Partner, Strategy and Leadership
Margaret Zanel is an accomplished executive advisor, business strategist, entrepreneur, and executive leadership coach. She has over 30 years of experience in Fortune 100 organizations and private equity-backed early growth companies and start-ups in Canada, the US, and globally. Margaret is recognized for her expertise in strategy, leadership, business transformation, and marketing in high growth sectors including technology, consumer goods, cannabis, and retail health and wellness.
As an experienced leader and entrepreneur, Margaret has an intense passion for helping companies achieve their goals. She believes that businesses can drive revenue growth with proper guidance and that executives with the right plan can reach their leadership potential.
Margaret Zanel
Prior to Wentworth, Margaret served as Vice President, Strategy, Marketing, and IT at Xerox Canada, where she led the organization's strategy office, business transformation, digital marketing, and sales operations for a decade. Before joining Xerox, she was a pioneer in the tech space and worked in Silicon Valley start-ups with a focus on omni-channel communications, customer care, and customer relationship management.
Margaret is a passionate advocate of diversity, inclusion, and women's advancement in executive leadership and on boards. She is a sought-after speaker and delivers powerful and engaging keynote experiences. Her trademark themes include women’s leadership, the path to executive leadership, pivoting from corporate roles to entrepreneurship, and diversity & inclusion. Margaret is also a co-instructor of the DeGroote School of Business’ Executive Education program on equity, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and was recently appointed lead facilitator of the Toronto Board of Trade's Trade Accelerator Program for women-owned businesses and high-tech cohorts across Canada.
Margaret currently serves in two advisory roles in women-owned start-ups: as an advisor to HerRide, Canada's first women driving women ride-hailing membership-based company, and as an advisor to a global conservation tech start-up WildTechDNA. She also acts as an Entrepreneur in Residence with the Ella Accelerator, Ontario's first accelerator focused on supporting women-led product and service-based businesses.
Margaret is an alumna of the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, where she completed an MBA specializing in International Business and an Honours Bachelor of Commerce focused on marketing. She served as a member of the McMaster Alumni Association Board of Directors and is a guest lecturer at McMaster University on strategic planning and regularly mentors MBA students looking for guidance as they enter the workforce.
She is dedicated to giving back and is an alumna of the Judy Project. In 2018, Margaret was selected as one of Diversity MBA Magazine's "Top 50 over 50", and in 2020 Margaret was recognized as one of Diversity MBA Magazine’s, "Top 100 Women of Influence".