Kate’s natural leadership abilities and eye for style have helped her develop into the well versed leader she is today. Balancing both a legal position for the Corporate Secretarial and Securities group as well as involvement with art via Pivot Glenbow, Kate is constantly juggling many different roles in today’s YPDaily…
Elevator Pitch: Describe your job in a nutshell.
I’m in house counsel with Talisman Energy, an independent oil and gas company, and I work specifically on securities law as well as compensation and corporate governance.
Why did you start working at your company? What was the inspiration for this career route?
I chose law as a career path because it is open-ended, and provides training and experience that can be applied to any number of things further afield. And I started working for Talisman in this particular role because I was looking for a job where I would be part of a great team, with challenging work, and have the ability to balance my corporate work with the community work in which I’m involved.
What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis? The most challenging part?
The people I work with are definitely the best part of my job. Not surprisingly perhaps, they’re the best part of the community initiatives in which I’m involved too. I work and volunteer with very capable people – many of them women – and I learn a lot from them. The most challenging part of my job is that anything might spring up on any given day. But this makes my job interesting as well since it’s never the same day after day.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I don’t know for sure. I have a number of competing visions. That’s part of why I admire people who are able to thrive in a number of roles at once.
What does success look like to you?
Success involves a multitude of things for me, and certainly not just about a career. Success for me is measured by accomplishment – being able to meet goals, get something done and have an impact.
What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
Oddly enough, it is probably the earliest milestone in my career – my first job out of law school working at a law firm in New York. I learned so much in the time I was there, and it was such an interesting experience to work on some of the big Wall St. deals and to gain some insights into the Wall St. culture.
Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
I’d advise young professionals to get involved in the community. It may sound cliché, but you really do get back more than you put in. And especially being still young and early in our careers, it’s not unlikely that you will be charged with more responsibility in the philanthropic roles than at work – there is much to learn, and many impressive people to learn from, in the volunteering sphere.
Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
I think it’s very important to support charitable and community-focussed organizations – I am on the steering committee for Pivot, which is an initiative for the Glenbow museum’s young patrons, and I am involved with the Calgary YWCA, the Aga Khan Foundation of Canada, and ArtsVote, a non-partisan arts advocacy group. As mentioned above, community involvement is important to me because – thinking particularly about engagement in my community, Calgary – young professionals have a huge capacity to make a difference. This is such a malleable and entrepreneurial place, which means that energetic, bright young professionals have a tremendous ability to take our ideas for our community and make them happen.
What to you is notable?
Being able to take on and take interest in a multitude of things, do them well, and stay grounded.
Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Other?
Blackberry at work; iPhone after work.