Arlene Dickinson

Arlene Dickinson
Born (1956-10-08) 8 October 1956[1]
Germiston, Gauteng,
South Africa
Occupation CEO of Venture Communications
Net worth CAD $125 million (2017)[2]
Website arlenedickinson.com

Arlene Dickinson (born October 8, 1956) is a Canadian businesswoman, investor, author, and television personality. She is the CEO of Venture Communications and is represented by CBC Television as a self-made multi-millionaire. Dickinson joined the cast of the CBC business reality show Dragons' Den during its second season in 2007 and later departed in the ninth season in 2015. She then returned to continue with the Dragons for the 12th season in 2017. She was selected to perform on the series after she won numerous awards including Calgary Business Owner of the Year, PROFIT magazine's Top 100 Women Business Owners, the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence and Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100.[3] She is also an entrepreneur on another CBC business reality show, The Big Decision.[4]

Personal life

Born in Germiston, South Africa and raised in Canada, Dickinson graduated from high school in Calgary, Alberta. She married at age 19 and had four children. She divorced at 31. Today, she is single and a grandmother of seven.[5]

Politically, Dickinson identifies as non-partisan. When her former Dragons' Den co-star Kevin O'Leary entered the leadership race for the Conservative Party of Canada, she responded by saying that he "has this notion that greed is good." This prompted speculation that Dickinson was planning to run for office for the Liberal Party of Canada, which she denied.[6] Afterwards, she continued to criticize O'Leary for referring to the national debt as the deficit.[7]

Business

Dickinson joined Venture Communications in 1988, taking sole ownership in 1998. During her tenure, she has taken the company from a local firm into one of Canada's largest independent marketing and communications firms, with offices in Calgary and Toronto. Apart from her business accomplishments, Dickinson is also a public speaker represented by several speakers bureaus.[8]

In October 2012, she launched Arlene Dickinson Enterprises to fund and target Canada's entrepreneurs.[9] Businesses she has invested in include Urban Cultivator, The Carbon Farmers and Balzac's Coffee Roasters. Under the ADE umbrella, she also launched YouInc.com, a social website designed to celebrate the "entrepreneurial lifestyle." Future plans for the multiplatform entity include an upcoming magazine, radio shows, apps and television formats.[10]

Over the years, Dickinson has served on boards including Ad Rodeo, Kids Help Phone, and the Calgary Municipal Lands Corporation. She sits on the advisory committee of the Stratford Institute at the University of Waterloo, the Leadership Council of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics as well as the editorial advisory board of Marketing Magazine.[11][12] In October 2016, Dickinson was appointed to the Board of Directors of one of Canada's largest licensed medical marijuana producers, Aphria.[13]

She published her first book, Persuasion, in 2011 in hardcover as an autobiography. On the bestseller list for many weeks, the book is now available also in paperback and electronic formats. Her second book, All In, subtitled "You, Your Business, Your Life", was released in 2013.[14]

Television

Arlene Dickinson starred as a Dragon investor on Dragons' Den starting in 2007 for the second season. She also starred in her own spinoff The Big Decision. In 2015, Dickinson announced that she was leaving Dragons' Den after the ninth season.[15] She will return for season 12 in 2017.[16]

Dickinson guest starred as a past version of herself on the Canadian TV series Murdoch Mysteries, in 2012, in the episode called "Invention Convention", as a possible investor. She has also appeared as a judge on "Recipe to Riches" in the 2014 season.[17]

Awards

Dickinson has been recognized with several honours and awards including: Global Television Woman of Vision, the Calgary Business Owner of the Year Award, PROFIT and Chatelaine's TOP 100 Women Business Owners, the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence and has been inducted into Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100 Hall of Fame.[18] In 2011 she received the WIFTS (Women in Film and Television Showcase) Lifetime Achievement Award. She is an honorary degree recipient from Mount Saint Vincent University and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. She is also an honorary captain of the Royal Canadian Navy.[19] Her company Venture Communications was noted as one of the 2001 winners on the list of Canada's Best Managed Companies sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post, Queen's School of Business and MacKay CEO Forums.[20] In June 2016, Dickinson received an honorary degree from Concordia University.[21]

Humanitarianism

Dickinson is the national spokesperson for Breakfast Clubs of Canada to help raise awareness of the importance of children having a nutritious start to the day.[22] In 2013, she joined on as a champion of the Give a Day campaign, in support of Dignitas International and the Stephen Lewis Foundation.[23]

References

  1. ↑ "Arlene Dickinson - IMDb". Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  2. ↑ "Arlene Dickinson net worth as of 2017 estimated at £75 million (USD $100 million; CAD $125 million) – Celebrity entrepreneur and CBC dragon on Canada's Dragons Den". Blog and Forum for Business. 27 September 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
  3. ↑ Mario Toneguzzzi, Calgary Herald, May 31, 2007
  4. ↑ "The BIG Decision - Arlene Dickinson". CBC. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  5. ↑ McNish, Jacquie (February 1, 2014). "Dragon's Den's Arlene Dickinson on business, Kevin O'Leary and her favourite investment". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  6. ↑ Schulzke, Elise (2017-01-21). "Former TV Dragon Arlene Dickinson says politics not in cards for her". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  7. ↑ Dickinson, Arlene (2017-01-24). "Criticism of O'Leary". Twitter. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  8. ↑ "Arlene Dickinson". Lavin Agency. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  9. ↑ Shaw, Hollie (2012-10-26). "Arlene Dickinson launches enterprise to fund, promote entrepreneurs". Financial Post. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  10. ↑ Milne, Vanessa (2013-10-07). "Arlene Dickinson's YouInc partners with Microsoft". Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  11. ↑ "Arlene Dickinson". The Law Office Management Association. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  12. ↑ "Advisory Board profiles". University of Waterloo. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Fink, Ryan (2016-10-31). "Arlene Dickinson joins the board of Aphira". Lift News. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  14. ↑ "Arlene Dickinson on her new book All In". CBC. 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  15. ↑ "Arlene Dickinson leaves 'Dragons' Den'". The Toronto Star. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  16. ↑ http://m.torontosun.com/2017/04/11/arlene-dickinson-returning-as-panellist-on-dragons-den
  17. ↑ Volmers, Eric (13 February 2015). "Departing Dragon: Calgary's Arlene Dickinson talks about her eight seasons on Dragons' Den, her favourite investment and the 'beauty of an idea'". The Calgary Herald. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  18. ↑ "Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100".
  19. ↑ "Arlene Dickinson joins the rank as the newest Honorary Naval Captain". Canadian Forces. 2012-06-22. Archived from the original on 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  20. ↑ "Arlene Dickinson, CEO Venture Communications". Women of Influence. 2009-04-06. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  21. ↑ Downey, Fiona (2016-05-04). "Concordia awards 9 new honorary doctorates". Concordia University. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  22. ↑ "A head for business and a heart for charity-at the tender age of 7!". Breakfast Club of Canada. 2015-04-30. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  23. ↑ "Give a Day Supporters". Retrieved 2017-06-12.
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