It is 250 years (on September 24th) since Arthur Guinness established the iconic brand that is synonymous with Ireland. Nowadays the Guinness brand is a proud member of Diageo's world class collection of premium beverage alcohol brands.

Debra Kelly-Ennis, President and CEO of Diageo Canada does not take the responsibility of these brands lightly. "It is a humbling experience to represent such brands. We're just stewards of these brands and only have a short time to build on these legacies as we stand on the shoulders of giants, such as Arthur Guinness".

In a career that would look impressive on any CV, Kelly-Ennis has held executive marketing positions at Coca Cola, Saab U.S.A, RJR Nabisco and Grand Metropolitan, plc. Prior to attaining the corner office in Canada, Kelly-Ennis was Chief Marketing Officer for Diageo North America. Growing up with her two siblings in Clearlake City, Texas, Kelly-Ennis is a graduate of the University of Texas and the University of Houston where she garnered her M.B.A. in Marketing and Business. Through her direct involvement with the Guinness brand, Kelly-Ennis has visited Ireland on many an occasion and is really looking forward to her trip in September for the celebration of the Guinness 250 on September 24th. "This will be a time where I hope to make some inroads on finding those elusive Kelly roots as I believe there are Kelly's in all 32 counties". Kelly-Ennis beams with admiration when she talks about the success of Guinness in Canada "Over the last few years Canada has grown to now be one of the best performing of Guinness 180 markets worldwide. That doesn't come without a lot of handwork and dedication. With our world class team at Diageo Canada, we are on course to double the value of our beer business in Canada by 2011".

To attain such performance during a worldwide recession, Kelly-Ennis and her team are building partnerships with other world class brands. On the day we visited Diageo's headquarters in Toronto's west end, Kelly-Ennis announced that Diageo had just become the agent for the now Heineken owned Scottish & Newcastle brands in Canada - Strongbow Cider, Bulmers Original Cider and Newcastle Brown Ale. More iconic brands in the Diageo quiver.

In April, Diageo Canada was officially named as one of 2009's "Best Workplaces in Canada" by the Great Place to Work Institute a global research and management consultancy. "We are tremendously proud to be officially recognized as one of the best places to work in Canada" says Kelly-Ennis. "Employee satisfaction and engagement is vital to the ongoing success of Diageo. Being recognized in this way says that the value we place on our employees has traction, and that means a lot to us".

Over the last few years, an employee-driven initiative with Project Evergreen, a national, non-profit environmental organization has seen Diageo employees' plant over 8,000 trees across Canada as part of their commitment to corporate social responsibility. And what of the potential dilemma for a beverage alcohol company in respect to corporate profits vs. social responsibility? Kelly-Ennis is emphatic and crystal clear in her response. "Social responsibility is a critical element in everything we do. We will never allow our corporate profitability goals to compromise our commitment to social responsibility". This commitment was front and centre at the Ireland Fund of Canada's St. Patrick's Day Luncheon when Pillar Sponsor, Diageo Canada handed out TTC tokens to all attendees. Nice touch and a very clear message - Don't Drink and Drive. Another major initiative in Diageo's commitment to social responsibility is Kelly-Ennis's championing of "Dress for Success", an international not-for-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. On May 9th Kelly-Ennis and her team helped launch the Toronto Chapter of "Dress for Success" with a spectacular event at L.C.B.O.'s flagship store at Summerhill in downtown Toronto. In spite of inclement weather on the day, the "Party with a Purpose" event was an unqualified success. This was another prime example of Diageo leveraging a great relationship and partnership with the L.C.B.O. to help out those less fortunate.