First job: Serving burgers at
McDonald’s in Fort McMurray, Alta.
I was born in Belfast, Ireland, but
spent part of my teenage years in Fort
McMurray when we came to Canada.
Childhood ambition: I wanted to
be an ice skater, which is so ironic
because we didn’t have any ice rinks
in Ireland back then.
Best boss and why: My current
boss, the CEO here at Moneris,
Angela Brown. She’s an incredible
leader; she brings a very down-toearth
approach to her leadership
style; she’s driving a very ambitious
strategy in a very pragmatic way.
She genuinely appreciates the
contributions of every employee in
the organization.
Current source of inspiration: Right
now it’s my team here at Moneris.
We developed a new HR strategy
when I joined last year, and they’ve
been so motivated at driving it. It’s
really great to be able to watch it
happen.
Best piece of advice you ever got:
To view all forms of feedback,
especially constructive feedback,
as a gift.
Favourite music: I like a wide range,
from Katy Perry to Bon Jovi to Neil
Diamond. I listen to pretty much
everything.
Last book you read: I read a lot of
business books and articles, so in
my free time I like to chill out. The
last book I read was Six Years by
Harlan Coben. It’s a suspense novel.
How you spend your time away
from work: I’m mostly with family
and friends, which usually involves
eating out or entertaining at my
home with small dinner parties. I
always seem to have some sort of
home improvement project on the
go; it seems to be a never-ending
cycle. I also go to the gym and try to
stay healthy.
business, while also building relationships at the same time, is
very important.
What tips do you have for new grads or those in entrylevel
HR jobs who want to move up the ladder?
DH: Knowing the industry that you are working in and being up
on other issues besides HR is important. The one thing that has
worked for me over the years is asking, “What business problem
are we trying to solve?” You really have to focus on the business issue
and then back away to determine what is possible and what is
not, from an HR perspective.
IN A
NUTSHELL
What’s the future of HR?
DH: I think HR needs to be more fast-paced to keep up with
business. We’re hitting a lot of change in workforce demographics
and employees with different expectations. One leadership
style does not fit all, so being nimble and coming up with creative
solutions is important. HR has come a long way in leveraging
technology, but we have to go even further. Our workforce today
is comfortable in a mobile, social space so our way of interacting
with our employees and our workforces needs to evolve along
those lines. It won’t be the only way we interact with our employees,
but it will definitely be one way. We have to be looking
ahead, not in the rear-view mirror. n
hr influencer