About

Though a litigator by training, Joanna Scott, corporate secretary and vice president of corporate services at Mullen, has excelled in a corporate law environment. Prior to joining Mullen, Scott was a litigation lawyer at Dentons Canada. She recalls how her transition was a learning curve and that she appreciates the faith Mullen had in her from the out-set: ‘I was primarily hired to be the corporate secretary, I wasn’t hired to be legal. I was very thankful that they allowed me to set up the legal department, just recognising that there was that gap in the company’. She concedes that the legal support of Mullen’s business units wasn’t the initial aim but the legal team turned out to be a fundamental part of the company. She highlights that her contribution comes from a cost saving aspect: ‘I think it’s very important to save hundreds, even thousands in legal fees, which is strategic to our oilfield services segment at this time. In this type of economic market many of our investors were quite pleased with the performance of the company’. Scott also spearheaded a private placement in October 2015 for $400m, which led them to undertaking the acquisition of Manitoba-based Gardewine Group Limited Partnership worth $172m. This bolstered their revenue significantly during the economic downturn. Her most rewarding moments are realising that she is a valued part of the company, which comes to fruition when people from various departments and business units come to her for assistance. ‘The fact that they come to me for my opinion, the fact that our business units seek my advice and the respect I get from senior executives. They keep me in the loop when I can’t be there, which makes me feel like they value me as a member of their team’.