Christine Magee
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Christine Magee (born November 7, 1959, Toronto, Canada) is a well known spokesperson for and President of Sleep Country Canada. In October 1994, she co-founded the company with Steven Gunn and Gordon Lownds. By 2004, the company had expanded to 89 stores, with over 600 employees and operations in three provinces. Ms. Magee is on the Board of directors for McDonald's Canada and Cott Corporation.
“Christine Magee offers an outstanding example of the entrepreneurial spirit. She helped start Sleep Country Canada with virtually nothing, and grew it into a tremendous success by taking smart risks – not gambles,” said Scott Carson, Dean of Wilfred Laurier School of Business Education. “She brings energy and enthusiasm to everything she does, including a range of community activities, demonstrating a strong sense of social responsibility.”
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[edit] Early life
Magee attended Turner Fenton Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario.
[edit] Career
In 1982, Magee graduated from the Richard Ivey School of Business in London, Ontario with an Honours in Business Administration (HBA). Her first job after university was with Continental Bank as a Commercial Accounts Manager. In 1985 she joined the National Bank of Canada as Senior Manager of Corporate and Commercial Lending.
In 1994, Magee and her business partners launched the first four Sleep Country locations in Vancouver. In an interview with Business Edge News Magazine, Gord Lownds said, "We had known Christine in her days as a banker at National Bank, where she was actually a lender for a couple of buyout transactions we had done. For a number of reasons, we were looking for a third partner who longer-term could take over and run the business on a permanent basis. She fit the bill on a number of fronts. I was convinced that she wasn't a lifelong banker because she had more entrepreneurial spirit than I would expect in a banker."
The chain expanded into Toronto, opening 19 stores, 1996. Over the next year, more stores were opened in Southern Ontario and Calgary. By 2001, the chain had over 100 stores in six regional markets and controlled an estimated 40% of market in regions where it operated.
In 2006, Ms. Magee was the United Way of Greater Toronto's Retail Chair, and a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization, the Rouge Valley Regional Health Centre Foundation and the Richard Ivey School of Business' Advisory Council and the Entrepreneurship Council.
[edit] Awards
- 1997- Recognized as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40
- 1998- The Financial Post named her and Steven Gunn the Ontario Entrepreneur of the Year, Retail/Wholesale
- 1999- Named the Consumers’ Choice Toronto Business Woman of the Year
- 2003- Guest Speaker at Annual Influential Women in Business Speaker Series
- 2005- Inducted into the Canadian Retail Hall of Fame, Retail Council of Canada
- 2006- Recipient of CIRAS Henry Singer Award for exceptional leadership in the retailing and services sectors
[edit] Personal
Magee lives in Oakville, Ontario with her husband and two children.
[edit] External links
- Mentor Program
- Sleep Country Investor Relations
- Wilfred Laurier University News
- Interview with The Globe and Mail
- Bio from The Learning Partnership
- Live and Learn: Christine Magee
- UWO Alumni Gazette
- Christine Magee reveals her workout regimen
- Influential Women in Business
- Top 40 under 40 for 1997
- Canadian Institute of Retailing and Services (CIRAS)
- Aural entrepreneur hears market's call
