Belinda Stronach

Belinda Caroline Stronach (born May 2, 1966) is a Canadian businesswoman and philanthropist, and was a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2008.

Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the floor to join the Liberals.

She graduated from Newmarket High School and attended York University, Toronto, Canada, in 1985, where she studied business and economics, but dropped out after one year to work at Magna.

Stronach was a member of the board of directors of Magna from 1988 until 2004.

She became a vice-president of the company in 1995 and executive vice-president in 1999, until her appointment as president and chief executive officer.

She has chaired the boards of Decoma International Inc., Tesma International Inc., and Intier Automotive Inc., all in the auto parts sector.

She was a founding member of the Canadian Automotive Partnership Council and served on the Ontario Task Force on Productivity, Competitiveness and Economic Progress.

She previously served as a director of the Yves Landry Foundation, which furthers technological education and skills training in the manufacturing sector.

In the early 2000s, Stronach was highlighted by the World Economic Forum and by media outlets National Post and Fortune Magazine as a promising future leader.

Stronach was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, as the daughter of Austrian parents: Elfriede Sallmutter, and Magna International founder and chairman Frank Stronach.

In February 2001, she was appointed chief executive officer of Magna, succeeding Donald J. Walker (who became CEO of Magna spinoff Intier Automotive Inc.), and in January 2002, she also became its president.

While CEO, the company added 3,000 jobs in Canada, 1,000 of them being in the Newmarket-Aurora area she would later represent in Parliament.

Under her leadership Magna had record sales and profits each year.

Though he held no formal operational role during that time, Frank Stronach remained as chairman of the board.

As a CEO, Stronach was widely viewed as more conciliatory to organized labour than her father, who was noted for his strong opposition to unions at Magna.

While head of Magna, she ceased fighting the United Auto Workers in a dispute before the National Labor Relations Board, and the union organized numerous Magna workers in the United States.

From May 17, 2005, to February 6, 2006, Stronach was the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal in the government of Paul Martin.

On November 9, 2006, she co-chaired the Millennium Promise Convention in Montreal with Canadian television personality Rick Mercer.

This event was a national campaign to enlist Canadians to help protect children in Africa from the effects of malaria.

Together, Stronach and Mercer co-founded Spread the Net, a grassroots organization that raises money to buy insecticide-treated bed nets for families in Africa, reducing the risk of getting malaria by a mosquito bite.

In addition to Spread the Net, Stronach founded The Belinda Stronach Foundation in 2008.

The foundation was established to support, develop and incubate socially innovative projects and events confronting challenges related to youth, girls and women, development, and health.

The foundation established project-based partnerships with The Tony Blair Faith Foundation, The Clinton Global Initiative, ONE, The Canadian Club of Toronto, The Economic Club of Canada, Malaria No More, and several other domestic and international organizations.

For her efforts, Stronach received an honorary degree from Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario in 2009.

After leaving politics, she served as the executive vice-chairman of Magna International, Canada's largest automotive parts manufacturer, until December 31, 2010.

Stronach is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of The Stronach Group and the founder and chair of The Belinda Stronach Foundation, a Canadian charitable organization.

In December 2010, Stronach resigned her position as executive vice-chairman and her position as board member at Magna International Inc. in what the Toronto Star called "a surprise move that reflects a shift in boardroom power", after the Stronach family gave up control earlier in 2010.

In 2010, The Belinda Stronach Foundation brought the One Laptop Per Child Program to Canada.

After leaving Magna, together with her father, they created The Stronach Group in mid-2011.

The Stronach Group is a horse racing, entertainment and pari-mutuel wagering technology company.

The Stronach Group horse racing industry brands include; Santa Anita Park, "The Great Race Place"; Pimlico Race Course, home of the Preakness Stakes; Gulfstream Park, one of Florida's entertainment destination centres, and home to the $16-million Pegasus World Cup Invitational, the world's richest Thoroughbred horse race; Laurel Park; Golden Gate Fields; Portland Meadows; and Rosecroft Raceway.

The Stronach Group is in pari-mutuel technology through its subsidiaries AmTote and Xpressbet and is a distributor of horse racing content to audiences through Monarch Content Management.

Stronach, as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of The Stronach Group, has led initiatives for industry wide horse racing reforms focused on horse and rider safety and welfare.

In May 2012, Anthony Melman and Stronach announced a partnership and established Acasta Capital Inc. Stronach stepped away from Acasta in July 2017.

In February 2016, together with business partners Holly Fennell, and Canadian marketing executive Beverley Hammond, Stronach launched Age Quencher Solutions, a line of all-natural beauty products.

She also co-founded Acasta Enterprises and served as its director until 2017, when she resigned from the board.

Belinda Stronach divested of her shares in Age Quencher Solutions in late 2017.

On October 1, 2018, Frank Stronach and his wife filed a lawsuit against their daughter Belinda, her children Frank and Nicole, and Alon Ossip for non-compliance with commitments regarding the management of The Stronach Group (TSG), from which Frank Stronach resigned as trustee in 2013 when he ran for office in Austria.

The settlement to the lawsuit was announced on August 13, 2020.

As part of the settlement, Belinda Stronach retains full control of The Stronach Group's horse racing, gaming, real estate and related assets.