Lisa de Wilde
Lisa de Wilde believes in the power of media to engage, to inform, and to serve the public good. Since her appointment in 2005 as TVO’s CEO, Lisa has ushered in a new era for Ontario’s public educational media organization, leading its transformation to a fully-digital, interactive source of multi-platform educational content that empowers people to be engaged citizens of Ontario.
Lisa’s dedication to a strong Canadian media sector began upon her graduation from McGill University’s law school, when she joined the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission as legal counsel. While with the CRTC, she also served as Director General-Cable Television, Specialty and Pay Television Service. Lisa practiced law in Montreal (where she was a partner at Heenan Blaikie). As Astral Television’s President and CEO, she was instrumental in transforming the then-declining pay TV category into highly successful branded television networks, and in supporting the Canadian film-making community.
The world of film is a passion for Lisa, which she has combined with her commitment to contributing to the growth of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), heading up the Festival board’s Finance Committee. Her other not-for-profit and private sector boards and advisory boards include the Canadian Digital Media Network Advisory Board; the McGill University Desautels Faculty of Management, International Advisory Board; the University of Toronto’s Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation Advisory Board; the Noranda Income Fund (she is Chair of the Board of Trustees); the Consumers Waterheater Income Fund and the Government of Ontario’s Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress. Fluently bilingual, Lisa champions the cause of educational broadcasters across the country as the Chair of ATEC (The Association for Tele-Education in Canada), and represents TVO internationally as an Executive Committee member of the CBA (Commonwealth Broadcasting Association).
In 2009 Lisa de Wilde was among the country’s highest achieving women leaders to be recognized with the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 award.
