The Boardies
Canada’s Best Private Boards is a new annual awards program and summit – the first of its kind in Canada – that recognizes the impact of great governance on the performance of private companies.
We are looking for transformational stories of boards and of board members that have helped make their companies great.
How it Works
Nominations: November 7th, 2024 to March 1st, 2025
Program Submission Period: March 1st, 2025 to April 30th, 2025
Submission Interviews: May 15th, 2025 to June 1st, 2025
Judging Committee Vote: June 12th, 2025
Winners Announced: June 24th, 2025
Summit and Awards: November 5th, 2025
Award Categories
In 2025, we will continue to blaze a trail, recognizing the impact of governance on the performance of private companies.
We will recognize both advisory boards and fiduciary boards, in the following categories:
Family Business
Unrelated Shareholder Ownership / Investment backed
Employee-Owned
Family Office
We will also recognize significant individual contributions, in both advisory and fiduciary boards, in private companies:
The Trailblazer Award
This award recognizes the outstanding contributions made to a private company and to its board by an individual board member, committee chair or executive chair.
Eligibility
Canadian organizations or Canadian subsidiary organizations, privately-owned and for-profit, with $5M or more in annual revenue;
Or individual board chairs/members of Canadian organizations or Canadian subsidiary organizations, privately-owned and for-profit, with $5M or more in annual revenue.
Associated Costs
There is no cost to participate in the nomination or submission process.
The awards and conference in November 2025 will have associated registration costs.
Nominations
Nomination is the first step. Nominated boards/board members will be asked to make a written submission on or before April 30th, 2025 (see below).
Your board can be nominated, or, you can self-nominate.
In the same sense, you as an individual can be nominated, or, you can self-nominate (specific to The Trailblazer Award).
Nominators can be on a board themselves or simply have knowledge of a board doing great things.
We are looking for transformational stories of boards and of board members that have helped make their companies great!
“Privately held SMEs drive the Canadian economy, and boards – both fiduciary and advisory – are increasingly becoming the strategic engines of those organizations. Great governance drives performance and it’s time to recognize that.”
– Jennifer Mondoux, CEO, MondouxRollins Partners Inc.; Founder and Chair, Canada’s Best Private Boards
Submissions
Nominated boards/board members will be asked to make a written submission on or before April 30th, 2025. The submission will include six categories (Core Business, Board Journey, Impact on Organizational Performance, Board Culture and Composition/Impact on Board Culture, Board and CEO Relationship, Future of the Board), with short written responses (250-500 words) per category.
Submission Interviews
Organizations/individuals that have made a submission to the program will be asked to participate in a brief, 30-minute video or in-person interview. These interviews will be conducted by MondouxRollins Partners.
Voting
Our voting committee reviews submissions and votes on the winners in early June 2025, with an official announcement made at the end of June, 2025. Our committee is comprised of an enormously talented group of governance and leadership professionals, who have a particular expertise working with private companies. Please note, although MondouxRollins Partners Inc. is the founder and producer of the Canada’s Best Private Boards, a.k.a. The Boardies, program, we do not vote on the winners.
Summit and Awards
Winners in each category will be celebrated in November 2025.
A half-day of learning as well as the sharing of personal stories of transformational board experiences in private companies will take place on that day, to be followed by a stand-up cocktail where the 2025 winners will be celebrated.