Greater Toronto's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 130
130
( 2025 )
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A leadership culture drives engagement at Roche Canada
B
rigitte Nolet has spent 18
years with Roche, working
first with Roche Canada
and then in three other
countries before returning two
years ago to become president and
CEO of Roche Canada Pharma,
headquartered in Mississauga.
Having the opportunity to
work globally is one of many
aspects Nolet values about the
organization.
“You can have a global career in
our company,” she says. “Thanks
to Roche's global network
and local setup, it’s no longer
necessary to leave Canada to gain
international experience. While
opportunities abroad are supported, you can also collaborate with
colleagues around the world from
here in Canada.”
Equally important to Nolet is
the fact that the company’s culture
is consistent across the globe. “We
have a culture of innovation and
collaboration, a purpose-driven culture, and in each of the
countries the feel is similar,” she
says. “We come to work in order to
make a difference in people’s lives,
and we really feel it in our work.”
Diversity and inclusion efforts
are central to that culture, Nolet
adds. “We have over 60 different
nationalities at Roche Canada. We
know that scientific advancements
stem from diverse minds coming
together, so everything we do
revolves around collaboration,
teamwork and moving forward
together.”
Those efforts include a
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
(DE&I) Council and a DE&I lead
who partners with the many
employee-led groups, including
those for female, LGBTQ+ and
racialized staff members, to hold
social and educational events that
celebrate the diverse perspectives
of all employees and drive change
across the organization.
“We focus on making tangible
changes based on input from
employees and resource groups,”
Nolet says. “One recent addition
to our benefits program is gender
affirmation coverage, which
supports our transgender and
non-binary colleagues in living
more authentically.”
The LGBTQ+ employee group
worked with Roche Canada’s
benefits team to develop the program. “It’s an example of everyone
working together to ensure our
programs and policies evolve to
support our employees,” Nolet
says.
“We know that scientific
advancements stem from
diverse minds coming
together, so everything we
do is about collaboration,
teamwork and moving
forward together.”
— Brigitte Nolet
President and CEO,
Roche Canada Pharma
Employees at Roche Canada embrace diversity and inclusion, creating a culture of collaboration and
innovation.
Richard Steele, enterprise lead
for partnership at Roche Canada’s
Diagnostics division, also prizes
the company’s culture. “The thing
I like is that it aligns closely with
my personal values,” he says. “We
try to do the right thing for people,
the environment and the economy,
and it’s not just talk, it’s genuine.”
The different teams meet
regularly to discuss issues and
progress.
“Our get-togethers range from
the micro to the macro,” Steele
says. “We have team town halls on
a monthly basis, and then there
might be a meeting for everyone
with a speaker from the larger
