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From the village of Irishtown to the urban density of Halifax Regional Municipality, Atlantic Canada is rich in award-winning corporate leaders.
Here’s where this year’s Top 50 head offices are located.
All over the Map
No love for Labrador?
For the fifth consecutive year, there are no award winners from Labrador—not because they weren’t chosen, but because they weren’t nominated. Labrador is home to some of the biggest industrial projects in the region: IOC, Vale, Churchill Falls, Muskrat Falls, etc. Not having a Top 50 winner from the Big Land is a conspicuous absence.
Cluster effect
Halifax Regional Municipality is home to 40% of this year’s Top 50 award winners.
CEOs vs. population
You might expect that the spread of Top 50 CEOs across Atlantic Canada would mirror provincial population demographics. If so, you would be wrong. Nova Scotia has a markedly higher representation of CEOs compared to its share of the regional population.
Yes, the number of women in the Top 50 slipped from last year’s record-high (from 44% to 40%). And yes, a 2:3 ratio isn’t the 50:50 we aim for. But we think it’s a positive sign of gender diversity among Atlantic Canada’s corporate leaders—and well ahead of the national c-suite average.
Echoing last year’s stats, Top 50 CEOs are more likely to be in their 30s than in their 60s. With more than half of the honourees being new this year, this seems to signal a youthful trend in corporate leaders.
2% – Under 30
18% – 30-39
38% – 40-49
32% – 50-59
10% – 60-69
2025 Stats: Economic Impact
Top Line Dollars
Fastest-growing Top 50-led companies
This is the second year in a row that PolyUnity and techNL made the top five (measured by revenue growth 2022-2024)
7,341% – Remember When Healthcare
952% – PolyUnity
700% – GIT Coatings
555% – techNL
462% – Events East Group
Corporate Gifting
80% – CEOs reporting an increase or no change in their corporate donations for 2024 compared to 2023
Industry by Association
CEOs who are members of a Board of Trade/Chamber of Commerce
CEOs who are members of more than one Board of Trade/Chamber of Commerce
Highest number of Board of Trade/Chamber of Commerce memberships for a single CEO
Main Markets
This year’s Top 50 conduct business worldwide, but primarily here at home—a welcome sign of stability during the current international tariff instability. (Numbers do not add up to 100, as CEOs do business in multiple jurisdictions)
2025 Stats: Human Resources
Plan to hire more staff in the coming year
Have foreign workers/immigrants in their workforce
Say they could not fill job vacancies without foreign workers/immigrants
Recruiting
Skillsets needed by Top 50-led companies/organizations
Most effective recruit/retain strategies
84% – Workplace culture
42% – Employee engagement
40% – Flexible work options
38% – Opportunities for professional development
32% – Remuneration (salary, profit-sharing, performance bonus, etc.)
32% – Opportunities for career advancement
10% – Paid time off (vacation, personal days, etc.)
8% – Health benefits
6% – Community involvement
Work environment
(50% of respondents say this is how they operated pre-covid)
Determinants of salary increases
(Does not add to 100% due to multiple responses from a single CEO)
100% – Individual performance
80% – Corporate finances
46% – Years of service
30% – Board approval
2025 Stats: The bigger picture
Artificial Intelligence
With 88% of CEOs saying they are already using A.I. in their operations and 98% saying they will do so in the near future, Artificial Intelligence is an obvious game changer.
The Power of A.I.
CEOs share the advantages they get from using A.I.
100% – Increase productivity/efficiencies
90% – Develop or enhance products/services
68% – Reduce costs
12% – Fill workforce shortages
Expressed concern about the use of A.I. to promote misinformation on social media
Top 50 CEOs whose organizations have measureable DEIA goals
What are they measuring?
24% – Board BIPOC diversity
34% – Board gender diversity
16% – Board inclusivity of persons with disabilities
30% – Management BIPOC diversity
44% – Management gender diversity
30% – Management inclusivity of persons with disabilities
70% – Respectful workplace policies and training
50% – Staff BIPOC diversity
58% – Staff gender diversity
46% – Staff inclusivity of persons with disabilities
60% – Wage equity
58% – Workplace celebrations of diverse cultures
Global concerns
When we surveyed the Top 50 in December 2024, Inflation and Skilled Labour were their top concerns. What a difference a few months can make.
2025 Stats: A closer look
More than a title
What’s life like for an award-winning CEO? How did they get to the top? And how do they stay at the top of their game? The following stats offer some useful insights.
Hardest Part of the Job
CEOs were asked to rank workplace stressors from 1 to 7, with 1 being most stressful and 7 being least stressful. Results represent the mean of all Top 50 responses. There were four “other” responses at the top of the list: cybersecurity, client satisfaction, cross-border transactions and competition/innovation.
- Revenue/business generation
- Excessive workload
- Talent recruitment & retention
- Managing workplace personalities
- Paying bills/meeting payroll
- Rising costs
- Shareholder expectations
It’s a tie
Asked for a CEO’s best professional activity, winners were equally divided between peer learning groups and continuing education as their top choices. Here are the top five:
- Continuing education/Peer learning groups
- Community networking
- Executive coahing
- Mentoring/being mentored
- Other (individual to the CEO)
Winners by Degree
We’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating: you don’t need higher education to make it to the top, but it can sure help you get their faster. Winners share their highest level of education.
Executive compensation
Top 50 CEOs share their annual remuneration, including bonuses and stock options.
12% – Less than $100,000
64% – $100,001 to $300,000
14% – $300,001 to $500,000
2% – $500,001 to $750,000
6% – $750,001 to $1,000,000
2% – More than 1M
CEOs earning $300K/year or more with an undergraduate degree as their highest level of education
Living to work
Top 50 CEOs have a tough time disconnecting from work: 58% report not using their full vacation allowance. Is it because they love their job, or because they don’t feel their organization can manage that long without them? See Hardest Part of the Job and where Excessive Workload ranks on their list of stressors.
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