Ruth Vachon

CEO, Réseau des Femmes d'affaires du Québec

With over 30 years' experience in entrepreneurship, Ruth Vachon is a passionate contributor to the growth of women entrepreneurs and businesswomen in Quebec. She is a reference in supplier diversification and women's entrepreneurship, particularly in the French-speaking world. She contributed to the drafting of a recommendation for the 2019 G7 Summit and to the definition of female entrepreneurship (ISO standard). Her innovative approaches have led her to share her vision on numerous forums around the world, most recently at the 18th Francophonie Summit in Djerba, Tunisia. She also leads trade missions for women entrepreneurs in Canada, the United States, Europe and Africa.

In collaboration with the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, she created RFAQ+, a digital platform equipped with artificial intelligence enabling women-owned businesses to offer their products and services to large national and international corporations.

She is a member of UN Women's WE Empower Advisory Group, Ryerson University's Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub and co-founder of the Alliance on Feminized Leadership. 

Committed to equity in business and supplier diversification, she is the recipient of numerous awards:

Nominated 2022 by UWomen - Universal Womens Network

TOP 100 most influential women in Canada - Women's Executive Network (WXN) (2018)

Five distinctions awarded by WEConnect Int'l, including Woman Most Committed to the Inclusion of Women Entrepreneurs in Corporate Supply Chains.

Since 1981, the Réseau des Femmes d'affaires du Québec has been accelerating the growth of female entrepreneurs and businesswomen, so that they achieve inspiring success and are able to shine around the world. To do so, it implements concrete strategies that inspire, connect and propel women to new heights, in order to amplify the economic impact of our female entrepreneurs and businesswomen. So, in 2023, the Quebec Businesswomen's Network joined the international grouping Femmes chefs d’entreprises mondiales (FCEM), which brings together more than 5 million women-owned businesses. This membership gives the RFAQ a rich and unique opportunity to develop links with other organizations from 120 countries.