“HR has a place in every department of every organization” because there are people in them, according to Kevin Howlett. As a human resources professional, managing people’s roles at work is the core of what he does, on top of having difficult conversations, reintegrating them into the workforce, and more. Before retiring from Air Canada, he had to oversee over 40,000 employees around the world – he had to learn to be efficient to survive in this nonstop 24/7 job.

How do you measure success? For Jacquie Griffiths’ role in Invest Vancouver, it has to do with how many jobs Vancouver attracts. She had always been interested in economics, but also people – and how those two are always linked. To her, the willingness to listen to your people (and change your approach if needed) is key to success.