CVCA Announces Winners of the 2026 Canadian Women in Private Capital Awards

TORONTO, ON – March 4, 2026 – The Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) is excited to announce the winners of the fourth Canadian Women in Private Capital Awards. Launched in 2023, the program recognizes women in Canadian venture capital and private equity who have demonstrated professional excellence and a commitment to advancing others in the industry.

CVCA’s Woman of Achievement Award

The Woman of Achievement Award recognizes a Canadian General Partner at the Partner or C-Suite level whose career reflects sustained impact on value creation, industry visibility, and the advancement of women in private capital.

• Janet Bannister, Founder and Managing Partner, Staircase Ventures – Winner of the 2026 Woman of Achievement Award for Venture Capital. Bannister recently completed a second and final close of her $50 million Fund II in a constrained fundraising environment. The strategy and approach remain consistent with Fund I, including a model that shares economic participation with founders and advisors, expanding how value is distributed within the platform. Her career reflects long-standing work in founder development and ecosystem building across Canada, including board roles with the Vector Institute and Communitech, service on the Ivey School of Business Advisory Board, co-chairing C100, and mentorship through Creative Destruction Labs, 111, and the DMZ. She has directly mentored women founders and investors and created pathways for women to move into investment decision-making roles.
• Thecla Sweeney, Founder and Managing Partner, Alphi Capital – Winner of the 2026 Woman of Achievement Award for Private Equity. Since launching Alphi Capital in 2023, Sweeney has closed four platform investments in a challenging M&A cycle. Her earlier operation leadership includes a turnaround at portfolio company Motion and experience contributing to a number of successful exits. Over more than two decades in private equity, she has mentored women entering the asset class and supported their progression into senior roles both at her former firm and at Alphi Capital. Her career reflects both performance and the structural steps she has taken to expand representation in leadership positions.

CVCA’s Rising Woman Star Award

The Rising Woman Star Award recognizes individuals with at least five years of experience in private capital who have delivered a notable business contribution in the past 12 months, demonstrated strong and accountable leadership, contributed to improving gender diversity, and shown clear ambition for advancement into senior roles.

• Geetanjali Kanwar, Principal, MKB – Winner of the 2026 PE Rising Woman Star Award. Over the past year, Kanwar played an instrumental role in executing two new platform investments and supporting the successful raise of the firm’s third flagship energy transition fund. She led financial, commercial, and legal diligence in lean deal teams and represents the firm alongside the director as a board observer across five portfolio companies, partnering closely with management teams to advance strategic growth, governance, and value creation priorities. Internally, she mentors members of the investment team, plays a leading role in institutionalizing ESG and impact frameworks, and supports recruitment efforts that reinforce the firm’s culture and strengthen representation within the team.
• Katy Yam, Investment Partner and FounderFuel General Manager, Real Ventures – Winner of the 2026 VC Rising Woman Star Award. Katy stewards Real’s pre-seed fund through its mid-to-late-stage fund life by managing reserves, executing targeted follow-on strategies, and overseeing liquidity events—including secondaries—to deliver DPI. Her dedication to creating value for portfolio founders, LPs, and the startup community led to her recent appointment to the Board of Real Investment Management Inc. An ICD.D certified director and Certified Integral Facilitator, Katy’s impact extends across the ecosystem. She serves on the boards of Réseau Capital, Loto-Québec (a crown corporation), Sherbrooke’s Quantum Venture Studio, and several portfolio companies; she also acts as President of Réseau Capital’s Programming Committee and Co-President of Elle-Invest to advance women in private equity. Her devotion to adult development shines through her work leading FounderFuel and GP Camp, as a moderator for Creative Destruction Lab, and as a mentor for the Unreasonable Group and Techstars. Katy is driven to evolve venture capital into an antifragile and sustainable model for the future of all.

“Each year, this program highlights leaders whose work is shaping the direction of private capital in Canada,” said Benjamin Bergen, Chief Executive Officer, CVCA. “This year’s recipients are building firms, deploying capital, and taking on leadership roles that influence how our industry operates. They are also making it more possible for other women to step into those same positions.”

“The nominations this year reflected the depth and ambition of women across Canadian private capital,” said Jeff Parr, Vice Chairman at Clairvest Group and Chair of the CVCA Awards Committee. “The recipients have earned recognition through performance and through the way they lead inside their organizations. Celebrating them is important because it shows that advancement in this industry is built on results, integrity, and the willingness to lift others as you move forward.”

This year’s recipients will be recognized at the Canadian Women in Private Capital Awards Breakfast on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Toronto. The event takes place during Women’s History Month in North America and follows International Women’s Day earlier in March. The breakfast is presented by CIBC Innovation Banking. The morning will include the presentation of the 2026 awards, followed by a discussion with the recipients. Register to attend here.