Kerry O'Reilly Wilks, chief officer, legal regulatory and external affairs, TransAlta Corp.

Name: Kerry O'Reilly Wilks

Category: In-House: Thought Leadership

Firm/Company: TransAlta Corp.

Title: Chief Officer, Legal, Regulatory and External Affairs

Time in Position: Since 2018

What was your route to the top?

I grew up in a very small fishing town on an island—the most easterly province in Canada—Newfoundland & Labrador. The values that were instilled in me by my parents and my culture are my secret to success. Never quit. Try your hardest so you never disappoint yourself. Treat everyone the same—with dignity and respect. I started my career on Bay Street in Toronto with one of the leading business law firms in Canada, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg—beginning as an articling student—moving to an associate and eventually a partner. After practicing with Davies, I moved to Vale S.A.—one of the biggest mining companies in the world, based in Toronto. With Vale, I held a variety of senior roles, including head of Legal, North Atlantic & U.K. I also sat as head of legal, corporate and marketing, as well as global chief IT counsel for Vale across all business lines.

In addition, I occupied a senior strategic advisory role with Vale's Asia-Pacific affiliates, as head of legal, Asia Pacific, where I faced all of the challenges related to being the legal representative of a publicly traded multinational dealing with foreign governments, regulators and significant business partners. I sit on the board of The Giles School in Toronto, as well as on the board of directors of St. Michael's Hospital Foundation. I am the founder and chairperson of Malachy's Soiree in support of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Michael's Hospital, which has raised over $1 million in the last three years for the SMH NICU. I was named as one of Lexpert's Rising Stars—Top 40 under 40 lawyers in Canada in 2012, as well as University of New Brunswick's Alumni of Distinction in 2015 for my significant contributions to my profession on a global scale, as well as to communities, globally. I was awarded a 2017 Zenith Award as one of the leading female lawyers in Canada and a significant change agent for women in law and society. I have also been noted as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in Canada. Currently, I sit as chief officer for legal, regulatory and external affairs with TransAlta Corp. in Calgary, Alberta where my portfolio spans legal, communications, government relations, stakeholder engagement, indigenous affairs, communications, regulatory and market policy, corporate secretarial, governance and trading compliance.

What is the best leadership advice you've given or received, and why do you think it was effective?

We must find our paths to be change agents. We cannot allow ourselves to be only a collection of individuals—we need to be a collective—together—being and creating and harnessing the storm until the waves rise up so high that they embrace all that is before them—equally—fairly —and completely. Showing to everyone that we are not afraid of the storm—we are the storm.

What is the most valuable career advice anyone has ever given you?

You have to be excellent. That needs to be your standard. In everything that you do. However, in that quest, you must never lose your sense of humanity, dignity and respect for others.