A woman who grew up in Chatham is now part of an elite few who have made it on to Canada's Top 40 Under 40.
Justine Janssen (formerly Justine Kilby) is the senior vice president of Ceridian HCM Holding Inc., a global software company. Janssen had been recently announced as one of 40 honourees for 2019.
"It's really nice to be recognized for a lot of hard work... especially amongst such an amazing group of Canadian leaders," said Janssen. "I think I generally put my head down and work as hard as I can and grow our business as best as I can with our team."
Janssen said she had been nominated for the list by Ceridian's CEO David Ossip and by Jodi Kovitz, the founder and CEO of #movethedial, an organization Janssen supports which works with women in STEM (fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics).
“[She] is a visionary leader who has helped develop and lead some of Ceridian’s most critical strategic initiatives,” said Ossip in Ceridian media release. “She has made an indelible impact on Ceridian and on Canada’s technology ecosystem, and she serves as a role model for the next generation of technology leaders.”
Janssen said she has gotten a lot of support and kind messages since news of her recent achievement was made public. She also mentioned that there were a few people in the Chatham-Kent community who helped shape her as a successful woman.
"I had some great mentors in Chatham when I was growing up," she said. "Actually one of them had put The Top 40 Under 40 on my desk when I was maybe 19 years old and so it was kind of cool for that to come full circle."
Her advice to youth members is to work in different settings to build a proper base before entering into a full-time career.
"I did everything from corn detasseling to running a summer painting business in Chatham... All of those experiences I think build on one another to build a toolset that helps propel you in a more formal setting."
Some other advice Janssen has is to approach challenges in a positive way and to take advantage of the community one lives in.
"I think that it is a real gift to grow up in such a tight-knit community where you can take chances and be supported," she said.
Moving forward, Janssen said she's interested in making the work experience something more people can be a part of and enjoy.
"I'm a mother of young children, I know it's difficult for people with child care or elder care responsibilities to be fully engaged in the workforce," she said. "Continuing to build on community is really important to our family and is something that we continue to try to do by being involved in local organizations and by investing in local businesses, particularly in Chatham-Kent but across southwestern Ontario [as well]."
Canada's Top 40 Under 40 issued a media release with the names of the 2019 honourees, stating that there had been 950 nominations filed from across Canada.
Janssen, along with the 39 other honourees, will be featured in the October edition of FP Magazine and on BNN Bloomberg. There will also be an awards ceremony held on November 6 in Toronto.
