Mountain BizWorks names Shaw Canale as new CEO

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by Rachel Miller
on Monday, July 20, 2009

Mountain BizWorks announced today that Shaw Canale has been named the organization's new chief executive officer. Canale succeeds Greg Walker-Wilson who left his position last month to serve as a volunteer in Columbia, South America.

Canale brings a wealth of experience to the position. Between 1997 and 2007, she was the Executive Director/CEO of Cascadia Revolving Fund, a certified double bottom line Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) serving urban and rural entrepreneurs in Washington and Oregon. In 2007, Cascadia merged with ShoreBank Enterprise Pacific, a two year process that Canale was instrumental in initiating and overseeing. Canale served as Executive Vice-President of the merged organization, ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia for several months before leaving to start The Shaw Company, a consulting practice she formed in 2007 to provide management consulting to non-profits and CDFIs. She continues to serve as Vice-President of the Board of Directors for ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia.

Canale's early career was in commercial banking in the Seattle area with the Bank of California (now Union Bank) and then with First Interstate Bank (now Wells Fargo). She attended the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington in Seattle.

In a statement to Mountain BizWorks' board of directors and staff, Canale said, "I consider it a privilege to have been selected to be Mountain BizWorks' new CEO. I was drawn to Western North Carolina by the inspiring work and reputation of Mountain BizWorks and its dynamic record of making positive differences in the lives of entrepreneurs and their small businesses. I am delighted at the prospect of working with the Mountain BizWorks' staff, Board of Directors, clients, and funders."

For 20 years, Mountain BizWorks has been assisting small business owners in Western North Carolina. In 2008, Mountain BizWorks provided its services to 988 entrepreneurs (65% were low-income, 61% were women, 22% were racial or ethnic minorities). Those individuals created 159 businesses and expanded 310 businesses. In turn, those businesses created 292 jobs and sustained 780 jobs.

Mountain BizWorks is a not-for-profit organization with offices in Asheville, Hendersonville, and Sylva. For more information on Mountain BizWorks, visit www.mountainbizworks.org.

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About the Author - Rachel Miller

Contact Rachel Miller:
Mountain BizWorks
828.253.2834
rachel@mountainbizworks.org
www.mountainbizworks.org

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