Mandy Rennehan

Mandy Rennehan, founder and CEO of the Burlington, Ont.-based retail construction and maintenance company Freshco Retail Maintenance Inc. (not the grocery store, she notes), is a self-made multimillionaire, philanthropist, award-winning entrepreneur, host of HGTV’s "Trading Up with Mandy Rennehan" and trade-industry ambassador.

Commonly referred to as “Bear,” she founded the company at the age of 19. Born and raised in Yarmouth, N.S., she came from little money and her parents struggled to feed her and her three brothers. To help her father, a lobster fisherman, 10-year-old Bear foraged for bait and sold it to the local fishing community for profit.

Rennehan left home at the age of 18 with a dirty hockey bag, a little bit of personality and a big smile. She had a desire to know more about construction and to make her parents lives easier. She began working nights for local contractors for free to gain experience.

In 1995 when she was 19 years old, Freshco came to fruition. The first full service, 24/7, on-call retail maintenance provider with complete coverage across Canada and the eastern United States. Today, Freshco is the most successful and fiscally responsible retail maintenance business in the country with three collaborative divisions – Maintenance, Projects, and Reconstruction, serving retail giants like Anthropologie, Apple, Banana Republic, Bell Media, Home Depot, LuluLemon, Nike, Restoration Hardware, RBC, Sephora, under armor, Tiffany & Co., plus many more.

Freshco.ca still continues to grow in Canada and the US as the “fun company” in the industry, advocating for women in trades and also as a pioneer of transparency and innovation.