New chair of Smith School of Business Advisory Board announced

Kingston, Ont. – Maryann Turcke, MBA’97, BSc(Eng)’88, has been selected as the new chair of the Smith School of Business Advisory Board.

Turcke is the chief operating officer of the National Football League, based in New York City.

She will assume the role of chair on June 1, taking over from Benita Warmbold, BCom’80, who is stepping down after five years as chair.

The Smith Advisory Board comprises experienced professionals from all sectors of business. The board offers advice on opportunities for Smith to expand its reach and influence both in Canada and around the world.

Turcke earned an engineering degree at Queen’s before returning for her MBA at Smith. Prior to her current role with the NFL, she was the league’s president of NFL Media Group. Before that she spent 12 years with Bell Canada, including as president of Bell Media.

She was named to the Women's Executive Network's list of “Canada's Most Powerful Women: Top 100” in 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013. In 2015, she was named Woman of the Year by Women in Communications and Technology. She is a board member of SickKids Foundation and Toronto Argonauts GP Inc.

Turcke has been a member of the Smith Advisory Board since 2010.

“Maryann’s experience and knowledge will be a tremendous asset to the school,” Dean David Saunders said. “We are very fortunate to have her as Smith’s new board chair.”

Dean Saunders also thanked Warmbold for her service to the board. “I have appreciated her advice on the school’s strategic direction, her advocacy of the business school to the broader university, and her deep commitment to supporting students.”

Warmbold, the former chief financial officer of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, will remain a member of the Smith Advisory Board and continues her involvement at Queen’s as vice-chair of the university’s Board of Trustees and chair of the capital assets and finance committee.