The story so far

Looking back I realize I’ve worked around founders for my entire career. My first job was at a data centre hardware startup. I started as the office manager and not long after that I became the EA to the Founder & CEO. He was a seasoned entrepreneur, and a polished founder, and this was my first role as an Executive Assistant. Needless to say, I learned a lot, and was lucky to have him show me the ropes of managing startup life. I definitely feel like I learned from the best.

‍Fast forward to my role at OMERS Ventures, and I’m still working around founders, although a little more removed from the controlled chaos of daily startup life. My role now is focused on enabling our investors to best support our community of entrepreneurs, and that looks different everyday. It’s one of the things I like best about the job. One of the qualities that EAs share is an ability to be comfortable in any environment and adapt to a wide range of personalities and styles. In my role, it helps to be a bit of a chameleon - to assess the moment and react accordingly. Some of the best EAs I’ve known are the most unflappable people I’ve ever met.

‍What should founders know about you?

Sometimes I think of myself as Google IRL. I’ve always been resourceful, but in this role, I’ve become even more of a sleuth. I love finding information, or figuring out how things work. I’m always willing to investigate and while I’ll never have all the answers, most of the time I can figure out how to find them. I like to think founders can ask me anything - I’ll do my best to figure it out.

‍Aside from that, to me, the phrase ‘no job is too small’ is representative of the enormous impact EAs can have. There is a willingness to pitch in regardless of the task that creates a sense of camaraderie that is hard to beat. Sometimes, it’s the smallest things that make the biggest difference, and I love creating those moments.

‍What is something you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t?

Skydiving. As I get older, I realize this is something I should have tackled when I was younger, without too much life experience. The older I get, the more I think about all the ways it could go wrong!

What do you do when you’re not working?

I like being out in nature - I love the ocean. I have an annual pass for the aquarium, I could go everyday!

‍I also have a passion for graphic design. In school I was on the yearbook staff - designing the spreads, writing the stories, taking the photos and doing the layouts. It stuck with me. I’ve started integrating more design work into my role at OV, and I’ve been loving that.