Mandy Rennehan

Mandy Rennehan was born and raised in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and came from very humble beginnings. The daughter of a lobster fisherman, her family of six faced many challenges including growing up in a community that relied on a seasonal fishing industry. Many times, her parents struggled to put food on the table. This motivated her to strive for a different life with fewer financial hardships. While other kids were busy playing being kids, Mandy was foraging for bait and selling it to the local fishermen for profit. Dubbed the ‘local fish broker,’ an entrepreneurial visionary was born at the age of 10.

Mandy 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 (not the grocery store!!) 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.

Mandy is known as the Blue Collar CEO for her ability to seamlessly navigate between the white- and blue-collar worlds, and as a tireless advocate for the trades, this is the story of how Rennehan succeeded in business through honesty, integrity, and most of all, authenticity—by always remaining true to herself and her vision for success.