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Timeline

The Cape Breton Development Corporation

Four companies wanted to hire me out of university, including an accounting firm and a radio station. But I wanted to work in Cape Breton for this mining company. Four people from my graduating class applied for the job, many with connections in the coal mining business. One guy was even the son of a mayor. I thought, “The chances of me getting this are pretty slim.” But I did my homework. I spent three days getting prepared for that presentation. I went in to meet with this guy for the interview. I’ll never forget it: I had an hour and a half with him, and I told him what I’d do to turn the tourism industry in Cape Breton around. I had read all the annual reports of The Cape Breton Development Corporation. I was very informed. I think that just blew him away. I’ve learned that being prepared, being knowledgeable, respecting who you’re going to meet and being clear about the direction you want to take are all really critical.

I was twenty-one when I started working at the Corporation. It was an amazing time. We were trying to leverage the coal mining business to support secondary businesses in Cape Breton. I was involved in the industrial development around the Corporation. Because the company was central to the area, they needed to set up secondary industries to make the region more diverse for the working population. “Industrial development” meant creating jobs for displaced workers. I worked with all the various industries developed for this purpose: in metal fabrication plants, sawmills, and tourism. I helped sawmill companies expand, worked with them on their business plans and established loans with the government. I remember giving a loan to a woman who needed to supplement her income in order to open a bakery. To see that little bakery open was really wonderful. I also remember giving a loan to a woman who wanted to buy a sewing machine to start a business. That woman is still operating in Cape Breton.

I was in way over my head when I started. I didn’t have a clue. But I love drowning in any situation – you really learn in that environment. I had a couple of bosses at the Corporation that said, “Look, Annette. I don’t know how to do it. You figure it out. You can develop a program on your own.” And so I did. And I worked in an extraordinarily male-dominated business. I was the only woman in that environment for three years.

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