Shannon Byrne, the president and CEO of Whistler’s Paradata Systems, has received a prestigious Top 40 Under 40 Award in recognition of her contributions and achievements in the Canadian business community.
"It is absolutely unbelievable to be named and included among such an impressive group of individuals," says Byrne. "Looking over the list and seeing my name came as a total surprise. My accomplishments and career has been one of pure survival – just doing what needed to be done. Being named as one of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 is an absolute honour."
The award is sponsored by The Caldwell Partners International, TD Bank Financial Group, The Globe and Mail, Report on Business Magazine, Air Canada, Henry Birk and Sons and Park Hyatt Toronto, and awarded by a board of directors.
In the last three years, Byrne has helped to grow Paradata from a small company of four unpaid employees to an international company with more than 70 employees and offices in Whistler, Vancouver, Toronto and Zurich, Switzerland. The company is looking at expanding into the U.S.
Paradata specializes in developing and integrating secure online payment systems based on the Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) protocol, which uses unique digital certificates to verify the validity of every participant in the transaction process.
The company is also famous for its location and its innovative "work hard, play hard" atmosphere – every employee gets a ski pass, and time off to use it during the week.
"There are a lot of reasons why Shannon is among Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 – with seven years to spare," says Ralph Lutes, Paradata general counsel and vice president. "One of them is her ability to look at complexity and see clarity."
"Shannon deserves this," says Maureen Daschuk, the vice president of marketing and business development. "She has dedicated her life to personal and professional success. She is a visionary who clearly demonstrates the vision and gives people the freedom to achieve it in the best way possible."
