Examining the National Bank of Canada CIO’s approach to tech and teams

Being accountable for the execution of the technology strategy for National Bank of Canada, delivery of all projects and initiatives, and running daily operations and back offices functions, Julie Levesque has a lot on her plate as EVP of technology and operations, and CIO. In the role now for three years, she’s applied the skills and methods learned throughout her career in tech and financial services that speak of her commitment to building strong, capable teams, and taking risks rather than encourage complacency—an enduring adversity for women in the industry despite improvements.

“I was once asked to apply for an executive position, which I didn’t consider,” she says. “This is something some women usually look at: the criteria for the job. And for this executive role, I thought I only had half the criteria, so I shouldn’t apply. But my boss said I needed to go through the process. In the end I got the position and I was able to develop in my first executive position at the bank.”

Pushing boundaries, however uncomfortable, is always a valuable practice. The same mindset also applies when working with different points of view since the opportunity to learn from varied opinions usually proves to be more valuable long term than finding solutions with only those in lockstep with one strategy.

“What I learned is whatever work I use, it’s being interpreted or repeated in great magnitude,” she says. “It’s not, ‘Julie said this,’ or ‘Julie said that,’ but you still have to make sure you understand the impact on the receiving end when you say something. To me it’s something really beneficial getting that connection with every level in the organization, making sure you have that rapport with them. You get that continuous loop and people feel there’s a purpose why they’re there. They’re not just coding lines. They also understand that what we do is serve customers.”

CIO.com Canada editor Lee Rennick recently spoke with Levesque about getting out of your comfort zones, the advantages of being bilingual in technology, and tackling calculated risks head on. Here are some edited excerpts of that conversation. Watch the full video below for more insights.

On establishing a foundation: I had a non-typical path that led me to the position I’m in. Technology was something I was always interest in, but I ended up in a software company by fluke and then really fell in love with technology. I worked there for a couple of years and it was difficult from a life balance point of view with two small children. I was traveling a lot and realized as much as I love my job, it was too much of a burden on my family. So I decided to take not a step back, but a lateral step and that’s how I ended up at National Bank as a dev lead and in a web development team. This was new to me. Then I fell in love with financial services and realized I was meant to work in both. I could learn so much around the different lines of business, and it’s motivated me throughout my career and still today. So I embraced that and realized when I’m passionate about something, results come in a timely matter, and you perform better because you’re motivated in what you do.