QSB Advisory Board member Brenda Vince

Brenda Vince, BCom’77

Sadly, Brenda Vince, BCom’77, passed away in September after a long battle with breast cancer. Brenda had served on QSB’s Advisory Board since 2001 and was a proud supporter of her School. She and her husband Steven Smith, also a BCom'77 grad, established an entrance scholarship in memory of her grandmother, Dora Lee, for promising female Commerce students. Brenda also served as a judge in undergraduate student competitions and was a frequent classroom guest speaker.

“Brenda was both an inspiration and mentor to me,” recalls Professor Carol McKeen. “Her considerable courage improved not only my life, but also the lives of women in her profession and in my classes. She visited my Gender Issues class last fall just days before she was hospitalized. She graciously and courageously shared insights about her life as a successful woman in corporate Canada, as a mother, wife and daughter, and about her struggle with breast cancer. She moved us all and is greatly missed.”

Brenda began her career with Price Waterhouse in 1977 and became a partner in 1989. A champion of women's issues throughout her career, she led by example as the first woman partner elected to the Price Waterhouse Policy Board in Canada.

Brenda joined RBC Asset Management in 1996, was named President in 2002 and served in this role until 2008, when she was named Head of RBC’s Wealth Management Strategy. She was actively involved as a board member with both the Canadian Women’s Foundation and the Investment Funds Institute of Canada, the latter of which she chaired from 2005 to 2007. She was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2009.

As Dean David Saunders said to QSB Board members, “I always appreciated Brenda's advice. She was direct, honest, wise, and often witty. We are sad to lose an accomplished and generous alumna, advisor and friend.”

Condolences on behalf of the entire QSB community were extended to her husband Steven and children Jamie and David Smith, her sister Nancy Vince (BCom’81) and mother Betty Vince.