Welcome to the debut issue of Purposeful Third Act Notes.
After a fulfilling, full-on career at RBC, including 10 years as Chief Human Resources Officer, I asked myself a hard question: What next? Do I drift into an “after,” or design and lead a Purposeful Third Act (P3A)?
I chose the Third Act, not as a winding down, but as a stepping in: a time to mobilize my experience, leadership skills, crystallized wisdom, and relationship capital toward impact that matters—especially as longevity reshapes how we think about work, contribution, and purpose.
Today, I bring my purpose—unlocking human potential and building inclusive prosperity—to life in two connected ways: through the roles and initiatives I take on, and through the ideas and learnings I share to help leaders and organizations build more human, collaborative, inclusive, high-performing workplaces.
Why a newsletter, and why now?
First, Canada has big nation-building ambitions, which I am excited about. We need all hands on deck to achieve them—and to fundamentally rethink how we unlock human potential, especially as technology reshapes work.
Second, the pace of change is accelerating. Yet one truth remains: change in organizations and broader society ultimately succeeds or fails through people.
Third, to my surprise, writing has become one of the great joys of this chapter. It helps me reflect on my actions and behaviours, make sense of what I’m learning, connect the dots, and share practical ideas along the way.
In this newsletter, we’ll explore four interconnected themes that are part of my own P3A:
Building a Purposeful Third Act movement: inspiring and enabling people to disrupt traditional retirement by designing Third Acts that mobilize their experience, crystallized wisdom, and social capital for impact that matters.
Leadership and work in a world shaped by AI: where the goal must be more human, not less.
Elevating the impact of HR: practical insights for CHROs and HR leaders to build organizations where human and business sustainability are viewed as mutually reinforcing.
Career and life lessons: unfiltered reflections from my 40-year banking career (from teller to C-suite) and from a life with its share of triumphs and bumps along the way.
This debut issue doubles as my 2025 year-in-review—successes and lessons learned, viewed through three lenses that guide my choices: Impact, Learning, and Joy.
As we step into 2026, my focus sharpens: mobilizing more Purposeful Third Actors and inspiring leaders, especially HR leaders, who shape the human side of change. Because the future of work won’t be built by technology alone. It will be built by people and through culture grounded in trust, collaboration and inclusion, and the courage to lead.
In the year ahead, let’s choose to be more human—not less, starting where each of us has influence.
And one more important thing: I’d love to hear from you. See below for ways to do that.
Wishing you peace, good health, continued learning, and joy in 2026. And the courage to step outside your comfort zone!
Warm regards,
P.S. Share your views: hit reply and tell me what you liked and what you’d like more of in this space—stories, tools, interviews, provocations. You can also join the conversation on LinkedIn, where I’ve shared the posts below.
P.P.S. Do you know someone who’d appreciate this newsletter? Please forward it to them.
Scaling Purposeful Third Act into a Movement
Meeting the Moment: Why We Need More Purposeful Third Actors
Proudly representing Canada on stage in Vienna at the Global Peter Drucker Forum, I made the case that our biggest challenges require all hands on deck. This pre-conference article in IMD in Switzerland explains why the world needs more Purposeful Third Actors and why the knowledge, wisdom, human skills, and social capital built over a lifetime must be mobilized for impact in our Third Acts, the chapter after a full-time, full-on career.
The Untapped Advantage of Crystallized Wisdom
In September, I joined Women of Influence+ (WOI+) to talk about Women, Aging & Authority. At a moment when many women bring crystallized wisdom, too many, especially those over 50, become less visible at work because of leadership blind spots. At a time when we are also navigating seismic shifts—AI adoption, the longevity revolution, and geopolitical volatility—experience-based human skills like critical thinking, curiosity, empathy, contextual judgement, and leading through ambiguity aren’t “nice to haves.” They’re the differentiator.
Click here to view the 25-minute recording that struck a chord: nearly 1,000 attendees across the world, and raw, honest conversation (see comments in post).
My ambition: We stop treating age as a decline narrative and start treating it as a leadership dividend—for individuals, organizations, and the next generation. What actions can we take to make that real? Would love to hear your thoughts in the LinkedIn comments.
Spotlight on P3A Changemakers
Simon Chan: Designing Higher Education for Lifelong Learning in the Longevity Era
I’m inspired by people who look beyond individual success and build systems that help others thrive. In this podcast, longevity expert Avivah Wittenberg-Cox chats with Canada’s Simon Chan (also my P3A Advisory Group member) and Kate Schaefers to explore how higher education, work, and retirement must evolve for longer lives and multiple transitions. It’s a powerful example of designing pathways so Purposeful Third Actors can keep contributing, learning, growing, and living with joy. Listen to the podcast.
Leadership and Work in an AI World: More Human, Not Less
Bringing “Responsible Leadership” Into the Business School Experience
Responsible leadership is “purpose-led, values-based, and performance-driven.” The core belief is simple: organizations should balance short-term results with long-term sustainability—both financial and human sustainability. To get different leadership outcomes, we need different leadership experiences. At Toronto Metropolitan University's inaugural MBA Responsible Leadership Challenge, which I’m proud to sponsor, students applied a human sustainability lens to business performance and grappled with the tough trade-offs leaders face every day. This article and my reflection show how experiential learning can build a more thoughtful, responsible next generation of leaders and how the wisdom of experienced leaders deepens that impact.
Idea for P3Aers (+ P2Aers): consider something similar with your alma mater, or another university/college. People tell me my eyes light up and I exude joy when I talk about my engagement with students. I’m happy to share my playbook developed through the inaugural program at SFU, and now at TMU.
What Each of Us Can Do to Help Steer AI for Good: A Conversation with Yoshua Bengio
Do you feel overwhelmed by the barrage of information about the risks and opportunities of AI? Add this interview with Yoshua Bengio, Founder of MILA Institute in Montreal and one of the world’s most respected AI researchers, to your playlist. Bengio says he’s stepping out more publicly because he believes there is a technical path to building AI that won’t harm people and could genuinely help us, if we take the urgent next steps to steer it toward human benefit and responsible outcomes.
My takeaways: While the opportunity is enormous, the risks are serious. Each of us has a role to play by becoming better informed, using our voice and platforms to bravely share our views, and ensuring the right choices are made today.
HR Leaders: Elevating Your Impact
CPO Mary Alice Vuicic: The Human Edge in AI at Thomson Reuters
Mary Alice Vuicic, Chief People Officer at Thomson Reuters, is modeling AI leadership as a people-and-performance transformation. She's driving a human-centered approach that pairs business value and governance with real change leadership: a clear tone from the top, practical training, and support that builds confidence—not fear. Her message is urgent: winners won't have the most AI tools, but the strongest ability to help people use them wisely, boosting productivity, career resilience, and trust. What also stands out is Mary Alice’s abundance mindset—she shares learnings generously, extending her impact beyond her organization. That's leadership that matters. I am proud to call her a colleague and a friend!
Standing high at Machu Picchu, I was struck by a question: What kind of ancestor am I becoming? In that thin air, the usual scorecards of success—milestones, status, applause—felt suddenly small. I began to see stewardship as a daily practice: choosing what to protect, what to grow, and what to leave better than I found it. That moment strengthened my resolve to lead a Purposeful Third Act: it’s not what I accumulate, but what endures. How would you answer this question?
