CIBPA Awards
Each year at our Annual Gala Dinner, we award a Canadian Italian Business Professional Association (CIBPA) award to someone in Manitoba of Italian heritage that has risen above the rest and demonstrated the success that can be achieved by hard work but who also has given back to the community.
There are two CIBPA Awards that can be awarded in any particular year, though in some years, only one of these is awarded. If you wish to nominate someone for our next award, please contact us via email.
CIBPA Professional of the Year -This award is given to a business professional of Italian heritage who gains a high level of professional achievement while at the same time continues to recognize his Italian heritage by working within both the Italian community of Winnipeg as well as the greater community to achieve improvements.
CIBPA Entrepreneur of the Year - This award is given to someone of Italian descent who demonstrates the entrepreneurial spirit to achieve acclaim within the community.
We are honoured to present the following list of acclaimed Manitobans who have been awarded one of these prestigious awards.
2022 Entrepreneur of the Year:
Justin Bova
Having successfully managed and completed north of $1Billion of commercial projects in every sector across Western Canada, Mr. Bova as Founder, President and CEO of Pretium Projects Ltd. and Pretium Construction West, has become one of the fastest growing and highly sought after design builders and construction managers throughout the prairie provinces and Northwest Ontario.
His proprietary PRETIUM Lean Construction approach, emphasizing collaboration with Owners, Design, and Trade Partners, mitigating risk, eliminating waste and maximizing Client’s return on their investment, from the preconstruction phase through to Project Handover has resulted in Pretium becoming the preferred builder for major national and international brands.
Justin is also an exteemed past president of Sons and Daughters of Italy, Garibaldi lodge.
2018 Professional of the Year:
Dr. Rayleen De Luca
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It took 16 years as a homemaker before she enrolled in an afternoon psychology course at University of Winnipeg. With a lot of hard work, outstanding marks and a gold medal, she eventually earned a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, a Master's in Experimental Psychology and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology.
Rayleen's professional life has focused on helping vulnerable children, adolescents and their families recover and thrive. As a professor at the University of Manitoba, she has helped nurture a new generation of psychologists equally as committed to helping young Canadians.
She has received many honours for her contributions to the community, including the Order of Canada, Order of Manitoba, YMCA-YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for Health and Wellness and others.
We congratulate Rayleen on being this year's recipient of the CIBPA Professional Award.
2017 Entrepreneur of the Year:
Mr. Peter Mignacca (Subterranean (Manitoba) Ltd.)
Peter Mignacca is a soft-spoken man who avoids the spotlight. As President of Subterranean (Manitoba) Ltd., Peter is a respected leader in his industry. Subterranean Ltd has been one of the first companies on-site for some of Western Canada's most significant construction projects, including the Canadian Museum for Human rights, Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, Investors Group Field, Manitoba Hydro Place and many others.
Peter has also contributed greatly to the Italian community in Winnipeg. That same passion exists for his family and church -- he is always there to help those in need.
We congratulate Peter on being the recipient of the CIBPA Entrepreneur Award.
2016 Entrepreneur of the Year:
Mr. Louie Tolaini (TransX Group of Companies)
As owner of Winnipeg-based TransX, one of North America's leading transportation companies, and Tolaini Estate, his villa, vineyard and winery in Siena, Tuscany, Louie is both a respected entrepreneur and honoured winemaker.
Today, transX is a group of companies that employs 3,000 people, operated 6,500 pieces of road and rail equipment, and delivers 72,000 shipments a month between 12 terminals in Canada and the United States.
2015 Entrepreneur of the Year:
Mr. John Garcea (Garcia Group of Companies)
For his outstanding business success and ongoing commitment and generosity to the community, we are proud to award John Garcea this award for 2015.
John Garcea is President of the highly successful Garcea Group of Companies, which includes the flagship S&J Construction, Granite Concrete Services, Tuscany Construction and Colour Design Decorating. Despite the decades of growth and continuing success, the companies steadfastly remain a family business. Headed by John and his father Salvador (the "S" in S&J), the group of companies also employs many other members of the Garcea famiglia.
"My dad and I established the business through hard work but we also had the support of so many other people over the years. Success provides opportunities to help others, and as a family, we recognize how important it is for us to return the goodwill."
2014 Entrepreneur of the Year:
Mr. Joe Grande (Mona Lisa Ristorante Italiano)
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Congratulations to Giuseppe ‘Joe’ Grande. For 30 years, Joe has been a successful restaurateur, tireless community advocate and energetic supporter of all things Italian.
Since launching Mona Lisa Ristorante Italiano in 1983, Joe and his family and staff have championed authentic southern Italian cuisine and supported a variety of local charitable organizations and community initiatives.
Over the years, Mona Lisa has not only provided Joe with an opportunity to build a thriving business but also to fulfill his passion for connecting people. As everyone familiar with Joe appreciates, when you get to know him your neighbourhood expands and your circle of friends grows.
2013 Professional of the Year:
Mr. Tony Catanese (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP)
After 30 years of success in business and community service, Tony Catanese is satisfied that the life lessons he learned from his parents, Frank and Santina, are at the heart of all that he has accomplished. For Tony, it was a combination of traditional values and an old-world work ethic that laid the groundwork for his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers and his commitment to the Italian community.
"I'm extremely proud of what my parents achieved since arriving in Canada in 1960," Tony says. "From their example I learned that everything you achieve in life, including your reputation, is earned by being honest and hard working.
In Tony's profession (he's a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Business Valuator and Certified Fraud Examiner), personal integrity, confidentiality and business ethincs are the hallmarks of career excellence. For three decades, he has earned the truse of his clients and the respect of his fellow workers. After joining PricewaterhouseCoopers as an articling student in 1983, Tony has worked his way upward, gaining extensive experience in such disciplines as audit, accounitng, tax and business advisory services. Today, Tony is the Managing Parter of PricewaterhouseCoopers' Winnipeg office. It's a position of responsibility that provides him with opportunities not only to continue serving his clients, but also to assist in team building with his firm. Read more... (PDF)
2012 Professional of the Year:
Mr. Joe Aiello (92 CITI FM)
For Joe Aiello, a person’s life is often measured in the memories of strangers. A celebrated media personality, Joe’s face and name are known to generations of Winnipeggers, most of whom he has never met. Joe understands that with celebrity comes responsibility because he knows that when his days are up, people will remember more than just his voice.
“I’ve always believed that this job gives people like me a voice to speak out,” explains Joe. “When someone needs help, it’s important that we do what we can. I hope that when my time is up, people remember that I did what I could.”
Joe’s heart of gold comes naturally, he says. Born into a typical Italian family, he learned early on that familial ties and friendship are keys to a loving life and that giving back is something expected of everyone. As for his gilded tongue, well, that’s another story.
“Since I was a kid, I wanted to be in broadcasting,” he recalls. “I think my parents thought I was crazy because I’d walk around with my Mom’s spoons, pretending I was talking into a microphone. I was always fascinated with radio and I’ve been blessed with a long professional career in my hometown.”
Since 1986, Joe has been a fixture on local radio, working behind the scenes as a producer and on-air as a broadcaster. For the past 18 years, he’s been “Joe” in the Tom and Joe morning show on 92 CITI FM. It’s a gig he’s proud of because it lets him be himself; something that he doesn’t take for granted. read more... (PDF)
2011 Professional of the Year:
Mr. Charllie Aiello (CIBC Wood Gundy)
As a successful investment advisor and wealth manager, Charlie Aiello certainly understands the concept of risk and reward. For Charlie however, the true definition of the term is reflected in a lifetime of striving to balance his career with his family.
“My father taught us from an early age that while money may give you unlimited options, you’ll never be truly happy unless you have a life outside work,” explains Charlie. “There are plenty of financial rewards in the work I do but there’s great risk too if you don’t make time for family.”
To that end, Charlie is not only building a thriving financial planning business, he and his wife Pina are raising their daughter Samantha and sons Peter and Franco in a way that would make any Italian nonno and nonna proud. “Italian families love to get together to celebrate life and we’ve tried to raise our kids in that tradition,” states Charlie. “From my own experience, I’m closer to my cousins than many Canadians are to their own brothers
and sisters.” read more...
Video of 2011 Award to Charlie Aiello
2010 Entrepreneur of the Year Award:
The Aura Group
Like virtually every new Canadian who leaves behind the country of their birth to begin life anew in Canada, Pat Potenza, Tony Santarsieri, Mike Santarsieri, Rocco Macchia and Pasquale Martino arrived in Winnipeg from Italy with a dream to succeed. A half-century or so after settling in Canada and 31 years after launching their first professional endeavor, the partners of Winnipeg-based Aura Hair Group have triumphed by building one of western Canada's largest private hairstyling companies.
Pat, Mike, Tony, Rocco and Pasquale came to Canada at an early age. They were indicative of the many intrepid men and women who ventured far from their homelands in the 1960's to seize the opportunity to build careers, raise families and contribute to the prosperity of their new country. After several years of toiling for others, the partners formed Aura Hair Group to launch St. Vital Unisex in the St. Vital Shopping Centre. Full Story...
Past CIBPA Awards
2010 - Professional of the Year: Charles Sherbo, (Fillmore Riley LLP)
2009 - Professional of the Year: Vince Bueti (Pullan Kammerloch Frohlinger)
2008 - Professional of the Year: Tony Taronno & Tony Cesario (Horizon Insurance)
2008 - Entrepreneur of the Year: Joe Zirino (Zirino's group)
2007 - Professional of the Year: Dr. Frank Albi
2007 - Entrepreneur of the Year: De Luca family (De Luca's group)
2006 - Entrepreneur of the Year: Maria De Nardi (De Nardi group)
2006 - Entrepreneur of the Year: Joe Paletta (Paletta Group)
2005 - Entrepreneur of the Year: Joe Bova (Manshield Construction)