It would take a reinforced Samsonite to carry Tracy Holotuk’s resume, but the go-getting senior VP wouldn’t have it any other way.
From pounding out company strategy in the executive offices at Calgary’s Electronics Manufacturing Group to the brightly lit shop floor where she sharpens her knowledge on the assembly line, Holotuk is a true circuit builder in the high-tech business world.
Sleepless in Seattle? Try 24/7 in Stampede City. “My biggest challenge is finding balance, because I love working so much,” Holotuk admits. “There is no weekend, and sometimes I’ll work to 3 or 4 in the morning.”
Since company CEO David Snell wooed her west last fall from a VP position with communications agency Shandwick International, Holotuk has been immersing herself in all aspects of the electronics business.
She spends two weeks in Calgary, then wings back to EMG’s Markham facility for a fortnight before yo-yo-ing back to Alberta.
Snell recalls with a chuckle how during her first weeks on the job, Holotuk donned an anti-static blue coat and spent hours on the factory floor, learning how to assemble circuit boards and forming friendships with the assembly crew.
Other company execs were soon seen sheepishly descending from the boardrooms to suit up in blues and venture out on the line. “We’re fortunate to have her,” Snell says.
The former competitive figure skater likes to stay on the cutting edge. Fresh out of high school in Victoria, she enrolled in a journalism/broadcasting course, but found more engaging work out in the community, working in retail marketing for both Eaton’s and Woodward’s, while helping local Socred politicians with election publicity.
Any one of those jobs might have been exhausting, but Holotuk fed off the energy and elected to drop her university studies to enter the world of business and politics full time, learning the fundamentals of managing people, building teams and executing projects.
Serendipity intervened when Holotuk was visiting her folks, who had moved from the coast to settle in Toronto.
She was “discovered” while applying for a clerical job with Public Affairs Resource Group (now known as Hill & Knowlton Canada) — and in the blink of an eye was working in their executive offices as a senior consultant while studying for her economics degree in York.
“I had literally walked into the Number One public affairs firm in Canada without even knowing it,” she recalls, crediting PARG boss Jamie Deacy for acting as a mentor by nurturing both her skills and sense of adventure.
The job soon led into the uppermost political circles — she spent three years working closely with Liberal cabinet minister Paul Martin on his leadership bid — but the headhunters were still calling.
“You don’t realize it at the time when you’re living and breathing deadlines and issues every day within organizations, but you take something with you from every encounter and assignment,” she says, explaining how each career move has been an enrichment.
“You’re getting experience, diversity, insight into different organizations and how they operate. You’re building broader networks. And you’re getting a sense of accomplishment.”
Holotuk worked with several technology clients through PARG, and her next moves pulled her towards that sector.
Senior positions followed in business development and marketing with the Canadian operations of both sgi (Silicon Graphics) and Hewlett-Packard, and she was working at Shandwick when Snell convinced her to join EMG as a senior vice-president of corporate development.
The inner circle is a natural home. “When it comes to public affairs or corporate or business development, these are all facets that are of the highest concern of the senior management,” says Holotuk.
“You have to be completely integrated, and a part of that team. It’s the livelihood of the existence of those operations.
“There’s always a solution. It’s my job to find it.”
She remembers the early days when she was often the only woman — and a young one, to boot — in the decision-making circles, and now makes a special effort to mentor and encourage talented young women to reach for their own potential.
She harkens back to her skating days when describing the skills needed to balance a busy life with high expectations: creativity, discipline, improvisation and the ability to manage extreme pressure.
Her business life continues to ring with opportunity as she helps EMG set its long-term strategic direction.
“For me, it’s about learning,” Holotuk says. “I’m my own worst enemy, because I love content and challenge and the sense of being able to contribute and make a difference . . . the glass is plenty full, and there’s lots of opportunity. “And never,” she adds, “a dull moment.”
