Last month at Tech Talent North's Eastern edition, Fahd Alhattab kicked off the conference with a powerful keynote on building high-performing teams and embracing disruptive leadership. Fahd’s insights challenge leaders to balance operational efficiency with a culture of exploration, empowering teams to innovate actively and adapt swiftly to industry disruptions.

In today’s feature article, our event chair, Michelle Brooks (Chief People & Culture Officer at Security Compass) shares strategies she uses to build teams that deliver exceptional results without relying on elusive “unicorn hires.” Her framework emphasizes the importance of growth mindsets, psychological safety, and a business-first approach to role design, providing actionable steps for startup leaders. We hope her perspective inspires you to rethink your team-building efforts!

In this edition of the PACT newsletter, we’re excited to feature insights from Carolyn Lawrence, founder of CLEAR Path, on the profitable power of purpose. Carolyn reveals how aligning DEI and ESG efforts with a clear, purpose-driven strategy not only strengthens business foundations but also enhances profitability. Her approach challenges leaders to rethink these initiatives as essential growth drivers—creating sustainable value for employees, customers, and shareholders alike.

In this edition Ann Gomez, Speaker, Author & Founding President at Clear Concept Inc. shares the importance of how controlling your time allows you to feel like your focusing your time on what's most important, personally and professionally.

What does a business grounded in delight look like like? Admittedly, it is not a word that pops up often in most leaders’ lexicons, but for Jane—an online platform for allied health and wellness practitioners based in North Vancouver—delight has been a foundation upon which the company was built. We sit down with phil di loreto, Director of People Operations at Jane, to explore the difference delight can make at work—for those who genuinely care about people, customers AND profits.

With AI feeling as though it arrived in the workplace overnight, opinions are still mixed— from visions of HAL to your next best pal—with fears ranging from obsolescence to legal and privacy concerns and its genuine effectiveness. According to recent studies, nowhere are those concerns more prevalent in the organizational picture than in the HR function—and for admittedly good reasons. We sit down with Roald Harvey, MBA, CHRL, Senior Director of People with Athennian, to learn more about the potential and perils of AI, as well as its ability to empower not just HR, but the people power in any business.