Charlene Ripley (LLB’88) knows that to achieve great rewards, one must take great risks.

The Dal Law alumna has worked for several major corporations, providing not only legal advice but also strategic leadership.

In 2013, Ripley became executive vice-president and general counsel for Goldcorp Inc., a major gold mining company that employs 19,000 workers worldwide. Despite facing a major drop in gold prices within her first three months in the job, she has determinedly made her mark on the company’s operations.

Ripley’s first major undertaking was to revamp the company’s legal department, restructuring operations to ensure that the legal teams across North, South and Central America were all reporting to the general counsel. Since then, Ripley has continued to take on major strategic tasks including risk management, compliance, and strategy.

Prior to her role with Goldcorp, Ripley held high-level legal and strategic positions at Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Linn Energy, LLC.

She explains that the role of a general counsel in a corporation is not to react to events, as most lawyers in private firms do, but to act proactively to manage risks and opportunities for their company.

Ripley’s myriad successes at the top level of several large corporations has led to her selection as the 2015 Western Canada General Counsel of the Year.

Read more in “The talented Charlene Ripley thrives on leadership” on financialpost.com.

Photo Credit: Ben Nelms for National Post.