hr influencer
DRIVING TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE
By Lisa Gordon
Throughout her 30-year career, Melissa
Sonberg has been a driving force for
transformative change. Never one to
shy away from a challenge, her career
path has immersed her in the corporate, nonprofit
and academic sectors, touching on many
aspects of human resources along the way.
Today, Sonberg is executive in residence/
adjunct professor at McGill University’s
Desautels Faculty of Management. She is happiest
working in the trenches of innovation,
where new ideas are formed and cultivated.
Although Sonberg thrives on rolling up her
sleeves and building solutions, she freely admits
that once that framework has been built,
she’s happy to let someone else maintain it. For
her, it’s all about conquering a challenge.
HR Professional caught up with Sonberg recently
to discuss her career highlights, her current
work at McGill and how some long-ago advice
has always inspired her to “just do good work.”
When did you decide you wanted
a career in human resources?
Melissa Sonberg: HR chose me, rather than
the other way around. When I did my master’s
degree in health administration, I had to do
an organizational internship at Royal Victoria
Hospital in Montreal. I had a couple of weeks
in almost every department, and the department
that was the most fun and where I felt the
most connected was human resources.
What was your first HR job?
MS: Conveniently, that internship turned into
my first human resources job, as an HR generalist
for the Montreal Neurological Hospital.
I did everything from recruitment to managing
payroll and benefits, supporting labour
relations and dealing with all kinds of people
problems. There were a few hundred employees
and I had to do everything pretty much on
my own, although I had access to the resources
of the greater McGill University Health
Network for specialized services.
Tell me about your current job. What
are your main areas of responsibility?
MS: I joined the McGill faculty last year after
30 years in organizational life – 15 of which
were spent with AIMIA, the public company
that developed from Air Canada’s Aeroplan
frequent flyer program. The company grew
internationally and by the time I left, it was
running loyalty programs and services in 23
countries. Turning 50 triggered a decision to
look for my next set of challenges. McGill was
incredibly welcoming; I’m now attached to the
Illustration: Lightspring/Shutterstock
Photo courtesy of Melissa Sonberg
HRPATODAY.CA ❚ MAY/JUNE 2015 ❚ 69