Jennie Coleman, president and co-owner of Montreal-based Fairtrade International-certified banana company Equifruit, has been named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network for 2025.
Since acquiring Equifruit in 2013, Coleman has propelled the company’s growth while prioritizing ethical business practices, according to the company. Equifruit says the award shines a spotlight on her visionary leadership and impact-driven ethos.
Last month, Equifruit once again made The Globe and Mail’s list of Canada’s top growing companies, an achievement it has reached for four consecutive years.
“I’m deeply grateful to be recognized as one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women,” Coleman said in a news release. “Equifruit might not be ‘powerful’ in the conventional sense of the word, we don’t have massive assets or a global workforce. But what we do have is the strength of our moral clarity. We know what we stand for, what we’re trying to achieve, and we refuse to compromise on our values. Power, I’ve learned, doesn’t have to come from scale, it comes from purpose.”
As a Certified B Corp, Equifruit’s ethical business values are legally embedded through a “mission lock,” the company says. This legal commitment to business as a force for good, a core part of the B Corp certification, means that Equifruit’s principles are central to the business even as it grows and develops.
The WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women award recognizes women who make a transformational difference in their fields. Coleman joins the ranks of previous winners including Lisa LaFlamme, award-winning international journalist; Makaziwe Mandela, global activist and daughter of Nelson Mandela; and Rona Ambrose, former leader of Canada’s Official Opposition in the House of Commons.
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