Shifting up

You may have a hard time seeing Michele Morgan for the dust as she puts her Harley Davidson through its paces on a weekend rip. But come Monday morning she’ll be back in the office, immaculately attired, and ready to lead First West’s IT team.

An avid motorcyclist, Michele has always thrived on challenge. Her career’s taken her from Northern Ireland to New Jersey, Vancouver and New York; plus various other spots in-between. And just for good measure she’s also a wife, mom and fitness fanatic.

A native of Northern Ireland, Michele graduated in 1982 from the University of Ulster with a degree in computer science. She got her first job working for British aerospace firm, Short Brothers, before returning to Northern Ireland; landing a husband along the way.

However, with ongoing political unrest, Northern Ireland wasn’t ideal for starting a family. So she and her spouse sought the chance to expand their horizons. An opportunity came up in New Jersey, contracting for the IT department of a shipping company.

“So we upped and moved to New Jersey,” Michele shares. “I felt the opportunities were better in North America and saw it as a good career step.”

Michele took moving across the Atlantic in stride, saying her adventurous spirit is innate. “I think it came from my parents being teachers and understanding how important it was to set me on my feet and get me focused forward.”

Since her stint in New Jersey, Michele has performed IT and technology-based roles for a variety of industries, including aircraft manufacturing (McDonnell Douglas – now Boeing); hi-tech (Motorola); healthcare (Vancouver’s Children’s and Women’s Hospitals); shipping (Teekay Shipping, featuring lots of global travel), hydro (heading BC Hydro’s Smart Metering initiative) and now financial services, with First West.

Michele’s move into the financial sector began after she left Teekay. Seeking new challenges and fresh career impetus she took six months off, did some travelling (learning Spanish en-route) and some serious thinking. She’d started to become more business savvy during her five-year stint at Children’s and Women’s and found that really appealing.

So in January 2008, she began an Executive MBA at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business in New York.

Although based in Vancouver at the time, Michele was unfazed; she’d just commute. It was only every other weekend. Then, feeling the pinch with that commute, she decided she needed work. And that spiced things up again.

Michele found a position heading BC Hydro’s Smart Metering initiative. They had no issue with her finishing up her MBA, and taking every other Friday off. “I flew out on Thursday evening and came back on Sunday,” she says.

“My time at BC Hydro was a huge learning experience. I had to form a team to really take this initiative forward. We were trying to transform the distribution grid for B.C. and the 30-year-old system required a major revamp. It was quite a challenge.”

In mid-2009, content that her work was done, Michele left BC-Hydro and was found by an executive recruiter for her current role at First West, landing the position of CIO.

Michele says she was attracted to First West by the challenge and excitement of working for an organization where technology isn’t just seen as an enabler, but is critical to the business.

“First West was in growth mode and that’s something that’s always attracted me,” she says. “In every way, this position was the perfect fit.”

As a volunteer, Michele is a former director of the CIO Association of Canada and currently sits as an advisor on the MIS Advisory Board for UBC’s Sauder School of Business.

“I was interested because I believe we need to have a different type of tech professional coming out of the school system; one with an all-rounded knowledge base,” she says.

Michele, married with two teenage sons, also says balancing her career and family life has been a work in progress.

“I realize that, while career is important, family is equally important,” she says. “So I don’t bring my work home with me. You have to make time for the kids. Now that they’re older, their needs have flipped. So I’m focused on helping them navigate some of the toughest parts of their lives.”

Making time for herself is also very important to Michele. As is being as fit and healthy as possible, to give her the energy to lead a power-packed life.

“I love exercising and make that a priority,” she says. “I believe part of your work-life balance is having a healthy body, too.”

And getting out for a spin on her Harley also helps.

“I used to be an avid rock climber and mountaineer,” Michele says. “But with work and travelling it petered out. My husband was already riding and convinced me to take a defensive riding course about six years ago. I reluctantly took it… and was hooked!