Denise Anne Donlon, (born 22 February 1956) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

business executive, television producer, author, public speaker, host, and member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. Born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, she joined

MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...

in 1985 as a host and producer of ''

The NewMusic ''The NewMusic'' was a weekly music and culture television newsmagazine that aired on the Canadian television stations owned by CHUM Limited: MuchMusic, MuchMoreMusic, Citytv, A-Channel and CP24. Created by John Martin, and intended to combine ...

''. In 1992, she became the director of music programming, and was named vice-president and general manager in 1997 where she was responsible for programming direction and successfully launched

MuchMoreMusic M3 was a Canadian English language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, the network began as a spin-off of the youth-oriented MuchMusic, targeting an older demographic with ...

in 1998. From 2000 to 2004, she was the president of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

Canada where she led the company and a team of over 300 employees. On 17 September 2008, Donlon was named executive director of

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's English-language services. She left the CBC in August 2011 and was succeeded by her 2nd in command, Chris Boyce. From September 2013 to April 2014, Donlon hosted the TV program TheZoomer which she co-hosted with

Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-born British former newspaper publisher, businessman, and writer. His father was businessman George Montegu Black II, who had significant holdings in Canadi ...

. In November 2016, Donlon published an autobiography ''Fearless as Possible (Under the Circumstances)'' ().

Awards and honours

Donlon is a member of the Canadian Broadcasters Hall of Fame from the

Canadian Association of Broadcasters The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is a trade association representing the interests of commercial radio and television broadcasters in Canada. It is co-located with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council in Ottawa. It was first e ...

. In 2009 she was named one of Canada's Top l00 Powerful Women. That same year, she won the Rosalie Trailblazer Award at

Canadian Music Week Canadian Music Week (or CMW) is an industry conference and music festival held over ten days in Toronto and Ontario, Canada. History Canadian Music Week began in 1981 and has grown to become one of Canada's largest and most influential media a ...

. She was Canadian Music Week's Broadcast Executive of the Year three times from 1993 to 1995. She won the Peter Gzowski Literacy Award of Merit (ABC Canada) in 2001, a Woman of Vision Award, and Woman of the Year from Canadian Women in Communications. She holds two Gemini Awards - Special Event Coverage - Election Night 93 and in 1992, as Producer for The NewMusic. She won a Golden Sheaf Award from the Yorkton Film Festival for "In Your Face - Violence in Music" in 1993. She received the

Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award The Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award is awarded by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to "individuals who have contributed to the growth and development of the Canadian music industry." It is given annually every Juno Awards ...

at the 2018 Juno Awards for her contributions to the Canadian music industry.

Boards and Committees

Donlon is a board member of the

Governor General's Performing Arts Awards A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

Foundation, a committee member of

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) is a Canadian non-governmental organization supported by Canadian journalists and advocates of freedom of expression. The purpose of the organization is to defend the rights of journalists and co ...

, a trustee of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, and a committee member of MusiCounts. She holds two

honorary doctorates An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

from the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

and the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

. Donlon has produced various charitable events including the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative (2008), President Clinton's 60th birthday party (2007 with Frank Giustra and Sam Feldman) which raised over $21 million in one evening for the

Clinton Global Initiative The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was es ...

, documentaries for War Child Canada in Northern Uganda, Sierra Leone, and the Thai Burmese Border, Live 8 (Co-producer, Toronto 2006), Rock the Walk (Canada's Walk of Fame 2005/2006) and was involved with the Tsunami Concert of Hope event among others.

Personal life

Donlon is married to

Murray McLauchlan Murray Edward McLauchlan, (born 30 June 1948) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and harmonica player. He is best known for his Canadian hits "Farmer's Song," "Whispering Rain," and "Down by the Henry Moore". Early life Mc ...

and they have a son.

References

External links

Denise Donlon
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

Conrad Black and Denise Donlon
set to co-host gutsy new current affairs and lifestyle show
Denise Donlon
among contributors to 100 days that changed Canada
Denise Donlon
at IdeaCity
Denise Donlon
at the

National Speakers Bureau National Speakers Bureau is an Illinois-based speakers bureau. The firm, founded in 1972 by John Palmer, is currently led by Brian Palmer, who assumed the presidency in 1996. History After working as a band leader for twenty years, John Palmer ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Donlon, Denise 1956 births Living people Canadian television executives Women television executives Canadian radio executives Canadian music industry executives Members of the Order of Canada Businesspeople from Toronto Journalists from Toronto Much (TV channel) personalities Canadian women television journalists