Maples Group leverages Montréal’s diverse talent
A few months after Venezuelan lawyer Magda Mendoza immigrated to Canada in 2016, the Montréal office of the Maples Group hired her as an investor services administrator. “I saw there was a great opportunity to reinvent myself here,” she says.
The young married mother of a then eight-month-old baby joined an internal mentoring program to carve out her path at the firm, which offers a comprehensive suite of services to hedge funds, private equity funds and institutional investors around the world. Over the last four years, Mendoza has progressed from an entry-level position to her current role as a vice president within the anti-money laundering team.
“When you come to a new country, there can be challenges with having to start over,” says Mendoza. “The Maples Group has helped me navigate my career path, giving me a home and a work family while supporting my professional development.”
Montréal’s diversity has played a key role in the success of this office, which operates under the International Financial Centre program sponsored by Finance Montréal. This is evident from the fact that 72 per cent of employees were born outside of Canada, hailing from 35 countries.
Tyler Kim, global head of fund services, was born and raised in Hawaii. After a career in management consulting and working with investment managers, he joined the Maples Group in 2009 to launch its Montréal office and establish it as both a fund services hub and a technology centre of excellence. He recognizes the strategic importance of the Montréal office’s contribution to the firm’s global business.
“We’re trying to find great people from all over the world to work for the Maples Group,” says Kim, “In Montréal, we can do this in one city.”
Not only has the Maples Group’s Montréal office grown each year since its establishment, the firm has also hired more than 30 per cent of its current complement of employees since the onset of the pandemic.
Though COVID-19 has impacted the way Mendoza, Kim and their colleagues are able to interact, the Maples Group has ensured that they are able to not only work effectively remotely but also reconnect and relax. Maintaining the firm’s culture, sense of community and status as an employer of choice has remained a key focus. “We’ve had to pivot from jet-boating events and bagel days to virtual pub quizzes and virtual team lunches,” says Kim.