Manage HR Magazine: Specials Magazine

Vicki Allen, Director of People & Culture and Head of Labour Relations at Corus Entertainment, integrates HR with business strategy, fostering transparency, fairness and measurable culture while guiding unionized and non-unionized teams through Canada’s evolving media landscape. Transforming HR through Business Partnership My role spans people and culture strategy alongside labour relations within an environment shaped by creative talent, unionized and non-unionized teams, regulatory complexity and the rapid pace of media transformation at Corus Entertainment. The focus is helping the organization remain agile while building a culture grounded in transparency, fairness, accountability and trust. Rather than viewing HR as a standalone support function, I see it as deeply connected to business performance and operational decision-making.

Leah Fochuk is a strategic HR leader with over a decade of experience shaping people strategy across high-growth startups, large enterprises and financial services. She has built HR functions from the ground up, led globally distributed teams and held senior roles at Symend, Trans Mountain and Avenue Living. As Director of People and Culture at The WealthCo. Group of Companies, she brings a distinctive balance of analytical rigour, strong business acumen and genuine human-centeredness to every challenge she encounters. When I look back on my career, what has shaped me most is a willingness to step into opportunity, even when it meant figuring things out quickly as I went. That was especially true in a fractional HR consulting role, where I supported multiple organizations across different industries, each with its own unique challenges, cultures and levels of maturity. I quickly learned how to diagnose root causes, think strategically about solutions and communicate effectively with senior leaders. The role pushed me to rely on data and insight to get beneath the surface rather than defaulting to assumptions.

Amy Silverstein oversees people and culture initiatives at Pizza Pizza Limited. With more than two decades of experience across retail, hospitality, transportation, and restaurant operations, she has built her career around connecting people strategies to business outcomes through leadership development, employee engagement, culture, and organizational effectiveness. HR Earns Its Seat at the Table Throughout my career, I have worked in service-based industries where speed, pressure, and customer expectations are constant. Whether in retail, transportation, hospitality, or quick-service restaurants, one lesson has remained consistent: employee experience directly affects customer experience.

Valerie Gilbert is Director of People & Culture at Explore Edmonton Corporation, leading people strategy, talent development and organizational culture. With a background spanning HR, coaching and change management, she fosters inclusive workplaces, meaningful employee engagement and strong organizational culture through people-first leadership. Leading with Employee Experience Throughout my career in human resources and organizational development, my approach has been shaped by three core principles: making an impact, doing the right thing and staying connected to people. For me, impact is about the everyday moments that shape employee experience. A conversation, decision or being present during a difficult moment can have a lasting effect. In People & Culture, the real work is choosing where we can have the greatest impact and being transparent about priorities.