Sussannah Kelly serves as executive vice president in DHR’s Toronto office.
Prior to joining DHR International, Ms. Kelly was managing director at Boyden global executive search and a co-owner of the Toronto, Central and Eastern Canada practice. She specializes in senior talent acquisition for clients in Canada and the United States.
With more than 20 years as a senior leader, Ms. Kelly brings an executive perspective to every assignment she handles. Ms. Kelly previously served as senior vice president of human resources with MDS Proteomics and has held similar roles with Merisel (U.S. and Canada), NCR Canada, Rogers Communications, Amdahl, Bank of Montreal, Lloyd’s Bank, Transamerica, Johnson & Johnson (Ortho Pharmaceutical), etc. As senior vice president of corporate human resources at Rogers Telecommunications, she led and managed the integration of MacLean Hunter Magazine and Cable, and Toronto Sun into Rogers Cable, Broadcasting and Cellular Companies. She also worked with Price Waterhouse and Herman Smith conducting operational audits and senior executive search assignments.
Ms. Kelly received Toronto Life’s “Top 10 Employers in Toronto” Award and The Vision Award from the Federal Government for Employment Equity. She presently sponsors the very prestigious Toronto senior human resources forum and the Toronto CEO Forum.
Ms. Kelly has been a popular keynote speaker at several leadership conferences in Canada and the United States, speaking on topics such as succession management, power of networking, talent acquisition, Canada’s brain gain, talent diversity, cultural alignment and effective cultural transformation, and chaired the “Women in Leadership Summit” in Toronto. Ms. Kelly recently chaired the EMC2 Women in Technology event in Toronto. She is a founding member of the Human Resources Software Council of Canada, and sits on the board of Nightwood Theatre (devoted exclusively for Women in the Arts). She is a current member of INNET and IWF (International Women’s Forum); a past member of the Conference Board of Canada and Information Technology Association of Canada; and a past board member of the Ontario Breast Cancer foundation, West Park Board of Governors, The Royal Ontario Museum Foundation and the Toronto Human Resources Professional Association. Ms. Kelly also served as chair of the 2011 YWCA Women of Distinction Award and the 2012 and 2013 selection committees. Ms. Kelly is also a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Her qualifications include an Executive Management Diploma from Stanford University, California, a Bachelor of Arts and Secondary Teachers Certificate from Rollins College, Crosby Quality College and attained her Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP).