On April 16th, we held our annual Morley Gunderson Lecture and, in a special ceremony preceding the lecture, we were very pleased to present the Morley Gunderson Prize for outstanding professional achievement and significant service to the CIRHR to alumni, Aileen Coyle and Robin Ross.
Aileen is the Director of Product & Digital Platforms at Manulife supporting the Mortgage Creditor Insurance business. She enables mortgage brokers and lenders across Canada to offer life and disability protection that helps borrowers safeguard their debt. A graduate of the University of Toronto’s MIRHR program (2014) and Wilfrid Laurier University (BA, Psychology 2010), Aileen began her career with Manulife in Talent Acquisition, building North American co‑op and new‑graduate programs. She later launched a global customer experience initiative in Corporate Strategy and has since held roles across Global Marketing, Innovation, and Canada Strategy. Her work has spanned offices across Canada and the U.S., and she completed a global assignment in Hong Kong, enriching her perspective on customer needs and employee enablement. Aileen is passionate about human centred design and data driven decisions. She is proud to be a graduate of the University of Toronto MIRHR program and is excited about the new graduates joining Manulife in recent years.
Robin is a strategic Human Resources and Labour Relations leader with over a decade of experience across healthcare and public sectors. He’s built a career leading complex labour relations portfolios and organizational transformation initiatives, and currently serves as Director of Labour Relations at Unity Health Toronto overseeing enterprise-wide labour relations strategy and collective bargaining across Unity’s network of downtown hospitals. Previously, as Director of Labour and Employee Relations at Extendicare Canada and Manager of Labour and Employee Relations at Baycrest Health Sciences, he successfully led major change initiatives and fostered collaborative union-management relationships in the healthcare sector. Robin holds a BA (Honours) from St. Francis Xavier University, alongside his MIRHR degree, and is a Certified HR Leader. His experience spans the full spectrum of labour relations, from collective bargaining and dispute resolution to strategic organizational change and workforce transformation. A respected voice in healthcare labour relations, Robin is a member of the Ontario Hospital Association’s negotiating team representing Ontario hospitals in province-wide collective agreement negotiations.
We had the opportunity to speak with Robin about his time at the Centre, his mentorship experience, and the advice he'd give to incoming students and recent graduates. Check out the full interview below, and stay tuned for our interview with Aileen Coyle in the weeks ahead!
Reflecting on your time at the Centre, what moments, experiences, or people stand out?
The Centre attracted people who were career-minded and focused on making the most out of their time there. When all of your peers have that mindset, it makes for a really energizing learning environment, and pushes you to make the most of every opportunity. The people I’ve stayed in touch with since graduating have all gone on to build successful careers. I think that says a lot about what you learn at the Centre, but it also says something about who it draws in. I also met my wife there, so that’s one person who particularly stands out!
Tell me about the evolution of your career — how did the Centre prepare you for the world of work?
The Centre gives you a really strong balance of theoretical and practical. In the early years, I drew heavily on both. Reflecting now though, what I’ve drawn on most consistently might be the more values-based learnings from informal discussions with faculty, alumni, peers, and mentors. The importance of building trust, how critical your integrity is to your long-term success -- these are some of the things that have really stayed with me all these years later. The Centre gives you the foundation you need to be successful by teaching the theoretical and practical, but you also get exposure to smart, successful leaders in the field who model the right values.
What’s it like returning to campus, and what inspired you to contribute to the next cohort?
It’s great coming back because I have so many positive memories from my time here. I remember the people who invested in me and how much of a difference that made, so the motivation behind my contributions here is wanting to pay that forward. I remember the uncertainty I had about my career at that stage and if I can help students cut through some of that noise, that feels like time well spent. The Centre played a big role in shaping where I ended up, so being able to contribute back in some way is something I have found rewarding.
Can you talk about your experience of the mentorship program?
Having access to someone who was navigating the realities of a career in labour relations was incredibly valuable. The mentorship program bridges a gap that can’t fully be closed through coursework. I was fortunate to be paired with Jeanette May and Amanda Costa, who each gave me a picture of what labour relations looks like out in the wild, and insight into what employers are looking for when hiring. I’ve crossed paths with both of them since through labour relations and other networking circles, which speaks to how small the labour relations world is.
What advice would you give to students beginning their studies, or on the verge of graduation?
The people you’re going to school with and graduating alongside will become your peers in the field, so invest in those relationships. I would also say to just make the most of it. I wish I could do it again. I know I’d take entirely new things away from it at this stage of my career, which is a testament to the quality of the program and why it attracts students from such varied career stages.