A director of campus development
Loretta Cianci, 48
Director of campus development, École des hautes études commerciales de Montréal (HEC), Montreal
What does a director of campus development do?
I oversee where departments are located, master plans for construction projects, the construction site, security, and heating and ventilation maintenance.
Every director of support services I've heard of has been a man. How did you get this job?
It's true! People do a double take when they find out what I do, and believe me, it wasn't something I planned for, either. I'm an architect and was laid off during the downturn in the late 1990s by the firm I'd been working 13 years for. Because it was a small firm, I'd had the chance to be involved in every aspect of construction. When I applied to HEC, they liked that I was an architect who could see projects from concept through to the nuts and bolts of construction.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Some members of the older generation tend to look at me as a woman first, then as an architect. I'd go onto sites and construction workers would think I was a secretary or an assistant — like someone who was there to take notes and carry pencils. After years of schooling, you can imagine how frustrating that was.
How have you dealt with that?
I learned early to compensate. My father was a traditional man and there were double standards in our family, between my three brothers and me. I had to justify my requests to get permission to do things that would have been no problem if I were a boy. So communication, objectiveness, fairness and open-mindedness have always been of great importance to me. This approach has helped me tremendously in difficult and delicate situations at work, especially in a male-dominated field. If you can show the person across the table there is more than one solution to a problem, then half the battle is won. With some people, though, there is no reasoning.
What do you love about your job?
When I started I was working with only a few employees, and now I have a department of 85. And I'm still learning. Some days, I'll wear a hard hat and other days, I have to suit up for meetings. Right now, we're working on a $12 million renovation project. Sometimes it's startling to think that I'm in charge. But it's feels great too.
