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Women in Leadership Profiles
Name: Maureen Meaney, CPA, CA
Role: Vice President Finance & Corporate Secretary
Company: A. Harvey & Company Ltd.
A bit about you: I graduated from Memorial University in 1982 with a Bachelor of Commerce (HONS) receiving the Award for Academic Excellence for my class. I received Chartered Account designation in 1984. I spent all three work terms with firm now called Ernst & Young. I articled with them until receiving my designation. From 1985 to 1989 I worked with a computer company as “controller”. Outside of the financial responsibility for the company I provided senior management leadership, customer support in financial accounting setup, customer support for government funding for computer installation as well as financial knowledge and input on software development.
In 1989 I joined A. Harvey & Company Limited as corporate controller. This was a new position. My first mandate was to implement an inhouse computer financial system for a diverse group of companies that previously operated from a data centre. A. Harvey & Company Limited remains a family-owned business that has operated for over 150 years. Since starting in 1865, the company has grown and evolved recognising and capitalizing on its core strengths. Its businesses include logistics, stevedoring, public warehousing and cold storage facility, car carrier and local Pepsi bottler.
It also provides world class service to the oil and gas industry off the east coast of Newfoundland. I was involved from the inception of the idea for a marine base in 1994 to its now world class facility in 2021 which services or has serviced international conglomerates such as Equinor and Exxon Mobil. In 2008 I was appointed Vice President Finance of this company and remain part of a team driving A. Harvey & Company Limited into the future for more generations to come.
What is it like working in your company? I would say for the first nine years I felt that I maintained all the responsibility and none of the authority to do my job. Through this and in spite of this, I maintained loyalty to the company and respected the individuals I worked with while stretching my boundaries many times sacrificing family. Then without any notice to me, I was asked if I would like the position of Vice President Finance. “Of course,” I replied not knowing what was coming next. With that the president of the company said that the job was mine. He stated that the owners of the company have recognized what I had given to this company. Since then, I maintain a senior role providing leadership, guidance, strength, respect and fairness to the company that I work with.
This is a family-owned business and each employee feels that they are a valued member regardless of the position they may hold.
Why did you decide to go into your chosen field? Initially I was interested in the complexity of numbers. I grew up having to look after myself and wanted a career that would offer an acceptable standard of living so that I could provide for myself. While being interesting and providing self-sufficiency, the challenges of entering a male dominated profession did not scare me. It provided me with a drive to succeed.
What qualifications and work experience did you need to reach your current position? To perform my current position of vice president finance I required the technical ability as provided by my university degree as well as professional designation. That would only bring you so far. From there I needed a successful management and leadership style and ability to get along with all employees and senior management. Also an ability to deal with challenges head on with perhaps outside the box solutions was important. Respect of A Harvey and dedication to getting the job done successfully I believe finally opened the door for me to the position.
What do you enjoy the most about your job? I feel that whatever I do is valued by the owners of the company. That is the greatest feeling of all. In addition, I feel that I am part of the corporate family.
The company’s remuneration and benefits provided are reasonable.
The company recognizes a responsibility to its community. I enjoy participating in those events that give back to the community. Through all this, the company remains extremely humble.
I am proud to be a valued employee of A. Harvey & Company Limited.
What obstacles have you overcome in your career? Being short everybody sees you as younger person. To overcome that you must portray confidence at all times. I used to do some part time teaching at Memorial University here. One course I taught was at a business site. When I went to get my credentials to enter the building after hours my contact person said to me….” You sounded much taller on the phone” !!!
Respect for others and treating them as you would like to be treated – holding tight to this belief and acting this way regardless of what was coming back at me certainly opened the door to the position I am in today.
Why do you think it is important to have a strong female representation in your industry? The chairman of the board of this company is a female. She is highly respected here in the business community. She is one of the reasons that I obtained this position.
We need women in this industry to lead the way and open the doors for other women.
Just because you are a woman doesn’t mean you should get the job BUT it should not immediately disqualify you. The best person for the job should be chosen based upon individual merits. No one can discount the benefits of having diverse employees with their own thoughts and ways of doing things. I have been working now for 44 years and I will say that women are fabulous at multitasking and at getting the job done successfully paying attention to detail. Women face issues head on and deal with them.
All employees present their own strengths and weaknesses regardless of gender. Differing jobs require differing strengths.
I once sat in on a course in which the instructor said that women and men perform differently. I voiced my concern to the class saying that it was a cop out and that they just didn’t want to do the work or take the responsibility on. Is that really true?
My picture is me taking part in cod jigging with one of the boards I serve on here. I am the only female (yellow jacket)! I have also been salmon fishing as part of another board retreat.
Just as an aside to this, I am not a fisherperson. It is totally out of my comfort zone. However, I feel honored to be asked to go as I am the first female employee that was ever asked or included. I participate with a smile on my face and give it my best try. The comradery and team building that comes from events such as this is immeasurable.
