Employee Profile: Caroline Healey
Executive Vice-President & General Counsel
When Caroline Healey calls Canada’s rail system world-class, it comes with the credibility of having logged miles in more than two dozen countries around the world.
She’s ridden tilting high-speed trains in Portugal, boarded the famous Shinkansen in Japan, and discovered Europe via intercountry/intercity trains of all sorts.
She’s seen bustling, multi-modal hubs up close.
She’s also gained a deep appreciation for rail’s environmental benefits when compared with other modes of transport, in fact she has 15 years of experience in the transportation industry under her belt.
She joined RAC in July 2020 with a desire to encourage more Canadians to discover the benefits of commuter and inner-city rail, and to encourage governments at all levels to adopt policies that maximize freight and passenger rail’s economic and environmental benefits while building on its strong legacy and promising future.
“Everything we have around us has likely been moved by rail at some point. I’m deeply passionate about this industry,” she says.
The complexity of Canada’s highly regulated rail sector helps fuel that passion. Caroline is not someone to shy away from a challenge.
Whilst growing up, Caroline thought she might go into medicine. Ultimately, though, she found her way into law where she fell in love with the complexities of corporate and business law. She complemented two legal degrees with an MBA . And, when her employment trajectory saw her doing more and more business in China, she studied Chinese law at the University of Beijing.
Her hometown of Montréal , a Canadian rail town if ever there was one, has always called her back.
She and her partner have two kids, a toddler girl and a baby boy, that they raise in the normally vibrant Plateau Mont-Royal area.
While COVID closures have shuttered some of their favourite haunts, the family has kept (safely) active and busy in nearby parks as pandemic regulations have allowed.
Caroline invests a lot of herself in her community.
Her parents having instilled in her a love of classical music at a young age, Caroline volunteered with Montréal’s renowned symphony orchestra for nearly a decade.
Caroline played piano for ten years, though she is the first to admit that when it comes to playing music, her partner, Nicolas, is the musician in their household.
She says learning to read music gave her a different perspective on, and deeper appreciation for, the artistry of composers and players alike.
Orchestras and trains both have conductors – the first to stay on tempo, the latter to stay on time. On scores or on rails, both help make things run smoothly.
As EVP at RAC, that’s partly Caroline’s role, too.
Regardless of any challenges and all the change, she’s there to help make sure things stay on track and running as harmoniously as possible for RAC members.
“Days are quite different from one another. I keep learning. It’s very stimulating. There are plenty of opportunities to advocate for rail to various stakeholders.”
All aboard!