Draft:Robin Kovitz

Robin Kovitz
Robin Michelle Kovitz (born in 1980) is a Canadian entrepreneur and humanitarian. She is the President, CEO & Owner of Baskits Inc. a luxury gifting brand on a mission to inspire people everywhere to live happier lives.

Background & Family
Kovitz was born in Calgary, Alberta the daughter of entrepreneur Ron Kovitz and Pam Kovitz. She has two siblings who live in the United States. Her Paternal grandmother was Muriel Kovitz a tireless community volunteer, Order of Canada recipient and pioneering woman on corporate boards across Canada. Robin is a first cousin to Jodi Kovitz and the great niece of Alvin Libin, also an Order of Canada recipient and one of the owners of the Calgary Flames, a professional ice hockey team.

Education
In 1998, Robin enrolled at the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. She graduated in 2002 with a honours Commerce degree. In 2005, Kovitz enrolled at the Harvard Business School where she graduated in 2007 with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree.

Career Path
After graduating from undergraduate business school, Kovitz worked at CIBC Capital Markets in their Mergers & Acquisitions investment banking team, as the only professional woman in the group. In 2005, she received the Chairman’s award for exceptional contribution. During the summer of her MBA program, Robin interned at the Boston Consulting Group. After graduating from her MBA, Robin worked in private equity, including at Bedford Capital Partners where she was part of a 2-person deal team that acquired Champion Petfoods, one of the most successful mid-cap buyouts in Canadian history.

Search Fund
In 2011, after the birth of first child, Robin left her career on Bay Street to create a Search Fund with the objective of finding and acquiring a business to own and operate. She believed this non-traditional career path would provide her with greater flexibility and the ability to work from home and stay close to her newborn daughter. As one of the first women in the world to pursue this career path, Robin was closely followed by professors at both the Harvard Business School and Yale School of Management.

Business Acquisition
In 2014, shortly after the birth of her second child, Kovitz became one of the first women in the world to become an Entrepreneur Through Acquisition (ETA), successfully acquiring Baskits Inc. Founded in 1985, Baskits was a gift basket company with a decent (but dated) brand on a negative sales trajectory. Post acquisition, Robin worked tirelessly to turn around the business, build a world class team and reposition the company for material growth. Since that time, Baskits has grown several fold and is now widely recognized as a strong national brand and leader in the eCommerce sector with significant export potential. The Harvard Business School published a case study on Kovitz's journey and experience.

Public Speaking
Robin is a frequent guest lecturer at both the Harvard School of Business and Yale School of Management, where she serves as a passionate role model for women aspiring to acquire and operate their own businesses. Robin is a sought-after expert and commentator on topics including Entrepreneurship, Women in business and eCommerce. She is a tireless advocate of ensuring women entrepreneurs in Canada have equal access to capital.

Community Contribution
In 2003, Robin worked with non-profit organization, Women in Capital Markets, to develop a programs that made learning about careers in the capital markets more accessible to women and girls all across Canada. Since 2007, Robin has served as a consultant to the Admissions team at the Harvard Business School, responsible for marketing and yield activities in Canada. Robin has helped countless Canadians attend the Harvard Business School and return to Canada to share what they have learned and contribute towards the improvement of Canada. In 2008, Robin helped create a scholarships program with the Harvard Business School Club of Toronto. This program has funded over fifty scholarships over the last 15 years for non-profit leaders to attend executive education programs at the Harvard Business School and bring their learnings back to the non-profit organizations they lead in the Greater Toronto Area.

Giving Back
Since 2014, Baskits Inc. has donated thousands of gift baskets, services and dollars to charities all across Canada. Baskits is particularly proud of its past sponsorship of organizations such as Right to Play, National Ballet of Canada and Canadian Cancer Society. As a passionate believer in the importance and value of diversity and inclusion, Robin worked with Baskits in 2018 to partner with Good Foot Delivery to deliver gift baskets during the holiday season. Good Foot is a courier service that provides stable, meaningful employment for people from the neurodiverse community. In 2023, Baskits Inc. began the process of becoming a B Corp. In 2021, Robin participated in Humour Me, a charity event where a group of committed sponsors, brave CEOs and stand-up comedians come together to raise money for worthy causes. After training for over a year, Robin competed against 4 other CEOs, performing a 5-minute bit of original standup comedy and raising over $2.1 million for dementia and Baycrest Health Sciences.

Awards & Recognition
Kovitz was recognized on the list of WXN's Canada 100 most powerful women in 2017 and again in 2021. In 2021, Robin was recognized as a Women of Inspiration by the Universal Womens Network. For 3 consecutive years in a row, from 2020-2022, Baskits Inc. was recognized as one of the Top Growing companies in Canada. Baskits is one of very few female-owned and operated businesses to receive this recognition. Over the last several years, Robin has been recognized as a finalist in Canada’s Top 40 under 40, EY Entrepreneur of the Year and RBC Canadian Entrepreneur Awards. She is one of few entrepreneurs who publicly shares the awards she doesn’t win to try to help others see that entrepreneurship is never as glamourous, easy or linear as it may seem!

Personal Life
In 2007, Robin married Sam Johnston who is from Chilliwack, British Columbia. They reside in Toronto with their 2 children.