Mary Moran
Growing up with four older brothers in Aurora, Ont., competition was a daily fact of life for Mary Moran.
“We couldn’t walk upstairs without it becoming a competition,” the president and CEO of Calgary Economic Development says. “Whatever they said, I would do. There was never any suggestion I couldn’t do something because I was a girl.”
That competitive spirit was reflected in sports — from skiing, canoeing and competitive figure skating — but not necessarily schoolwork.
“I was always the youngest in class and, in high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do.”
Upon graduation, she went to work — and continued working through university courses and an MBA.
“People ask, ‘did you have a plan?’ I was never that person. But I always had goals and never closed the doors to anything.”
Juggling work and school instilled organization, discipline and a strong work ethic. “I loved working.”
The variety and competitive nature of her workplaces — including airlines, hotels and telecommunications — have served her well in her CED role, assumed two years ago after first joining as VP of marketing and communications.
“The best lesson is keep moving; be prepared to take risks, fail fast and move on.”
That mantra served her well this fall with the guerrilla-marketing style pitch (social media, newspaper ads, banners and chalk messages) CED made for Calgary’s bid to lure tech giant Amazon’s HQ2.
Competing against 237 other cities — “that’s when I’m really competitive.”
While awaiting Amazon’s 2018 decision, CED will chip away at Calgary’s 27 per cent downtown office vacancy rate, take advantage of a heightened profile to pitch to other U.S. companies and tackle “a jobless recovery” in the economy.
When Moran’s not busy selling the city, she’s at the rink, on a national-level synchronizedskating team.
“There’s belly laughs, we’re detached from our phones and it’s exercise. It’s the most harmonized group of women I have ever met.”