Danielle MacNeil
Marketing Coordinator at BDO Canada
Danielle is a Marketing Coordinator at BDO Canada. She handles marketing initiatives in Eastern Canada for the technology, life sciences, and mergers and acquisitions industries. Danielle also works on general marketing initiatives for the Atlantic Canada offices. She began her career working in marketing and events, while also fulfilling the role of a start-up business advisor, before moving into the technology industry. Danielle loves working with entrepreneurs and business owners, helping them to achieve their goals.
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What are you most proud of professionally? And who or why?
Professionally, I am most proud of my confidence in myself. Confidence is something that I still struggle with in some aspects of my life, but when it comes to career I know that whatever life throws at me I will be able to figure it out, and do it well. I think as women we often feel hesitant to display that kind of confidence because we don’t want to come across as self-absorbed, but I think that we should all own our talents and our confidence.
What’s your vision for Atlantic Canada in 10 years? What’s our biggest opportunity now?
I think here in Halifax we’ve made a lot of great strides over the last few years, and we’ve gained quite a bit of momentum. I do worry though that we’re too focused on riding that momentum and keeping it going. In my mind it’s more important to slow down and build our healthcare system, transportation methods, etc. before continuing to build sporting venues and art galleries, though I do see the importance in those as well. I think we should understand that it’s ok to slow down and take the time to build things the right way, because it will pay off in the long run.
What was your greatest stage of growth? What made it a shift for you?
This past year I was actually laid off twice. It’s hard not to blame yourself when something like that happens, but I knew deep down that it wasn’t a reflection of my abilities, but really just unfortunate circumstances. I pushed through those feelings of blame and doubt, and committed myself to finding a job that I felt I truly deserved. I feel I’ve found that at BDO, and I love what I do.
What’s your favourite or most read book or podcast? Now or at each of your greatest stages of growth?
I love Eleanor Beaton’s Fierce Feminine Leadership podcast – another incredible Atlantic Canadian woman! I’m also a fan of the BossBabe podcast (and their instagram page).
What’s your deepest learning from this past year? How did/will you apply it?
As cliché as it may sound, my greatest lesson from this past year is that happiness is a choice. A lot of things did not go according to plan for me this year, and it was easy to be sad and disappointed, but I knew that that wasn’t a place I could stay for long. I pushed myself to do the things I knew would be good for me, even though I didn’t always feel like it, and I chose to be happy. From there everything started to turn around for me.
Who’s inspired you, directly or indirectly? How have they inspired you?
My mom inspires me. Despite all of the hardships she has faced in her life, she is the most fun loving, kind, and wonderful person I know. I aspire to have her positive outlook on life.
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Marketer, events specialist, creative, coffee enthusiast, dog lover, nature lover