Rachel is well known for her leadership and entrepreneurial achievement as Founder & CEO of Canadian jewelry brand, Hillberg & Berk. The company started from her kitchen table and was named to honour her great-grandmother, Hilda Bergman. With fourteen stores across Canada, and global Ecommerce operations, Rachel has grown the H&B brand that continues to attract international attention and demand. Rachel’s business successes have included a showing at The Oscars, a deal on Dragon’s Den, partnerships with Olympic ice dance champion Tessa Virtue, model and activist Ashley Callingbull, Canadian influencer Jillian Harris, and two custom design commissions for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Rachel has built a successful national brand with purpose and impact baked into the DNA. Since inception, H&B has donated millions in financial and product contributions to partner organizations who share the company’s mission to connect women to their power.
Rachel’s accolades and volunteer contributions over the years are impressive, as she passionately works to recognize and empower women across Canada and around the world. Rachel was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal for her volunteer work in 2012 and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2023, was named an Ernst and Young class of Winning Women in 2015, was named one of XL’s Canada’s Top 40 under 40 in 2017, was named one of Women’s Executive Network Canada’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2016 and 2017 and received the Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Celebration of Achievement Award in 2018.
As a notable alumna from the University of Regina, Rachel received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree in 2022, and supports the Saskatchewan community by generously funding several scholarships that empower young women. Rachel volunteers her time as an Honorary Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy and on the national board of Dress for Success Canada.
More recently, Rachel has been very open about her cervical cancer journey, in hopes that it might encourage other women to access healthcare and undergo regular pap testing, and she channels this passion into advocacy and philanthropy for medical innovation for women’s health through Women Leading Philanthropy in Saskatchewan. Rachel is married to her best friend, Zlatan, and is a proud mom to three children.