Penny Wise elected new Chair of Canadian Chamber of Commerce

OTTAWA, October 18, 2024 – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce announced today the election of Penny Wise, VP, Global Public Affairs at 3M, and former President of 3M Canada, as Chair of its board of directors for 2024-2026. Ms. Wise joined the board in 2020 and served as Vice-Chair from 2023-2024, and co-chaired the Canadian Chamber’s Council for Women’s Advocacy.

“I’ve had the great pleasure of working with Penny for many years, and she brings to the table a robust understanding of what it takes to not only achieve the core business objectives of an organization, but advance an organization’s brand, build its profile and lead on issues of critical importance, both nationally and internationally” said Candace Laing, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. “As our board Chair, Penny will help us show Canadians the critical role our Chamber Network and businesses are playing in our society.”

Ms. Wise was a marketing leader in the Canadian hardware industry before joining 3M in 2000 and has held a variety of progressive senior leadership roles in business, commercialization, brand and corporate marketing, including as the former Executive Director of the Canadian Consumer business group. 

“The role that business plays in our society is growing, and that makes the Canadian Chamber Network all the more important to Canadian prosperity,” said Ms. Wise. “We know that Canadians trust businesses to help find solutions to our greatest challenges at the community level, to grow the economy, and make life better for everyone. As board Chair, I’m excited to help us capitalize on business’ role in advancing Canadian prosperity as we head into the Canadian Chamber’s centennial in 2025.”

Ms. Wise began her 3M career at the Canadian head office based in London, Ontario. In 2021, she established a cadence of 3M STEMtalk workshops – bringing together a multidisciplinary cohort of Canadian industry leaders to explore barriers to equitable access to STEM education for underrepresented communities and ideate actionable solutions to remove those barriers. As a result, 3M rallied partners to look at the way STEM is taught and accessed in Canada and help influence the move from STEM role models to champions. 

Ms. Wise holds an MBA from York University, with a specialization in Marketing. She has experience as a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and has been responsible for several successful, award-winning marketing transformation projects at 3M.   

With consideration of her community connection to London, Ontario, Ms. Wise was sworn in this morning by Kristen Duever, COO of the London Chamber of Commerce, during the Canadian Chamber’s Annual General Meeting and Convention, which is being held at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel, in Halifax, NS, from October 17 to October 19, 2024.

Carman McNary, Senior Counsel, Dentons Canada LLP, will become Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors.

About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce — The Future of Business Success 

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is Canada’s largest and most activated business network — representing over 400 chambers of commerce and boards of trade and more than 200,000 business of all sizes, from all sectors of the economy and from every part of the country — working to create the conditions for our collective success. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the undisputed champion and catalyst for the future of business success. From working with government on economy-friendly policy to providing services that inform commerce and enable trade, we give each of our members more of what they need to succeed: insight into markets, competitors and trends, influence over the decisions and policies that drive business success and impact on business and economic performance.   

Contact 

Karl Oczkowski 
Senior Director, Corporate Communications and PR 
613.238.4000 (2231) 
koczkowski@chamber.ca