This article is part of a seven-part series featuring NC alumni who are finalists for this year’s Ontario Premier’s Awards. Stephanie M. Leheta (Medical Record Technologist, 1993) has been nominated in the Community Services category.
Female leaders have long been refining corporate culture.
NC alumna Stephanie Leheta — who went from part-time temp to Senior Director at one of Canada’s ‘Big Five’ banks — takes it a step further, using her energy to improve conditions both in the workplace and for non-profit agencies where she volunteers.
The indicators started early. Still in college, Leheta worked part-time at the Canadian Tire Contact Centre (later becoming the Canadian Tire Bank), where supervisors began noting her drive.
After graduation she was made full-time and within eight years promoted into management, carving out a reputation for thoughtfully handling supervisory or director-level roles that demanded focus and situational judgment to execute increasingly intricate projects.
In successive positions at Canadian Tire Bank she guided teams of up to 150 people through major projects like role-mapping and re-engineering the operating practices of a large organization; transforming customer experience; improving the company’s financial processes; and updating its credit card and retail banking activities.
For Leheta it was fulfilling but demanding, and after 29 years with Canadian Tire she was thinking of retirement. That’s when the CIBC stepped in, and in 2022 appointed her as its Senior Director, Client Experience Strategy, Governance & Design Thinking.
So far, her CIBC checklist has included helping increase Customer Experience national ranking from fifth in 2022 to second in 2024; creating a transformation roadmap for customer experience and AI; and heading a large team of banking experts integrating complex financial data systems.
Whenever the going gets unusually tough, Leheta has always found an inner strength to provide an extra gear. But even that met its supreme test. Several years ago Leheta’s world turned upside down when her only sister — and then her sister’s husband — each became ill and passed away, both within the space of a year.
Besides dealing with her own grief and sorting out her sister’s estate, Leheta was also left to raise her sister’s school-age children, who were deeply traumatized by the loss of their parents. This as a time when Leheta’s own daughter was battling serious illness. It was all devastating.
“You can’t control what you can’t control,” she said. ” You just have to deal with it. Failure was not an option.”
Despite being emotionally depleted, Leheta says that overwhelming period taught her the importance of supporting agencies like Big Brothers Big Sisters. It also led her to give more of her own time for community volunteerism and leadership.
“Being able to help groups who need support is near and dear to my heart.” she said. “I help charitable organizations learn to write business plans, build strategies, embrace change management.”
Leheta’s volunteerism includes:
- Board Trustee, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada;
- Senior volunteer roles with Habitat for Humanity Niagara;
- Strategic Planning Lead, Distress Centres of Niagara;
- Senior roles, including board chair and treasurer, at Tanguay Place Home for Adult Independent Living;
- Global Director, Client Experience Professional Association;
- Board Director, United Way of South Niagara; and
- Vice President, Association of Change Management Professionals , Ontario Board of Directors.
She has also won a Women of Inspiration Award recipient for Authentic Leadership from Universal Womens Network, and supports women who confront workplace discrimination.
“I’ve been there, a female in a male-dominated industry, and had to overcome barriers and prejudicial treatment,” she said. “Women were expected to conform, to fit in, wear less makeup, dress in business suits, listen more and talk less.
“I didn’t have a role model who looked like me that I could look up to, so I just tried to remain my authentic to myself. I was one drop in the puddle, but somebody had to effect change. If not me, then who?”
Leheta noted that her NC experience helped cultivate that reserve of strength that she has drawn on throughout her adult life.
“Niagara introduced me to important critical thinking and problem-solving skills, teaching me to question situations from different angles. Over time, this evolved into the business acumen and judgement that I use today,” she said.
“The coaching and support of faculty helped me navigate complex situations throughout my career, taught me to learn about myself and others by developing communication, teamwork and leadership skills. This develops emotional intelligence and compassion that has served me well in leading large teams, especially during challenging times.”
