User Submitted Story

She held many positions in Corporate and Commercial Banking as well as Risk Management in her 15-year career with the bank. Heather joined Canso in February 2003 in credit research and portfolio management and until mid-2019, was responsible for client service and marketing and also held the title of Chief Compliance Officer. In 2019, Heather became the Chief Strategy and Operating Officer and in March 2023, was appointed to President. In this role, Heather continues to be involved in portfolio management and credit analysis and is also responsible for all non-investment related activities for Canso.

I did not start my career thinking I’d end up working in the investment industry. In fact, I knew nothing about the industry. My original plan was to become a math teacher. There were no jobs in teaching in the early 1980s, so I made the decision to continue in school and earn my MBA. I chose finance as my major because my undergraduate degree was in math. That led me to work in the banking sector for many years until I joined Canso. I learned a lot as a corporate and commercial banker and these skills have been beneficial in my career at Canso. I was very fortunate to join Canso in its early stages, so I have been involved in many aspects of the business. As we grew and required more structure, moving into a managing role was a natural evolution. I really enjoy working with the younger team in my role as President and hope that I am a role model for the younger women in the sector. While there are many skilled women in the financial services sector, for various reasons, few make it to the top. I also am very fortunate to have been able to give back to the community through organizations like The United Way. Giving back is very important to me.

Balancing work and family life was one of the biggest challenges I faced. My husband and I both had busy careers, and we also had long commutes when I was at the bank. We didn’t have parents nearby who could help if the children were ill, and it was hard to make sure we were fully “on” with our boys when we were home in the evenings. While still at the bank I was fortunate to work for a man who was more forward thinking about work flexibility and he allowed me to work from home three days a week. This was in the late 1990s when hybrid work arrangements were not at all common. When I joined Canso, my commute was greatly reduced and I had more built in flexibility so I returned to working five days a week in the office. In hindsight, I wish I had joined Canso sooner but at the same time, the additional skills I learned at the bank were beneficial to me and to Canso, so in the end things worked out very well.

I am not sure that our education system exposes young people to the various career options in the financial services or investment sector, as a result, I don’t think young people are aware of the career opportunities available, particularly in the portfolio management industry. At Canso, we hire interns from all educational backgrounds, not just finance, and that has been an excellent way to grow our team in a diverse way. I think if more companies did this, more young women would have exposure to the opportunities and career paths available. In addition, firms need to offer greater flexibility so employees can balance work and family life. Too many bright and promising young women choose to sideline their career or even opt out of the profession all together due to the pressures of having a busy career and personal or family commitments. Businesses benefit from having a diverse workforce, so investing in young people early will have a long term benefit.

I am very grateful for the time I spent involved with UWGT. I met so many wonderful individuals along the way and learned so much about the dedication and commitment of people in the nonprofit sector. They really are the unsung heroes. There isn’t a budget for large salaries or other perks; people aren’t there for the money, but rather for a love of what they do, and the impact they make. It also changed my understanding of how great the need is in our community and the various ways one can help those in need.

I think the sector will need to continue to evolve their thinking as government support is likely to continue to decline and more organizations are reaching out to donors for support. It will be critical for the sector to be able to clearly articulate their value proposition to attract and retain donors. Finding ways to engage younger people will also be very important. Even though younger donors may not have the financial means to donate, they can support in other ways such as through volunteering. Through volunteering, you can gain a better understanding and commitment to the great work being done. I think anyone who has spent time volunteering at UWGT is a committed donor for many years following their volunteer time. Long term donors will be very important to this sector. In terms of the need for mergers, I would say critical mass will be needed for longevity, but organizations need to guard against bureaucracy as they grow through mergers.

As Canadians, we tend to shy away from self promotion, but it is very important for the nonprofit sector to let people know about all the good work the nonprofit does and how it benefits the community at large. This can start from within – recognizing the contributions of staff at a nonprofit can become a story in itself! The print and digital media sector will focus on stories that sell. There are also many private family foundations in Canada, founded by successful and wealthy families who do great work in support of nonprofits. These families tend to shy away from the media, but if they’d be willing to profile the great work they do for the community through various nonprofit organizations, that would be appealing to the media and would be very beneficial to the nonprofits profiled.