Gina Cody

Gina Parvaneh Cody is a Canadian-Iranian engineer and business leader.

In 1989, Cody became the first woman in Canada to earn a PhD in building engineering. In 2018, following her donation of $15 million, Concordia University renamed its faculty of engineering and computer science after her (the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science), making it the first university engineering and computer science faculty to be named after a woman in Canada, and one of the first internationally.

Early life and education Cody was born in Iran in 1956. In 1978, Cody completed a Bachelor of Science degree in structural engineering at Aryamehr University of Technology (now called Sharif University of Technology).

Cody eventually became the executive chair and principal shareholder of CCI Group Inc.

Awards and honours For her contributions to engineering, business and her community, Cody has received numerous awards, including an Award of Merit from the Canadian Standards Association, a Volunteer Service Award from the Government of Ontario and Officer of the Order of Honour of Professional Engineers Ontario. The Financial Post recognized Construction Control (then under Cody's management) as one of Canada's best managed companies. The following year, the Concordia University Alumni Association named her Alumna of the Year. and was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2021. She was inducted as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering in 2019. Cody was named one of Canada's Top 25 Women of Influence in 2020 and a Woman of Distinction by the Women’s Y Foundation of Montreal in 2023.

In 2022 Cody was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering by the University of Sherbrooke and named outstanding major donor for 2022 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Quebec. She is also an honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the 34 Combat Engineer Regiment (CER) of the Canadian Armed Forces.

Personal life Cody currently resides in Toronto and is married to Thomas Cody, a Concordia MBA graduate and retired Bank of America Canada senior vice-president, whom she met while both were students at Concordia. The couple have two daughters, Roya and Tina Cody.