BroadbandTV CEO Shahrzad Rafati took home the Executive of the Year award at nextMEDIA's annual Digi Awards in Toronto December 3, making her the first woman to achieve this honour.
The awards recognize companies and individuals who are having an impact on Canada's digital media industry. Executive of the Year is the top award an individual can achieve.
"This award is a win for all the females in the technology industry," Rafati told Business in Vancouver. "One day, rather than being viewed as great female leaders, we'll just be viewed as great leaders.
"You look at Marissa [Mayer] at Yahoo and Sheryl Sandberg at Facebook and many great female leaders and executives both in Canada and the U.S. that are really great examples for the next generation, showing them that there are no limitations being a female entrepreneur."
She said, however, that at the end of the day, gender probably doesn't make much of a difference.
"If you are smart and understand your market and your customers, it really doesn't matter if you're a female or a male. It's about being a good leader."
Rafati launched BroadbandTV in 2005. Earlier this year, the company received a $36 million boost from Europe's RTL Group – the largest investment in an internet-based media company since 2007.
In September, the company hit a billion monthly impressions and had over 100 million subscribers.
Earlier this week, Rafati was named one of the Women's Executive Network's (WXN) top 100 most powerful women in Canada. In November, she took home one of Business in Vancouver's BC CEO of the Year awards.
