Carolyn Tastad (BComm’83)
Lifetime Achievement Award
As an inspiring executive at the global corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G), Carolyn Tastad (BComm’83) made an international impact through her passionate advocacy of gender and intersectional equity within the workplace and the world. Tastad is known as a transformative leader inside and outside of P&G, delivering breakthrough business results and changing organizational capabilities and culture.
Tastad grew up in small-town Saskatchewan, where her father farmed and her mother taught school. After high school Tastad attended the University of Saskatchewan, where she earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1983. Upon graduation, she immediately joined P&G Canada as a management system analyst, moving on to sales and general management. She worked across P&G’s full portfolio of brands and led national, multinational, and global organizations, living in Canada, the United States, and Switzerland.
Tastad retired from her distinguished 39-year career at P&G in 2022 as chief executive officer of P&G’s global health-care business, which includes brands such as Crest, Oral B, and Vicks. Previously, Tastad led P&G’s $35-billion North America business and operations, the company’s largest and most profitable region, where she led a major transformation that delivered and sustained the strongest results in more than a decade and became the model for global reapplication.
As executive sponsor of P&G’s gender equality efforts, Tastad led efforts to build a company and world free from bias with equal voice, equal opportunity, and equal representation for all individuals. The work, branded as #WeSeeEqual, included helping the company meet its pay-equity goal for women, advance equal representation of men and women at all levels of the company, and adopt policies and practices such as parental leave in all geographies. Tastad also used the influence of P&G—one of the world’s largest advertisers—to address social issues, such as gender and sexual identity stereotypes. Many P&G brands are using their voices to tackle bias, including campaigns such as Always' #LikeAGirl and #EndPeriodPoverty, Olay’s work with girls in STEM, and Ariel’s #ShareTheLoad, which is focused on the chore gap between men and women. P&G won an Emmy for “The Talk,” which depicts Black parents discussing systemic racism with their children. Tastad represented P&G at many external forums focused on advancing equality, including the World Economic Forum and the Bloomberg Equality Summit and, with a colleague, released a six-episode podcast series on iHeartRadio.
Tastad, who now lives in Ojai, California, demonstrated authenticity, curiosity, intellect, and high standards throughout her career, earning her a place on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list from 2015 to 2018. In 2015, she was also honoured by the Women’s Project Theater as a Woman of Achievement, which celebrated her groundbreaking contributions and willingness to push boundaries across various fields. That same year, the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati recognized her dynamic leadership, career success, and exemplary role modeling by naming her a Woman of Achievement. Tastad’s long-time commitment to inclusivity and excellence has inspired countless individuals within P&G and beyond.