Sandy McIntosh – the Executive Vice-president of People & Culture, and Chief Human Resources Officer – champions the growth and development of the TELUS team, transcending traditional HR accountabilities as a key voice in setting the company’s vision. Under McIntosh’s leadership, TELUS is reimagining work – empowering everyday innovation, collaboration and ownership in advancing priorities. She drives transformational change, organizational effectiveness and human capital development to ensure the company’s success in the marketplace.
As a member of the company’s executive leadership team, she advances strategy and priorities; including human capital development, organizational effectiveness, transformational cultural change, progressive labor relations, compelling total rewards and differentiated talent acquisition.
Committed to her community, McIntosh serves as vice-chair of the Greater Toronto Area TELUS Community Board and for the past seven years has served as honorary chair for OneWalk to Conquer Cancer (Princess Margaret Hospital).
“Diversity is about getting the right mix. Inclusiveness is about getting the mix to work,” says McIntosh. “It takes a while for cultures to evolve, but I believe to extract the true value of diversity of thought, you need to drive real collaboration that includes every voice.” She goes on to explain how diversity drives business success, “In order to serve our different customers, our team needs to reflect them. This helps us understand their values, norms, preferences, cultures and so on, which drives creativity and innovation. We live in a rapidly changing world. If you want to be in business 10 years from now, you must have a diverse team with the real solutions to drive your success.”
McIntosh tells women, “Be honest about what makes you happy. Don’t act on the expectations of others – stay true to who you are. Define the narrative for your career and work on creating it. If you are in a place that does not allow you to reach your full potential or be your authentic self, move on. Someone somewhere is desperate for what you have to offer. Develop resiliency. It is one of the most undervalued attributes, but research indicates that it is a key to success.”
