Convocation Speaker Kyle MacDonald Honorary Degree Recipient Thursday, June 20, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
founded Harbour Grace Holdings Inc. in 2015 and became involved in several international business ventures. One venture saw her become a strategic owner and CEO of Airia Brands Inc., a leading manufacturer of ventilation and air purification systems. Under her leadership, the company’s sales and profits tripled, catching the eye of Swiss-based Zehnder Group AG, which acquired Airia in 2022. Her newest venture is a winery in Elgin County that she is busy transforming into a tourism destination and wine-making facility under the Skye Chase Estate Winery brand. Kyle’s successful business accomplishments have always fuelled her philanthropic goals. A passionate advocate of higher education, Kyle supports numerous scholarships at her former Toronto high school and at Western University. MacDonald has also been an avid supporter of Women’s Community House, First Responders, and the Canadian military through the Support our Troops organization. In 2018, she made the largest private donation ever to St. Joseph’s Health Care Foundation to support the Veteran’s Care Program and she is a long-time champion of the David Foster Foundation, which provides critical support to families with children undergoing transplant surgeries. Throughout her career, MacDonald has been honoured for her achievements, including receiving the RBC Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award twice (2006 and 2014), the Ontario Global Trader Award, Deloitte Fast 50 Award, Ontario Chamber of Commerce Award, London Chamber of Commerce Business Achievement Award, as well as the YMCA Women of Excellence Award. She is also a London and District Business Hall of Fame Laureate.
After graduating from the Ivey Business School at Western University, Kyle MacDonald started Phoenix Interactive Design Inc. in 1987 and entered the high- stakes world of banking software. Headquartered in London, Ontario, MacDonald transformed her small graphic design and software company into an international organization with offices in five countries. In the self-service banking industry, she is known as a visionary and status quo disrupter who fearlessly took on an industry dominated by only a few suppliers. Her passion and common-sense approach to making business decisions have earned the respect and admiration of her team, peers, and the self-service banking industry. Prior to its sale in 2015, Phoenix delivered innovative software solutions to some of the largest banks and retailers around the world. True to her entrepreneurial roots, MacDonald
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