Age: 38
Birthplace: Ottawa
Company: Law firm
OBJ360 (Sponsored)
Progress can create unlikely allies
There was a time when mining exploration and the environment were like oil and water. Several years ago, I attended social impact investing conferences in America and the U.K. with
The value of an Algonquin College degree: Experiential learning, taught by industry experts
Zaahra Mehsen was three years into a biology degree at a local university when she realized she wanted to take a different path. “I realized that it’s not my thing,”
Education: Bachelor of laws, Dalhousie University (2007)
Charitable involvement: Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health
Biggest biz achievement: Making partner at Gowling WLG.
Biggest obstacle: My mother died in 2003, leaving me without parents at a young age.
Biggest influence: My mother. She was a genuine and compassionate person and when I feel lost as a person, I try to gravitate back to her core values.
Biggest lesson learned: Always take the meeting, because you never know what will come of it. My best friend, client and mentor came out of a coffee meeting in 2010 that I wanted no part of. You just never know when something special is going to happen.
First job: Tennis pro
Advice I’d give the younger me: Don’t take things too personally. There should be a healthy disconnect between who you are and what you do.
What’s left to do: I would like to be a part of the team at the Royal that changes the way mental illness is treated the world over.
Favourite pastime: Tennis
I’m currently reading: The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis
Favourite movie: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Favourite song: Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right by Bob Dylan
Favourite local pro sports team: Ottawa Senators
Favourite local summer event: Ottawa Bluesfest
Preferred social media platform: Facebook
