The future of energy is not shaped by one role, team, or career path. It takes shape wherever expertise becomes action: in customer conversations about efficiency and resilience, in labs and site environments where safety and quality guide every decision, and in teams solving complex challenges through technology, service, and collaboration.
Across Schneider Electric Canada, women are leading that progress in executive leadership, engineering, services, sales, marketing, and technical roles. Their paths are different, but together they show what is possible when women have the opportunity to grow, lead authentically, and make a visible impact on customers, communities, and the energy transition.
Turning ambition into impact
As President of Schneider Electric Canada, Emily Heitman sees ideas such as the energy transition, operational efficiency, and business resilience translate into measurable outcomes for customers. Across Canada, teams are helping organizations improve performance while building more resilient and sustainable operations.
“The impact is tangible, and the fact that it is also advancing the energy transition in this country makes it something I am genuinely proud to be part of.”
Emily’s own career has been shaped by opportunities to stretch across markets and geographies. Mentors, peers, and new experiences have helped her broaden her perspective, grow as a decision-maker, and recognize the importance of creating those same opportunities for others.
“This is a place where women have real opportunities to lead, grow, and drive meaningful change in an organization that takes our ambition seriously.”
Turning stretch moments into growth
If Emily’s story reflects the scale of what Schneider Electric Canada can influence, Estefania Gonzalez Madrid’s story shows where growth often begins: with a step that feels bigger than anything you have taken on before.
One of the defining moments in Estefania’s career came about six years ago, when she stepped outside her comfort zone and moved into commercial leadership. The experience opened the door to greater confidence, a broader perspective, and new opportunities to make an impact.
Today, as eOEM and Panelbuilder Sales Director in Canada, that experience continues to shape how she leads. Estefania creates an environment where people feel trusted to challenge the status quo, share bold ideas, and take thoughtful risks, recognizing that innovation depends on people feeling seen, heard, and supported.
“The true currency of life is not money, nor even time: it is your own energy. Protect it by doing more of what energizes you and by being mindful of what you engage with.”
Turning technical expertise into trust
In technical presales, progress depends on translating complex technology into clear business value. As Industrial Automation Technical Presales Manager in Toronto, Shadi Nasafat has built her career at the intersection of engineering, customer needs, and people leadership.
Moving into management allowed her to work more directly with decision-makers while leading a team shaped by different cultures, technical backgrounds, regions, and experiences. Those perspectives strengthen collaboration and help the team deliver better outcomes.
With support, mentorship, and trust from her leaders, Shadi has also been empowered to grow beyond her formal role, including helping build connections between Schneider Electric Canada, educational institutions, and future talent.
“For me, leadership is about building a culture of trust, mentorship, collaboration, and inclusion, where diverse talent is empowered to grow, deliver results, and shape the future.”
Turning service into customer confidence
In Services, customer confidence is built through problem-solving, follow-through, and care over time.
For Nicole Snively, Services Transformation and Customer Experience Leader based in Milton, Ontario, that work has also created a path of continuous growth. She joined Schneider Electric Services following the ASCO acquisition six years ago, with a focus on customer experience. The role showed her how closely Services connects customer needs, business impact, and long-term trust.
Along the way, Nicole has developed technical knowledge, business understanding, problem-solving skills, and adaptability. The work continues to stretch her while giving her opportunities to make a meaningful impact.
Schneider Electric’s culture has also allowed Nicole to lead in a way that feels authentic. Family is an important part of who she is, and she values being in an environment where she does not have to separate that part of herself from her professional identity. Leading with care, accountability, and trust has helped her grow while staying grounded in what matters most.
“I’ve been able to grow in my career in a way that feels genuine to me, while staying true to who I am as a leader and as a person.”
Turning precision into performance
In a lab and site environment, leadership shows up in the systems, standards, and collaboration that allow teams to perform safely and reliably.
That connection between complex ideas and tangible outcomes is what first drew Marisha Patel, Lab and Site Manager, to engineering.
“I was drawn to engineering by a strong interest in solving complex, real-world problems and translating ideas into tangible outcomes.”
Today, Marisha creates the conditions for high-performing teams to operate safely, efficiently, and with a strong commitment to quality. By fostering a disciplined and collaborative environment, she helps strengthen operational excellence, reliability, customer trust, and long-term business value.
Schneider Electric has also given her the opportunity to grow both technically and as a leader, taking on responsibilities that influence team development, operational performance, and broader business outcomes.
Turning collaboration into simplicity
For customers, simplicity can feel effortless. Inside the organization, it is built through strong relationships, alignment across teams, and the work of removing friction before it reaches the customer.
Valerie Fontaine, Virtual Services Sales Manager in Montreal, sees employee and customer experience as closely connected. By building alignment across teams and cultures, she helps create an experience that feels faster, clearer, and more human for distributors and customers.
“What I value most is the diversity of perspectives and the ability to build strong relationships across teams and cultures.”
Valerie has also been empowered to extend her influence beyond her formal role and lead through sustainability. For her, that responsibility is increasingly important as the energy transition calls for both urgency and action.
“The energy transition is urgent, and it starts with us: curiosity to learn, courage to act.”
Turning visibility into connection
Progress also depends on visibility: helping customers, partners, and communities understand how technology shows up in the world around them.
As VP of Canada Marketing, Sophie Chadefaud has helped expand brand awareness through partnerships with organizations including the Professional Women’s Hockey League and Rogers Arena. These partnerships showcase Schneider Electric solutions in action while creating meaningful new ways to connect with customers.
Sophie also values the diversity of perspectives and strong collaboration across teams in Canada. That environment gives people the confidence to contribute bold ideas and build something meaningful together.
“What I value most is the diversity of perspectives and the strong sense of collaboration. It creates an environment where bold ideas can emerge, and where teams are genuinely motivated to build something meaningful together.”
The trust and flexibility to lead with autonomy have also shaped Sophie’s experience, allowing her to focus on outcomes, empower her team, and support a culture that prioritizes both performance and people.
Progress built by many paths
Across Schneider Electric Canada, progress is built by leaders who create space for others to grow, engineers who turn complexity into reliability, service and sales teams who strengthen the customer experience, and marketers who help more people see what energy technology can make possible.
These stories reflect the breadth of opportunity at Schneider Electric and the many ways women are shaping the future through expertise, courage, collaboration, and purpose. There is no single route to leadership here, and no single definition of what a leader should look like.
At Schneider Electric Canada, a meaningful career is not only about where you start. It is about what you help move forward.
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