Jodi Kovitz

Jodi Kovitz (born in 1978) is a Canadian lawyer and nonprofit executive.[1] She is the founder and CEO of #MoveTheDial,[2] an organization to advance the participation and leadership of women in tech.[3][4]

Jodi Kovitz
Born
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
NationalityCanadian
EducationUniversity of Western Ontario (Honours Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts, Richard Ivey School of Business) Osgood Hall Law School (Bachelor of Laws)
OccupationFounder and CEO
Board member ofToronto Global, Toronto Sickkids' hospital Capital Campaign Cabinet, Lazaridis Institute Advisory Board
Websitejodikovitz.com

Background

Kovitz was born in Calgary, Alberta, the daughter of lawyer Jeff Kovitz and Karen Katchen.[5] She has five siblings. Her father was a lawyer and is currently a businessman; her mother is a psychologist and executive coach.

Her mother moved to Toronto, Ontario and married Bernie Katchen when Kovitz was six years old. She attended Forest Hill Collegiate Institute in Toronto.

In 1997 she enrolled at the University of Western Ontario at the Ivey Business School. She graduated in 2000 with a degree in Honours Business Administration, Bachelor of Arts. While at Western, she founded HandHeld Cards, a small business venture. She also created the CT Investment Challenge, an student focused, internet based game to raise funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada;[6] Kovitz studied international finance, at Commerciale L. Bocconi, Milan in Italy from January to June 2000.

In 2003 Kovitz enrolled in Osgoode Hall Law School. She graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Laws.

Career

After graduating from business school, Kovitz worked at WorkBrain as a marketing specialist from 2000 through 2001.[7] In 2002 she joined Scotiabank, working in leadership resource management.

Kovitz was called to the Ontario Bar in 2006 and was an associate in the family law department of Torkin Manes from 2006 until 2011. In 2011 she joined Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, directing client and business development, and leading growth initiatives.[8] She continued in this role for five years;[9] in 2014 she also volunteered as political advisor to lawyer Ari Goldkind during his campaign for mayor of Toronto.[10]

In 2016 Kovitz became the chief executive officer of AceTech Ontario, a peer to peer community of technology executives.[11] This organization was later renamed PeerScale. That year she joined John Tory's trade delegation to Israel.[12]

In 2017 Kovitz, with five others, organized the first Elevate Toronto event, a three-day festival which promoted Canadian innovation.[13][14] That year she founded #movethedial, a global social enterprise with a mission to advance the participation of women in tech. In her role as CEO,[11] Kovitz participated in the writing of "Where's the Dial Now?", a study examining the current state of women in the tech and innovation community in Canada, a collaboration between #movethedial, PwC Canada and MARS.[15]

After organizing local talks in its first year, in 2018 #movethedial held a full-day conference in Toronto, with about 1,000 attendees, presenting workshops and speakers from the tech community;[16] a second conference in 2019 drew about 3,000 attendees.[17]

In 2018 Kovitz spoke at the Jewish Ethics Defined (JEDx) conference in Toronto.[18] That year she helped organize the successful campaign for the re-election of John Tory, Mayor of Toronto.

Kovitz also sits the advisory boards of Brim Financial, Maple, and Toronto Global.[2]

Kovitz hosts the podcast series "Joyful Sundays".[19]

Community

Kovitz is part of the Sickkids' Hospital Capital Campaign Cabinet[20] which raises money for pediatric health in Ontario; as part of that initiative she is co-chair of the #tech4SickKids fundraising committee.

Awards and recognition

Kovitz was recognized as one of Canada's 25 Women of Influence in 2018[3] Her name appeared on the list of WXN's Canada 100 most powerful women in 2017 and again in 2019.[21] Kovitz was named the International Association of Business Communicators/Toronto, Communicator of the Year for 2020.[22]

References
  1. "23 Canadian women currently making big moves in the tech scene". Daily Hive, Kathryn Kyte | March 4 2019
  2. Mayne, Paul (December 18, 2017). "Alumnae named among Canada's Most Powerful". Western News. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  3. Eldor, Karin. "How The Founder Of #MoveTheDial Is Turning Tech into A Girls' Club". Forbes. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  4. "John Tory at SXSW: Sidewalk Labs privacy critics are 'rushing to judgment'". NOW Toronto, by Radheyan Simonpillai, March 12, 2019
  5. "What makes these siblings so successful? An executive coach - their mother - fills us in". The Globe and Mail, James Cowan, October 25, 2019
  6. "Boy Wonder". Pivot Magazine, via CPA Canada website. May 7, 2018 | Luc Rinaldi
  7. Bobak, Laura (April 2, 2007). "Workbrain agrees to $227M buyout". The Star. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  8. Racanelli, Helen (September 9, 2015). "Good News From Bay Street: It's never been better to be a woman in law". Precedent magazine.
  9. Melissa Vekil, "Jodi Kovics". National Post, 2018-06-26. via ressReader
  10. "Defence lawyer Ari Goldkind finishes fourth in mayoral election". Precedent Magazine, By Daniel Fish, October 28th, 2014
  11. Cole, Trevor (October 23, 2019). "#movethedial founder Jodi Kovitz on her mission to get more women in tech's top ranks". The Globe and Mail.
  12. "Gender, racial diversity part of city’s tech push". Toronto Star, David Rider, June 15, 2017
  13. "Diversity is Canada’s strength, Elevate Toronto cofounder says". IT Business, Eric Emin Wood, September 13th, 2017
  14. "Lack of women still a huge glitch in Toronto's tech market". City News, by Amanda Ferguson, Sep 13, 2017
  15. Ligaya, Armina (November 1, 2017). "Only 5% of Canadian tech companies have female chief executives: report". Canadian Press, via National Post. Retrieved November 24, 2019.
  16. "Big tech companies talk best practices for more diverse and inclusive workplace at #MoveTheDial". IT World Canada, Shruti Shekar, November 9th, 2018
  17. "Moving the Dial for Black youth". The Caribbean Camera, November 29, 2019
  18. "JEDx attendees hear Jewish ideas worth sharing". Canadian Jewish News, By Alex Rose - June 14, 2018
  19. "Joyful Sundays - Jodi Kovitz, Origins Media Haus, Quill". Spotify. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  20. "A tale of paying it forward to the Toronto hospital that saved her daughter". The Globe and Mail, Paul WaldieEurope, November 9, 2018
  21. "Ivey alumnae recognized as Canada’s Most Powerful Women". Ivey News, Ivey Business School, Dec 2, 2019
  22. "Communicator of the Year (COTY)". IABC/Toronto. Retrieved June 15, 2020.


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