2021 — a story told in two award-winning documentaries.

Rubaba Mohammadi

Painter · Founder, Rubaba Art and Cultural Center

Unable to use her hands or feet, she drew her first line holding a pencil between her teeth. Today she is known as “the Mother of Painting in Afghanistan.”

Sabreen El Awad

Filmmaker, poet and cultural organizer · Founder, Frames of Sudan

Her debut film documented the neglected histories of Canada's first Muslim communities; her poetry works through memory, exile and spiritual identity.

Tazeen Qayyum

Multidisciplinary artist · Co-founder, Art Address

Trained in South Asian and Persian miniature painting, with work in the Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Mill Museum in Qatar, and the Welt Museum in Vienna.

Chosen your Artist of the Year?

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