Professional Spotlight: Meghan Murray

Happy Black History & Futures Month! 

In our professional spotlight series, we showcase amazing Black professionals in different industries. We highlight their life stories, how they navigated their careers and also discuss their motivations.

Today, we shine the professional spotlight on Meghan Murray who is currently the Director of Financial Reporting, Planning & Analysis at Dentons Canada. Meghan has built an amazing finance career over the past 10 years and we sat down with her to chat about her journey including. 

Walk us through your origin story and your career journey.

I was born and raised in Montreal. Both my parents were immigrants to Canada. My dad came when he was nine, and my mum when she was 15, and they ended up meeting here in Canada. I grew up the second oldest of seven children. 

I always knew I wanted to be in business, however I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. So I went to Concordia University and I started off in Finance and Marketing for about a year and a half, and then I switched to Accounting. From there I ended up doing my CPA, CMA just before all the accounting designations joined as one single body. 

After that, I think I just got lucky if I’m being honest. I met a lot of good people and most of my jobs came from networking. I didn’t really get many jobs applying directly to the job, but from fostering relationships with my network.

I started off as an intern at a company that has since been acquired by Gildan. The company made socks and I was an accounting analyst. I did a lot of gross margin reports and used Excel, putting into practice what I learned in school. I realized that a lot of what I learned in school wasn’t always applicable in the real world. I stayed in that position for about 7 months and then moved to an engineering manufacturing company. 

I had a positive experience there but there was nowhere for me to move up to. I was an accounting analyst and the person above me was the CFO. 

From there I transitioned into a technology company called Triton digital, I was able to get this job through networking with Andrea Nicholls, whom eventually I reported into directly and she became a mentor of mine. I started at Triton as an assistant controller, and after a year and a half made the shift into the Controller role. I eventually transitioned into becoming the director of finance. At that time I managed a team of 8 people.

From there I joined Dentons in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic. At the time, I thought it wasn’t such a big deal to start this job during the pandemic, but in hindsight it would have been better to join in person. We obviously didn’t have any choice and we had to adapt. 

My role here is as Director of Financial Planning and Analysis reporting directly to Andrea. When I say that I transition to roles through networks, this is another one of them. I got the role because of my relationship with Andrea. She had an open position and she asked me if I was interested. At the time I wasn’t 100% sure I wanted to leave the company I was at, but I trusted her and took a chance. 

So I came in and got in where I fit in and started working to build the FP&A team. In the beginning it was just 2 of us but we built the team up to 4 people. Now there are 7 people in the finance team supporting the business when it comes to budgeting, forecasting, month-end reporting, pricing support for the lawyers, taxes, and all things treasury. 

Going from traditional manufacturing to tech start up to a law firm really shows that you adapt really easily. For folks who think of Dentons, they mostly think about law careers and being a lawyer. Are there any tips or advice that you can give to people who are starting out or in the middle of their career who might be considering getting into Law or even the other industries you’ve worked in? 

I would say for getting into law specifically, I think people really need to understand what law is. It’s one of the oldest professions in the world, and stereotype or not, it’s very paper-based and people are very set in their ways about how they’ve always done things. 

In terms of advice, I would say that you should be curious. You always need to be curious and ask questions. Question the status quo, because there might be a reason that a certain process was done in the past. But maybe it hasn’t been revisited in the past few years. Maybe there is a better way of doing it now. 

I would also say to build relationships. I think building relationships is probably the most important thing because if you have no idea what you’re doing, but you know the right people to talk to and figure things out, that will help you grow and advance. 

Given that you have a good relationship with your current boss at Dentons, did you find it difficult to form relationships in your previous roles?

It’s always difficult, I think you’re always going to be nervous and you have to accept that. I’m definitely more of a reserved person so I had to push myself to build those relationships. I learned to ask once and give twice. Don’t try to monopolize anyone’s time or keep probing them to give you time without giving something in return. I say always find a way to help them, even if it has nothing to do with the role that you’re in or a business-related topic. 

I think that my path has been different in that I’ve interacted with a lot of minorities or women. 

You took it upon yourself to be proactive and upskill to improve your technical skills. Did you take formal courses and were you supported by your companies in the past?

When I started, I took more formalized courses. Now it’s a whole lot easier with platforms like Udemy and Coursera that allow you to close a skill gap that you’ve identified. As I progressed through my career, I got support from the companies I worked with. When you start especially at junior levels, it’s not always clear what you need to work on. But find the little nuggets where you think you can add value and learn how to do so. I would also say that you should always read, even if it’s fiction. Once I got out of university, I found that I stopped reading. I had to work my way back into the habit of reading so I could continuously learn. Reading helps in your everyday life, especially with your communication skills. 

Looking back at your career, what would you say you are most proud of in terms of accomplishments so far?

I’m very proud of where I am today. I’m definitely further along than I thought I would be at this point in my life career-wise. I did get a little bit lucky. I think I met some of the right people and I built some of the right relationships. But I’m most proud that I’m able to show my siblings, my family, and my cousins, that it is possible for someone who looks like us to rise through the ranks, no matter what the company is, and be effective and successful. 

You mentioned that Andrea, your current boss, was a mentor to you. Are there any tips you have for cultivating and sustaining a mentor relationship like the one you have. 

Yeah, I would say keep in contact regularly. Don’t monopolize their time, but find a schedule that works for you. The onus is always on you as well. Don’t expect them to reach out to you all the time. Expect that it’s going to be a 70/30 relationship where you’re the one always reaching out. Proactively try to meet up. Lunches and coffee work well when you are not in the same company. Go to events that you know they are going to be at so you can connect on the fact that you both attended the same event. 

Who would you consider your greatest influence on your career or in life in general?

My mother for sure. She came to Canada at 15. She worked hard and tried to navigate this new environment with new norms, and new social cues. She started having kids young though, she had me at 21. And maybe because of that it took her a bit longer to achieve what she achieved. She’s an accountant as well. She always instilled positive and good values in us as well as a strong work ethic. When you look like us, you have to work twice as hard to get half as far. But she did not let that be an excuse for us. 

You’ve been at Dentons for over 3 years. What is your favourite thing about working for the firm? 

I like the culture of the firm. I think the firm is trying to make an effort especially with diversity initiatives. I think they are putting their money where their mouth is, really pushing and trying to give opportunities to people of all walks of life. Obviously we have a long way to go in terms of the number of black people in the firm, but it doesn’t feel like lip service.  

I like the projects that we’re working on including a lot of modernization of old processes. Trying to figure out and navigate that change within the firm is exciting. It’s going to be exciting to see where the firm is in the next 5 years once many of these projects are done. 

The vast majority of the people here are very open and willing to teach and learn. It feels like we’re working towards a common goal. 

Is there one last piece of advice you’d like to sign off with?

I’d reiterate that you have to be curious and challenge the status quo. Not everyone has to be your friend, however when you’re working towards a common goal be respectful and don’t let anyone push you over.