Your university education was not in finance. What initially attracted you to a career in the investment industry?

I studied basic medical sciences (Honours B.Sc.), fine art history, and film (Honours B.A.) at the University of Toronto. I never planned to have a career in the investment industry. My interest in investing originated from a personal desire to learn how to manage my own money. I thought that if I knew how to manage my money, it would give me the freedom to pursue any job I loved. I started reading books about Warren Buffett and eventually had the opportunity to work at Burgundy Asset Management, a value investing firm. Today, I not only know how to invest my own money, I also have a career I love.

How has the CFA designation and the knowledge you’ve gained through completing the program helped you in your career?

The CFA designation gave me the foundation I needed to be successful in my career. Through the program, I learned the language of investing and the breadth of knowledge that encompasses our work. Importantly, given my diverse background, earning the designation gave me credibility among my peers and ultimately opened the door to new opportunities and more challenging work.

Who is your career role model and why?

I admire people who operate with the highest level of personal integrity—people who consistently act in accordance with their values and beliefs, especially in the most difficult circumstances. I am fortunate to work with many people at Burgundy who live their personal and professional lives according to this principle. They seem to be the happiest people, too!

A couple of years ago, you started The Women of Burgundy blog. What prompted its inception, and what does it hope to achieve?

The Women of Burgundy was launched in the spring of 2014. Our mission is to build a community to inspire women to make investing a priority. To date, we have approximately 500 women and men in our group, and we had 221 members attend at least one of our events over the past year and a half.

“The CFA designation gave me the foundation I needed to be successful in my career.”

The Women of Burgundy was inspired by one of my clients, a woman who had the strength and courage to tell me that she had been coming to investment meetings with her husband for many years but never really understood our conversations. She told me it was important to her that she be actively engaged with the family investments, in case she ever found herself in a position where she would have to manage on her own. She also told me that she knew she could learn from me because I’m a woman.

I’ll never forget that meeting. At that moment, my colleagues and I knew we had to do something to help the women in our community be more confident in all matters relating to investing.

You volunteer extensively with a number of not-for-profit organizations. What lessons have you learned, and how have those experiences contributed to your work at Burgundy?

I am a director of the Canadian Opera Company and the Toronto Public Library Foundation. I’m fortunate to sit at a table with a diverse group of people who are passionate about the mission of the organizations and who apply their different skill sets, knowledge, and energy to help these not-for-profits thrive. Being part of these organizations has opened my eyes to new ways of thinking about the world. It’s living proof that the best ideas and solutions come from embracing diversity in all its forms—diversity of thought, gender, age, ethnicity, and education, to name a few.

Do you have any advice for new CFA charterholders?

Earning the CFA designation is a significant accomplishment. In many ways, however, it’s just the beginning. My advice is to take some time to think about how you will apply your expertise, time, and energy, going forward. Ten or 20 years from now, will you have done something that makes you proud? It takes a lot of self-reflection to build a life of purpose. I highly recommend reading Clayton Christensen’s article “How Will You Measure Your Life?” in the Harvard Business Review [July/August 2010].