SUCCESS THROUGH CONTINUOUS
LEARNING AND BUSINESS IMPACT
Tracy Lapointe is a huge proponent
of continuous learning. From the
time she accepted her first hu-man
resources job as a training
coordinator for one of Canada’s big-gest
banks, her professional success has
been rooted in her dedication to never-
ending self-improvement and a drive for
direct business impact. Throughout her
25-year career, Lapointe has accumulat-ed
extensive HR and business experience
in a series of progressive leadership posi-tions
in both Canada and the U.S. Today,
she is vice president of human resources
for the Canadian division of GSK, where
she is responsible for the full spectrum
of HR services provided to the compa-ny’s
2,300 employees from coast to coast.
HR Professional caught up with
Lapointe to discuss how human re-sources
can lead through change, keep
pace with an ever-changing business cli-mate,
and deliver value through constant
improvement.
interview
HRP: How and when did you
decide upon an HR career?
TL: When I finished my first degree I
had several different interviews. While I
didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do,
I knew I wanted to interact with people,
be continually challenged and have an
impact. It was the HR interview that was
clearly the best fit, and I accepted a po-sition
in the bank’s training department.
At first, I coordinated employee training
classes; then, I taught in the classroom
as well as banking centres. Seeing the
importance of business knowledge to a
progressive HR career, I completed my
business degree in the evening and took
on increasingly challenging roles.
HRP: Describe your current job.
TL: I started at GSK in 2011. I am a
member of the executive team and re-sponsible
for all aspects of HR. This
includes HR services such as compensa-tion,
recruitment, learning and employee
relations, as well as strategic business
partnering, talent management, change
By Lisa Gordon
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ OCTOBER 2014 ❚ 51