Betty-Ann Heggie was a pioneer in the Canadian investor relations field. When PotashCorp (now Nutrien) went from a government owned company to being publicly traded in 1989, she was an integral part of the team to make that dream a reality. Following the IPO, she assumed the role of VP Investor Relations with instructions from the CEO, “none of us have been publicly traded so figure it out and don’t get us in trouble”. With no other publicly traded potash companies there was limited knowledge of the company’s commodity and even less liquidity in the shares which were dropping quickly. It was trial by fire, but she developed an analyst following and put in place an active IR program. When the markets understood the company’s strategy and could see results, it was rewarded with substantial share price increases and the highest multiples in its sector. It also garnered recognition for Betty-Ann when the IR Magazine readers voted her the top Canadian IR person in the US market.
During her time with PotashCorp, Betty-Ann was responsible for all areas that affected the company’s reputation. She encouraged the board to adopt a corporate governance program before it was popular to do so, making PotashCorp a leader in this field. She then advised them on the latest in governance issues to keep the company living her vision for “Best Practices”. The corporate sustainability program was her brainchild demonstrating her desire for PotashCorp to “walk the talk” in protecting the environment and its employees while improving the bottom line. Under her leadership, PotashCorp received the Award of Excellence from the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants for three consecutive years. She is a big believer in the value of building trust through transparency.
Since retiring from the field, Betty-Ann has used her time to mentor women in business forging a path for others to follow. A widely recognized thought leader in gender dynamics she has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Inc. Magazine, Apple News, Huffington Post and The Good Men Project. An award-winning speaker, mentor, and author she published the book “Gender Physics, Unlock the Energy You Never Knew You had to get the Results You Want”. In it, she shares many early IR stories. Betty-Ann has been named a Distinguished Speaker by The Canadian Mining Institute, given the Trailblazer Award from Women in Mining Canada and named one of the 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, the Saskatchewan Business Hall of Fame, given the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the YWCA Lifetime Achievement Award and the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Mentorship Award. Betty-Ann currently serves on the board of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) where she initiated the ‘Share Her Journey’ program to get more women’s stories told by women and she spearheaded a mentorship program at the Edwards School of Business, designed to keep women in the workforce and get them to the decision-making table.
