Krista Pell: Persistence, Pain, and Putting Your Passions First
Krista Pell
Vice-President of Human Resources at
Cenovus Energy
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Overcast | Spotify | RSS
The Executive Commute Podcast with Jayson Krause: Show Notes
Krista Pell: Persistence, Pain, and Putting Your Passions First
Bio: Krista Pell
As Vice-President, Human Resources, Krista is accountable for building the appropriate organization purpose, capability, capacity, and agility to deliver on Cenovus’ business strategy. She is also a key leader of the integration work related to Cenovus’ acquisition of Husky Energy.
In her role, Krista is responsible for working with key stakeholders to create effective organizational design and development, strategic workforce planning, leadership and technical development, culture, succession planning, and talent acquisition. In addition, she also provides strategic and operational advice on all people and organization matter.
With over 20 years of Human Resources experience across multiple industries including hospitality, retail, finance, and client services, Krista was most recently Senior Vice-President of Talent at DIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd. and prior to DIRTT, Krista was Vice-President of People and Performance at Ausenco, a global construction management and operations service3 provider to the energy and resources sector.
Quotes
“Don’t hesitate to do something different; you’re not stuck somewhere for the rest of your life.”
“You’re never going to do wrong by speaking up.”
“Don’t assume what you know is what other people know.”
Summary
Krista Pell is the Vice-President of Human Resources at Cenovus Energy. She has over 20 years of experience in multiple industries including hospitality, retail, finance, construction, and client services. She’s a mother, a senior leader in an organization with over 2,000 employees, and a globally ranked competitive athlete in CrossFit and Powerlifting. She explained how moving from one place to another as a kid taught her to embrace change and understand the people around her.
Krista advised young professionals to be observant of organizational norms and add them as tools to their personal norms without necessarily conforming. Krista described how she struggled with finding what she wanted to do before stepping into the hospitality industry and how she fell into the Human Resources space. She also described her biggest lesson as her ability to be flexible and agile with the choices she makes both personally and professionally.
“You’re never going to do wrong by speaking up.” She described her major professional mistake as the time she didn’t speak up in a situation that ended up harming others. She shared a variety of ways to dig in and get data points as a leader on people’s experiences in an organization.
Krista advised younger professionals to never be afraid of voicing their opinions to add value. She also shared how fracturing her skull negatively impacted her health and work, and how she dealt with it. This taught her the value of reconnecting with the basics and balancing between life and work.
She talked about the value of the Cenovus and Husky Energy merger and the challenges of downsizing and technological integration. Krista is concerned about today’s availability of everyone’s opinions on the internet and how they’re all impacting us.
In the end, Krista answered my rapid-fire questions. She answered the questions with intelligence and wit. Thank you for listening!
Timeline
[3:00] Krista describes her childhood growing all over Canada and her love for different things.
[6:48] The three leadership lessons she learned from her experiences when she was younger.
[11:17] Internal/personal brand – projecting what you intend to project about yourself.
[14:04] How to adapt to organizational norms as a young professional without necessarily conforming.
[18:28] How she fell into the HR space after struggling to find her passion after college.
[25:58] The importance of being agile and flexible with your decisions as a professional.
[29:44] Why you should always speak up when things are not going right.
[35:13] She explains why she’s she never had major barriers in her career.
[39:18] Learn to voice your opinion and add value to others.
[41:55] Krista shared how fracturing her skull challenged her personally and professionally.
[49:18] The value of reconnecting with the basics and balancing life and work.
[54:13] The value and challenges of merging two large organizations.
[1:00:48] She explains how she prioritizes her sport even as she focuses on her work and family.
[1::05:43] Krista on her concerns about the availability of everyone’s opinions.
[1:10:09] Krista answers some rapid-fire questions.
Links
Connect with Krista on LinkedIn
Booked mentioned: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Production & Music by Alec Harrison
The Science Behind Success by Jayson Krause
