In a career filled with significant achievements and milestones, Carrie Baker says it still feels nice to be recognized but knows that all she has accomplished perhaps wouldn’t have been possible without the great people in her life supporting her.
Baker, who graduated from Humber College’s Public Relations program in 2000 and is president of popular performance luxury apparel brand Canada Goose, was named the winner of the 2023 Premier’s Award in the Business category. Baker was instrumental in transforming Canada Goose into an iconic Canadian brand while playing a pivotal role in establishing the company’s communications strategy and helping lead its initial public offering (IPO) in 2017. Baker was also responsible for creating its Sustainable Impact Strategy.
“It’s always an honour to be recognized for your achievements, but especially alongside such impressive nominees,” said Baker. “My first thought was about the people who played critical roles throughout my career – some of my Humber peers, teachers, partners and clients have become my most trusted advisors – including my husband, who I met at Humber. Each of them played a role in this recognition, as they have supported me, challenged me and celebrated with me throughout my career.”
In 2019, Baker was named as one of the WXN Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Canada and one of Canada’s 50 Best Executives by The Globe and Mail in 2020.
“I’ve had the fortune to have worked with incredible teams on many industry firsts, record-breaking launches and initiatives, and establishing meaningful programs that helped change lives as well as cultures,” said Baker. “Canada Goose’s IPO was certainly a career highlight for me – I think it’s any PR professional’s dream to be involved in taking a company public. Our IPO was monumental for many reasons, but it marked the beginning of a new phase for Canada Goose, and a new phase for my career.”
Baker’s time at Humber was valuable as she had the opportunity to test theories and put skills learned in the classroom to use. One of Baker’s biggest takeaways from the program was the importance of knowing your audience and the power great stories have to connect, educate and active others regardless of industry, role or profession.
“One of the things I appreciate about my time at Humber was that students were treated as smart adults, working together in real-world situations with time constraints, encouraged to challenge perspectives, and rewarded for innovation. It created an environment where you had to learn to trust your colleagues, which has become part of the foundation for how I approach my work.”
“As a post-grad student, I couldn’t have predicted exactly where my career was headed or what path I would take, but Humber was part of setting me on that path where I could turn my skills and passions into a vision and purpose,” she continued.
Other Humber alumni to receive Premier’s Awards in recent years include:
Ambulance and Emergency Care program graduate Michael Sanderson (2023)
Primary Care Paramedic program graduate Mark Cameron (2022)
Social Service Worker program graduate Baldev Mutta (2021)
Ambulance and Emergency Care graduate Peter F. Dundas (2019)
Funeral Service Education graduate Allan Cole (2018)
Industrial Design graduate Andrew Bowerbank (2017)
Marketing graduate Ron Suter (2016)
Culinary Management graduate Candice Ekonomakos (2014)
Landscape Technician graduate Peter Van Stralen (2014)
Industrial Design graduate Lee Renshaw (2013)
Paramedic graduate Rahul Singh (2011)
Seven Humber graduates were nominated for a 2023 Premier’s Award.