Cook is responsible for developing and executing Vendasta’s revenue and go-to-market strategy, with the core mandate of empowering Vendasta’s channel partners to leverage its platform and marketplace to help more than 5.5 million small and medium businesses worldwide in their transition to digital. She played an instrumental role in Vendasta’s $40 million capital raise in 2018, and more recently, helped lead its IPO process, which resulted in an oversubscribed $120M private investment.
“It’s humbling and inspiring to be listed among such incredible people across Canada, and I can’t say enough how grateful I am for this honour,” said Cook. “I’m surrounded by visionaries at Vendasta who push to make each other stronger, and it’s because of this team that I’m able to talk about this achievement today. I’m proud to be the one representing our company on the list.”
Cook began her career at Vendasta in 2014 in strategic partnerships and soon began directing alliances and business development. Her optimism and strategic vision elevated her to VP of Growth and later, Chief Strategy Officer. She has served as COO since early 2021. In addition, Cook is a board member of Saskatchewan’s first technology incubator Co.Labs, an alumna of the Next 36, and a YWCA Women of Distinction Award recipient.
“Enter a conversation with Jackie, and leave inspired,” said Vendasta CEO Brendan King. “She is one of the strongest visionaries on the prairies and likely among the greatest young leaders in Canada, and she makes us all better. I’m proud to call her a colleague and friend.”
Canada’s Top 40 Under 40® recognizes exceptional achievement by 40 outstanding Canadians who are under the age of 40. The program is supported by several prominent organizations, all enthusiastically committed to Top 40’s success, including:
- Founder and Managing Partner Caldwell
- Presenting Partner PwC Canada
- National Partner Gluskin Sheff
- Media Partners BNN Bloomberg and National Post
- Travel Partner Air Canada
- Event Partner ergoCentric Seating Systems
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Founded in 1995 by Caldwell, Top 40 has recognized almost 1,000 outstanding Canadians and is the country’s most coveted award for young business and community leaders. Recipients have a remarkable track record of continuing achievement; Top 40 alumni now include hundreds of nationally and internationally prominent CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs in the private, public, and social economy sectors.
Cook and her peers were selected from hundreds of nominees by a respected and independent advisory board comprising 30 diverse leaders from across Canada. Four key criteria were assessed to determine the recipients: Vision & Innovation, Leadership, Impact & Influence, and Social Responsibility.
The 2021 Top 40 Recipients were announced today in the National Post. Recipients will be honoured at a series of events to take place in the coming months.
About Vendasta
At Vendasta, our core purpose is to drive local economies by democratizing technology for small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). We accomplish this by providing a robust platform to local experts around the world—our channel partners. Partners use Vendasta’s technology to market, sell, bill, fulfill, and deliver digital solutions to their SMB clients. Our end-to-end platform and marketplace are tightly integrated into an operating system delivered to SMBs, providing a single sign-on to their digital products and analytics. Vendasta serves 60,000+ channel partners, who in turn work with more than 5.5 million SMBs worldwide. Learn more at www.vendasta.com.