Isabelle Hudon, recently appointed President and CEO of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), has earned her place among Canada’s most influential figures. Former Canadian Ambassador to France and Monaco, personal representative of the Canadian Prime Minister to La Francophonie, and having been the first president of Sun Life Financial Quebéc, Hudon’s remarkable career is a testament to her instinctive leadership and entrepreneurial merit.
His appointment to the BDC marks a historic opportunity for Canada to rebuild a more inclusive, diverse and sustainable economy, overlooking a total portfolio of nearly $ 40 billion for Canadian small and medium-sized businesses. We caught up with Hudon in part of the Canadian business Leadership circle to discuss your new role, vision for the future, and more.
He has held several highly distinguished positions throughout his career. What have been some of the most important leadership lessons you have learned along the way?
One of the most important lessons I have learned is the true definition of resilience. In nature, we all know what resilience means, but I invite all my colleagues at the BDC to consider this definition: The amount of potential energy needed to go beyond the probable and take advantage of opportunities. When a highly qualified team sets very ambitious goals and chooses to go higher than before, I believe the impossible becomes possible. That, for me, is resilience.
Have there been times in your career when you felt insecure? If so, how did you overcome them?
Many times. People who know me often think that my confidence comes with the absence of doubts or doubts, which is not true. One thing I am sure of is that I am not afraid to be afraid. While I think it is healthier to question than to doubt, I have never been afraid to move forward despite not having 100% certainty about the decision I am making. I have learned not to strive for perfection, but for excellence.
In 2010, I was invited to be the first president of Sun Life Quebéc. I joined the organization with a great sense of confidence because I knew exactly what I was bringing to the table. However, after my appointment was announced to employees and competitors, skepticism about my qualifications was generated, especially since I entered the position with virtually no financial background. I felt I had a credibility deficit. At that moment, I knew that I could be consumed by this discouragement and run, or recognize the validity of his curiosities, put the work in and get over it. While many of our competitors had fun with my appointment, within three years we were back in growth mode and regained a leadership position in Quebéc in both retirement and benefit programs.
How do you think the business landscape in Canada is evolving?
This landscape is evolving in all parts of the world and those who cannot recognize it are losing their way, so to speak. In Canada, it was evolving before the pandemic, but the past year and a half has given a sharp curve to this evolution. Of course, one area is digital integration. Since this becomes a big part of our evolution at BDC, I think it is important now to think about our vision, purpose and impact. Not necessarily to change everything we’ve worked on for so long, but to avoid the exclusion of reinvention. Along with all this change, people are also changing. There is great pressure on organizations to offer different types of traditional products or services in a new and inventive way.
Do you think companies evolve naturally along with a changing consumer market or do you think it should be intentional?
My short answer is yes and no. When we think of new players in a sector, it is instinctive to think of Uber, a perfect example of an unconventional player breaking a very conventional sector. This company made it very clear that when you take a problem and offer you a solution, customers will follow and consumers will align with this. Even if a market has survived in a certain way for years, when new interests emerge, the market must keep up. So, for example, when you take this business approach and consider the challenges we face during the pandemic, it is natural in some way for businesses to evolve in line with these changes. In the next five years, I believe that we will once again be exposed to further changes as a way of staying highly relevant to our clients. This evolution depends on both parties.
What do you think is the CDB’s most important role in reshaping Canada’s economy after the pandemic?
Our highest consideration will always be determining what impact we want to have on Canadians. This should not be defined solely by financial results. To be clear, I define BDC as a bank with a cause. It is very comparable to a charter bank in the sense that we have very similar products, but we are also very empowered with a mission. We have the responsibility to serve our country and the power to do so with and for entrepreneurs. It’s about where, why and how we want to make an impact; this could be climate justice, diversity, GDP, or jobs, to name a few. I think there is not only one answer, but it will always be a composition of some of these ingredients. Acknowledging the extent of our impact is undoubtedly one of the most important roles in the renewal of our economy as we emerge from this pandemic.
As the bank’s first female president and CEO, how do you hope your appointment will influence future generations of women in executive leadership positions?
I think being a woman will bring a different perspective to the BDC. Not necessarily better or worse than a man’s, but different, which I consider a very important component to success. Having a well diversified lens allows us to refine the ways we approach different problems. As a woman, I have liked to unblock conversations within the BDC that may not have been happening in a room full of men. I may be known for being very impatient (which is true), but I am also known for being direct and very transparent.
I told the team that on a couple of issues, including gender equality and diversity in the workplace, I am non-negotiable. If we are ready to set goals around financial matters, we must be equally prepared to disclose goals around diversity, because what gets measured gets done. That is why 50 percent of our staff at BDC are women compared to a job market availability of 46.5 percent. I am not pushing for our organizations and decision makers to become 100% female, but conversations need to be unlocked to get started. Often we repeat the past without being aware of the unconscious bias.
Do you see any commonalities across sectors in the types of obstacles women face in advancing their careers, as well as how organizations can break down those obstacles?
Obstacles are absolutely in the way of promotion. For women between the ages of 25 and 40, for example, intermittent work due to life changes, such as having children, is often used against us. We need to acknowledge these life events and eliminate the unfair challenges that arise in the workplace. Too often I have seen people avoid promoting a woman because they assume that she will be leaving for a year at some point in the future. This is completely unacceptable.
On another note, I believe that women must also work on this change. I firmly believe that women are as ambitious as men, but too shy to use their ambitions because there is a great lack of confidence. Leaders must take visible actions that set and disseminate goals on how to make room for women to advance in their careers. Especially now, as more women work from home, I have become concerned that, upon moving out of the office, they may be casually excluded from a seat at the table. We know very well that there are official meetings and unofficial conversations. Decisions are often recorded and closed in unofficial conversions. If you are not in the office at least a few days a week, especially if your male counterparts are, women can be further excluded. It is the responsibility of women to address this and of leaders to see to it.
How does your role as president and CEO of BDC meet the goals you set for yourself at the beginning of your career?
In early 2020, I was in Paris, where I served as Canadian Ambassador to France and Monaco. At that point I felt like I was ready to go back to the private sector, then the pandemic hit. At this point, considering everything that was going on, I knew that the best option was to stay and serve my country. As time went by, and when BDC came my way, I realized that this was the perfect role and the perfect time to get back to the reality of my business while continuing to serve my country, only in a new way. In short, my goal has always been to find absolute happiness and what makes me happy the most is going to the peaks. I feel well cared for here at BDC.
Reference-www.canadianbusiness.com