As Executive Vice-President, Western and International Development, HB Global Advisors Corp., Jessica McDonald advises on sensitive negotiation of business transactions, multilateral negotiations, relationships between the business and aboriginal communities, and dispute resolution. She also has extensive experience in public sector governance, administrative reform and land use planning. HB Global’s client base includes local, national and multinational businesses as well as foreign governments, governmental organizations, and economic and trade bodies.
Previously, Ms. McDonald served for four and a half years as Deputy Minister to the Premier, Cabinet Secretary and Head of the BC Public Service, responsible for oversight of all aspects of government operations. As the first woman to hold the most senior position in the public service, she acted as a CEO-equivalent to the largest employer in the province with 36,000 employees in over 200 distinct fields of occupation and a $37B annual budget.
As head of the public service, Ms McDonald initiated a bold human resources renewal program, achieving a ten point increase in employee engagement along with its first-ever recognition as one of BC’s Top 50 Employers, Canada’s Top 100 Employers, Canada’s Top 25 Family Friendly Employers, and Canada’s 30 Greenest Employers.
She has been recognized nationally for her leadership in innovation and employee engagement, including the IPAC/Deloitte National Gold Award for Public Sector Leadership. She has been named amongst Canada’s Top 40 Under 40™ and Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women™, and was appointed to Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame™.
Ms. McDonald obtained a Bachelor of Arts focusing on constitutional law and public administration from the University of British Columbia. She was selected for BC’s prestigious Legislative Internship Program upon graduating, leading to a career spanning two decades in public sector management. From 1991 onwards, she worked in a progression of policy analysis and management positions in the provincial government, and subsequently founded and operated a successful consultancy specializing in natural resource and land management. She re-entered government in 2003 as a Deputy Minister to oversee government-wide strategic policy development relating to the environment and the economy.
She is a member of the Board of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada and is a regular speaker and panelist on leadership.
Ms. McDonald joined HB Global Advisors Corp., Heenan Blaikie’s consulting arm, in January 2010.