Dr. Sanja Cancar-Todorovic wins GOLD & SILVER for Americas Awards, Women Changing the World 2025
Dr. Sanja Cancar-Todorovic honored as Changemaker of the Year for her transformative leadership in diversity, innovation, and inclusive economic empowerment.
Dr. Sanja Cancar-Todorovic was named Changemaker of the Year at the 2025 Women Changing the World Regional Awards Americas and also received the Silver Award in the Woman of the Year category, recognizing her leadership, innovation, and impact.
The Women Changing the World Americas Awards celebrate and recognize women achieving outstanding success in areas such as sustainability, humanitarian work, leadership, advocacy, technology, product development, education, health, and innovation. The awards are designed to highlight the growing number of women who are leading the way in making the world a better place for all and to inspire other women to answer the call to take action.
For Dr. Sanja Cancar-Todorovic, this recognition builds on a trajectory of influence shaped over more than 25 years across the telecommunications, finance, and technology sectors. Yet it is her impact beyond the corporate sphere that has distinguished her as a true Changemaker.
Since 2013, Dr. Cancar-Todorovic has been deeply committed to mentoring entrepreneurs from women- and minority-owned businesses through partnerships with nonprofit organizations in Canada, such as the Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC) and Women Business Enterprises Canada (WBE Canada), where she also served on the Board from 2013 to 2015 as both a corporate sponsor and mentor. Her belief in diversity of thought as a catalyst for innovation has translated into tangible action—supporting emerging leaders, advancing inclusive business practices, and fostering equitable opportunities across industries. Building on this work, since 2021 she has also served in various capacities with Supply Chain Canada and the National Institute of Supply Chain Leaders, further strengthening the profession and advancing inclusive, forward-looking practices across the Canadian supply chain landscape.
Her collaboration with academic institutions further amplified this mission. In 2020, she partnered with the Haslam College of Business at the University of Tennessee to advance supplier diversity and economic inclusion initiatives, helping to shape more inclusive, globally integrated supply chain ecosystems while expanding access for diverse suppliers to scale and broaden their reach.
This work extended into public policy in 2023, when she advised the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC), a Canadian government-funded initiative, on its Pathways for Success: Women’s Economic Empowerment in Canada’s Digital Economy toolkit. In the same year, representing the financial services sector, she collaborated with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), Canada’s federal financial regulator, on updates to the B-10 guideline, helping ensure the framework better reflects and accommodates diverse, innovative suppliers that may not fit the traditional profile of large, multi-million-dollar enterprises within financial institution ecosystems.
Needless to say, 2023 marked a significant expansion in her impact. Dr. Cancar-Todorovic also became a mentor with NPower, co-founded goBeyondBounds.org—an initiative dedicated to breaking barriers and championing inclusive empowerment—and authored her debut book, Be Bold and Brilliant. The book quickly achieved Amazon bestseller status in the Career Guide category and went on to receive the 2025 International Impact Book Award, further cementing her role as a thought leader and advocate for bold, purpose-driven leadership. Her commitment to mentorship continued in 2025 when she joined York University’s Advancing YU program, providing strategic guidance to senior students and accelerating their transition into professional success.
Complementing her leadership and advocacy work at Women in Tech® Canada, Dr. Cancar-Todorovic continues to push the boundaries of innovation through her academic and research contributions. Building on her doctoral research in AI and cybersecurity, in 2025 she joined AI Future Leaders—an AI Leadership and Learning Academy—as a strategic advisor. In this role, she is dedicated to helping organizations realize measurable business value and ROI from artificial intelligence by partnering with corporate teams, professionals, and educators to build the skills, confidence, and strategic insight required to integrate AI effectively into real-world operations. Following the successful defense of her doctoral dissertation, she authored A Practitioner’s Guide to AI-Driven Cybersecurity Implementation, providing organizations with actionable strategies to strengthen technological resilience and enable effective cross-functional collaboration in an increasingly complex and evolving digital threat landscape.
Academically, Dr. Cancar-Todorovic holds a Doctor of Business Administration, an Executive Master of Business Administration, a Master of Management, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in Law and Political Science—credentials that underpin her multidisciplinary approach to leadership.
A sought-after speaker, published author, and award-winning executive, Dr. Cancar-Todorovic has been featured in numerous national and international media outlets, publications, and industry events since 2019. Her influence has earned her multiple accolades and appearances on the covers of prominent industry magazines.
The complete list of winners can be found at: https://wcwawards.com/winners-americas
For more information on the Women Changing the World Awards, visit: https://wcwawards.com/
