High-growth Canadian jewellery designer named to EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ Class of 2015
REGINA, SK (November 13, 2015) – TEC member Rachel Mielke, Founder & CEO of high-growth jewellery company Hillberg & Berk, was named to the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women™ Class of 2015 yesterday at the EY Strategic Growth Forum® in Palm Springs, California. Mielke is one of four Canadians who have been named to the 2015 class.
“We are excited to have Rachel as part of our Entrepreneurial Winning Women class. She is already an incredible success story for Canadian women business owners, and we hope her participation in the program will help her achieve the next level of growth for her company,” says Carrie Marchitto, EY’s Entrepreneurial Winning Women leader in Canada.
The EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women Program is an annual competition and executive leadership program that identifies a select group of up to 12 high-growth, high-potential women entrepreneurs from across Canada and the US whose businesses show real potential to scale big. Entrepreneurial Winning Women participate in ongoing educational programs, events and networks designed to advance their young, lucrative companies into market leaders. “I’m thrilled and honoured to be in a group of such elite and esteemed women,” says Mielke. “My number one goal is to gain the mentors and tools that will help me scale my business to the national level.”
For Mielke, what began as a hobby of making jewellery at her kitchen table has now become a million dollar business based out of a converted three-story house in downtown Regina. Four years after Hillberg & Berk’s official launch in 2007, the company projected $1.5 million in sales and shot to $5 million in 2015. “We have a big, audacious goal to reach $100,000,000 in sales within the next five years,” Mielke states. “For myself and my industry, that’s the indicator of being recognized as a national brand in Canada.”
Since launching, Hillberg & Berk’s mission to support women continues to be a core company value, with 2.5% of profits currently going towards both national and international non-profits that support women. “We don’t just cut cheques for different organizations,” Mielke explains. “We really partner with them and live and breathe women empowerment within our company culture.” Other support factors to the company’s success include receiving a $200,000 investment from Brett Wilson on CBC’s Dragons’ Den in 2008 and being commissioned by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan to design a brooch as a gift for Queen Elizabeth II in 2013.
“The foundation of Rachel’s company is built around empowering women and her dedication to this mission shines through,” says Ken MacLeod, President and CEO of TEC Canada. “As a female entrepreneur who champions women’s’ initiatives, she is most deserving to be supported in taking her business to the next level.”
TEC Canada is a proud national sponsor of the EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women Program. Currently in its eighth year, the North America program is open to businesses in the US and Canada.
About TEC Canada
TEC Canada, an affiliate of Vistage Worldwide Inc., is a member-based peer advisory organization of more than 1000 chief executives, entrepreneurs and business leaders across Canada. We have a 30-year track record of helping leaders stretch beyond individual capabilities to achieve personal and professional goals through the power of confidential group meetings, one-to-one executive coaching, business thought leadership and a global network of over 20,000 business leaders. For more information, visit www.tec-canada.com
About EY
EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. For more than 150 years in Canada, we’ve delivered the insights and quality services that help build trust and confidence in capital markets here and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.
About Vistage Worldwide, Inc.
Vistage is the world’s largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize businesses. For more than 65 years, we’ve been helping CEOs, business owners and key executives solve their greatest challenges through confidential peer groups and one-to-one executive coaching sessions. Today, more than 45,000 members in 35 countries rely on Vistage to help make better decisions for their companies, families and communities. The results prove it: Vistage CEO members grew their annual revenue on average by 4.6% in 2020, while nonmembers with comparable small and midsize businesses saw revenue decrease by 4.7%, according to a study of Dun & Bradstreet data. Learn more at vistage.com.
Media Contact
Katie McWeeney | Vistage
858.523.6875 | katie.mcweeney@vistage.com