Behind the Growth
Not everyone makes the news. But behind every growth-driving experience, product, and transformation are experts who shaped the outcome.
Behind the Growth is a podcast for digital leaders and those aspiring to become one.
Each episode celebrates remarkable individuals, and our candid conversations focus on their struggles, wins, and lessons learned you won’t find anywhere else.
Behind the Growth
Valerie McMurtry on Corporate Partnerships Creating Social Value
Valerie McMurtry, President & CEO of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada, joins Mudassar Malik on Behind the Growth to discuss how purpose-driven leadership, data, and partnerships are reshaping outcomes for children and youth in care. Drawing from her experience leading Canada’s largest charity in this space, Valerie explains how aligning mission, strategy, and innovation drives measurable change.
The conversation begins with Valerie’s career journey from corporate marketing to the nonprofit sector. She shares how her upbringing shaped her focus on solving complex social issues and why she pursued work with deeper purpose. This background informs her leadership approach today, where she prioritizes long-term outcomes over short-term wins.
Valerie then outlines the foundation’s mission: improving education, employment, mental health, and stability for young people who have experienced abuse, neglect, and abandonment. She explains why these priorities matter, the scale of the challenge in Canada, and how data guides funding decisions. She also discusses redefining success based on youth feedback, broadening it beyond traditional metrics to reflect individual progress.
Finally, she highlights how the foundation has evolved from traditional philanthropy to testing new service models through social innovation and venture funding. Using examples like the TELUS Mobility for Good program, Valerie demonstrates how corporate partnerships can go beyond sponsorship to deliver real impact. She closes by urging business leaders to integrate social responsibility into their strategies, not as a side effort, but as a way to build stronger organizations and communities.
Valerie dives into topics like:
- Leaving corporate to find purpose
- The hidden scale of child welfare
- Why success metrics needed rewriting
- Taking risks with social innovation
- Building partnerships that actually work
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