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Shirley DaweShirley Dawe

Shirley Dawe has extensive experience as a senior executive, consultant and corporate director of leading retailers and marketers of branded consumer goods.

In the mid 80’s, Shirley was at the forefront of the Canadian Department Store retailing scene.  As an accomplished merchandising executive, she rose to the position of National General Manager of Fashion for The Hudson’s Bay Company responsible for more than half the company’s revenues.

Following fifteen years of successful performance with The Bay, Shirley went on to build a retail consulting practice specializing in the areas of strategic planning, merchandise management and marketing in both the traditional and online channels.  She co-authored an extensive study, Top of the E-Class, ranking the best E-retailers in North America.

Her expertise was recognized with her appointment to the Canadian Government's Task Force (1984) and the Ontario Government's Retail Sector Task Force (1995) to assist the industry in developing a long-term strategy and increase competitiveness. As a part-time faculty member at Ryerson Polytechnic University in the nineties, she taught retail management, marketing and merchandising.

In 2005, Shirley expanded her advisory offering to include an executive coaching and mentoring service to help individuals and teams maximize their unique talents in support of their professional and personal goals.

Shirley’s experience has led to a number of appointments to the Boards of Directors of several public and private corporations, as well as positions on the Advisory Boards of academic institutions.

Currently, she is a director on the Boards of several public corporations including National Bank of Canada, Birks & Mayors Inc.; Bon Ton Department Stores. Shirley studied Economics at the University of British Columbia and at McGill University in Montreal.