Kelly is the inaugural Chief People Officer (CPO) at Gowling WLG, where she is tasked with advancing the firm’s people-first commitment and fostering a work environment that encourages learning, collaboration and community building. Kelly leads the firm’s HR, Legal Talent, DEI, Wellness, Total Rewards and Learning & Development functions. Prior to joining Gowling WLG, Kelly was the Chief People Officer for Sunwing Travel Group, North America’s largest vertically-integrated travel company with approximately 24,000 employees across fourteen countries.
We are delighted that Kelly will be speaking in Toronto as part of our Canada Summit this year. We caught up with her to find out how she’s feeling in the runup to the event.
Hi Kelly, we are thrilled that you will be speaking at the Wellbeing at Work Summit Canada in October. Our first and most important question is, how are you doing today?
I am doing very well today, I am excited to be involved with this important topic!
As a leader based in the region, what are the main challenges you are facing when it comes to employee wellbeing and mental health?
How to ensure we are offering real, tangible benefits to our employees that are not considered window dressing and also how to ensure leadership reflects the values related to wellbeing and mental health that have been communicated within the organization.
What strategies have you seen developing over the past 6 months, both internally and externally, that are moving the dial on wellbeing in the workplace?
Having sessions and open dialogue like this. Earlier in my career no one talked about these topics outside of the benefits team, making this a centre stage leadership topic has changed the game. We are seeing people moving away from apps and “do it yourself” only solutions which had a big moment during the pandemic. Moving to real offerings tied to culture change.
Why is employee wellbeing so important to you personally?
I have been in HR for 30 years now. I have always given advice and tried to support my employees with meaningful solutions. I did not take my own advice in 2021 when I was leading HR in the travel industry during the pandemic while also caring for and saying goodbye to my Dad. I realized from going through a challenging time myself how important it was to have support systems, talk openly about things as a leader and to learn from my mistakes.
What impact is AI having in your organization and how are you managing that?
Our industry is one of the industries being majorly disrupted by AI on all fronts. We have hired a head of AI & Innovation so we are deep in our journey currently.
Other than AI, are there any challenges that you are seeing for the first time and how are you addressing them?
I would say just what’s going on in the world. There is so much going on for everyone. I read a quote the other day that said “it’s fair to assume that literally no one is 100% ok right now”. What we are living through impacts DEI, well-being, culture and life in general. We are at a time when all of these things are intersecting in wonderful and difficult ways and how we navigate this is critical to our success not just as leaders and organizations but also as parents, friends, humans.
What areas do you think employers should be focused on over the next 12 months?
I would say the topics we covered above are top of mind for me…AI, DEI, Well-being, Culture and leaning into values in a meaningful and authentic way.
How has your organization been leading the way?
We have a CEO who is a practicing lawyer and is leading in an industry that is not necessarily known for a focus on well-being. This is a particular passion for him and he is supporting a lot of things that are new and meaningful which is critical…this is seen as something that is led from the top as opposed to specifically an HR led strategy.
Kelly will be speaking in Toronto at the Wellbeing at Work Summit Canada.
Our Toronto Summit takes place on October 21, 2025. Visit our Toronto webpage for further details and to book your tickets.
Our Calgary Summit takes place on October 23, 2025. To find out more about our Calgary Summit and book your tickets please visit our Calgary webpage.
