Women have to make their own opportunities in the slowly changing corporate world, says energy entrepreneur Rebecca MacDonald
Plus, more highlights from the 2009 Governance for Women Symposium
by Craille Maguire Gillies
Rebecca MacDonald is the first person to admit that she would never be considered for a board position at the company she co-founded and which she chairs, the $2.4-billion-a-year Just Energy Income Fund (formerly Energy Savings Income Fund). “Every time I think of stepping down, my board says, ‘No, you can’t!’ But I tell them that if I walked through the door, they wouldn’t hire me. And they say, ‘You’re right.’”
MacDonald was the keynote speaker at this year’s Ernst & Young Governance for Women symposium in Jasper, presented by Alberta Venture and the University of Alberta School of Business.
Born in Yugoslavia, MacDonald, who won the 2009 International Horatio Alger Award, immigrated to Canada in the 1970s. When natural gas was deregulated in the mid-1980s she saw a market opportunity for an energy retailer. MacDonald flipped open the Yellow Pages and started calling companies to sell them contracts. Then the company began selling natural gas contracts door-to-door, a practice that changed the way the energy industry reached customers and earned MacDonald the nickname “Avon Lady of Energy.”
How often, she is now fond of saying, does an entrepreneur witness the birth of an entirely new industry? “I said to my husband that I was going to get into the natural gas market,” she told the symposium of businesswomen (and a few men) from across Canada. “Was he supportive? Absolutely not. If he was supportive, I would not be standing in front of you. The fact that he said this was the craziest idea ever made me more determined.”
Three companies (she grew and sold the first two) and millions of customers later, she’s become a key player in the energy retailing industry. Along the way, she says, she’s made every mistake in the energy industry and gathered a few insights on good governance. We sat down with MacDonald in the grand Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge to talk about what she’s learned, why it’s so difficult for women to get on boards and how times for women in business are changing.
AV: You have an interesting career trajectory. You trained as a doctor in Yugoslavia and then left your family to come to Canada, learn English and start a business at a time when banks and investors weren’t very supportive of female entrepreneurs. What has changed since you started out?
RM: In 1974, Canada was not welcoming to women in business. In the 1970s, we were just starting to emerge as potential executives and community leaders. I think, actually, we’ve seen the biggest change in the last five years. It was difficult for me to even take a company public in the early 2000s. Women don’t do that in Canada. We just don’t, though I think we are making terrific progress. The fact that there is this kind of conference in the country shows how much we have progressed.
Is this part of a wider social shift?
Yes. I mean, the United States almost had a female president! Also, I think we have learned from the demise of companies like Enron and people like Conrad Black. People have become a little more open-minded [about women in positions of power] and women got braver.
What can women learn from your experience?
I only got involved in governance by founding the business and taking it public, so I had experience as a president and CEO. That’s the only reason I am sitting across from you today. Don’t forget, I’m a woman with an accent who wants to be in the energy sector, and I’m not even an accountant. If I was an accountant, maybe I could be the VP of a company. It makes it that much harder.
Why do you think it’s so tough?
The truth is that some women just don’t get invited. You want board members who are at the top of their profession, who are leaders of different companies or industries, and we don’t have many women in those positions. Those who are at a level where they could be considered for a board position are simply too busy. Then you have to ask, “OK, am I prepared to take a shot with someone who probably doesn’t have enough experience?” That’s a real philosophical discussion you have around the boardroom table, and I’m the first one to say I’m not prepared to do it.
What role does confidence play?
It’s huge. But confidence comes with a lot of different experiences. We all like to talk about success, but I failed miserably and many times – just not twice at the same thing. I think that diversity in failure makes you grow up. Having many different life experiences will make you more and more confident. You have to take baby steps. Then all of a sudden you’re running a company.
With the economic crisis, there’s been a lot of discussion at the symposium about good governance. What is your approach?
I had a very clear goal about how I wanted my business to develop from governance and board perspectives. At the end of the day, it’s very simple: you have to do what is the right thing for the shareholders. Nothing else matters.
What can the business world do to bring more women onto boards?
We should be supported more to get into executive positions. How do we get there? It takes time and it takes support. This is not a five- or six-year effort; it’s a 20-year effort. Meanwhile, governments and banks have to open up their doors when women ask for the loans to start up the businesses that will give them that experience.
Do you think women have a different approach to governance than men?
I’m not a macro type of person, and I don’t think that women in general are macro thinkers. We work more on micro scale and eventually focus on macro issues. And we’re just better at everything we do.
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