Who's Who Women in Business

14 who's who women in business Diane Gray, CEO of CentrePort g o big or go home could be Diane Gray's motto. As the founding CEO of CentrePort Canada, Gray runs the biggest economic development in Manitoba's history, a multi-faceted 20,000-acre trade and transportation hub offering strategic rail, air and trucking connections. In her office, a stack of leather coasters shaped like the state of Texas — a gift from Texas Gov. Rick Perry — is a daily reminder of the go-big advice offered by inland port AllianceTexas back when CentrePort was just a gleam in the province's eye. Gray embraced the big-picture view from the start, but the devil is in the details when it comes to transforming a green-field startup into a sustainable development that will serve the needs of hundreds of industrial clients, thousands of residents, three levels of government and dozens of stakeholder organizations over multiple generations. The complexities are mind-boggling. But Gray has always been a high achiever. From 1995 - 2009, she served as the province's youngest female deputy minister, the first female deputy of finance and the first female deputy of federal, provincial and international relations and trade. In 2008, she was instrumental in multi-level negotiations to start CentrePort and in 2009, she was the obvious choice to helm the project. As an Air Cadet, Gray literally became a high flyer in her teens, earning a glider pilot licence and later, a pilot's licence. Today, the mother of four is piloting a new way of thinking, creating an innovative development that will give people a place to live, work, play and learn. "It's not just about industrial space; we have really evolved in our thinking," she says. "It's important that this project be also about the people that live and work there." Residential developments will provide homes for more than 8,000 people, with commercial areas and protected greenspace, including golf courses, Optimist Park and Little Mountain Park with its off- leash dog park. CentrePort's industrial parks offer flexible building and leasing options, with 39 resident companies so far, and a goal to add 71 more over the next five years, along with working with secondary and post-secondary institutions on opportunities for onsite training and education. Design work has been completed on the 700-acre CentrePort Canada Rail Park. A water treatment plant is under construction and plans are in the works for onsite- managed drainage and active transportation routes that are in keeping with the RM of Rosser's progressive new zoning bylaw. "It really is about taking a different approach to development," Gray says. Outside of CentrePort, she has a passion for supporting the startup industry, innovation and the arts. She serves on the boards of the Manitoba Technology Accelerator and the Canada West Foundation. She chairs the board of Manitoba Film and Music and sits on the national board of research and training organization Mitacs. She also loves travel, fine wine and fashionable footwear, and someday, she'll leave a new CentrePort CEO with some big shoes to fill. "Eventually my husband and I would like a lifestyle where we don't both work seven days a week and have the opportunity to slow down a little bit, but hey, I'm not even 50 yet." • Grand Schemes { centrePort ceo diane gray thinks big } By Pat St. Germain Gray says CentrePort represents a new way of thinking about developments where people live, work, play and learn. PHOTO By DARCy FINLEy

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