Linamar CEO rubs elbows with President Trump

Linamar CEO Linda Hasenfratz was in Washington Monday taking part in a round table on women in the workforce that included U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Hasenfratz was one of a dozen American and Canadian women executives invited to the event that also featured Trump's daughter Ivanka.

During the event Trump and Trudeau announced the launching of the Canada-United States Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs.

"We have some of the great ones in this room -- and business leaders," Trump said in his official opening remarks.

"We need to make it easier for women to manage the demands of having both a job and a family, and we also need to make it easier for women entrepreneurs to get access to capital," Trump said.

Prime Minister Trudeau said that "whenever I sit down with a woman executive, I know that she has had to overcome significant barriers that exist, and therefore is likely to have greater insight into how to help reduce those barriers for others, but also be a formidable contributor to the success of business and her economy."

During the official remarks Hasenfratz described Linamar and the work it does.

"We're a diversified manufacturing company. We have 57 plants and 25,000 employees around the world, including right here in the U.S. and, of course, also heavily invested in Canada," Hasenfratz said during her opportunity to speak to the media during opening remarks.

"We've doubled our workforce in the U.S. over the last five years. We've also doubled our workforce in Canada over the last five years and have a lot of exciting opportunities for growth. We're mainly in the auto parts and access equipment sectors."