Jamaican-born and raised, Marguerite Orane, migrated to Canada in 2009 with two of her children and her dogs. Prior to her immigration, she worked as a Managing Director at her family’s construction business from the age of 23 up until she got her MBA at Harvard Business School. From an early age, Marguerite learned the importance of hard work, discipline, and having excellent work ethics from her entrepreneurial parents. Upon her graduation from Harvard Business School, Marguerite returned to Jamaica where she ran many businesses in consultation, coaching, and facilitation as well as retail businesses with her sister.
Providing her children with a better opportunity was one of the reasons, Marguerite moved to Canada. The second reason? Canada gave her the opportunity to travel without restrictions and then to be a Jamaican once inside the country she was visiting.
Marguerite speaks about such fun experiences such as at the 2016 Olympics where she and her family were celebrated as Jamaicans because of Usain Bolt’s success… She also emphasizes the need for immigrants to stay authentic to their roots because they have a lot to offer, rather than losing ourselves in a foreign country.
Migrating to Canada with her family wasn’t a joy ride. Despite Marguerite’s MBA degree from Harvard, she had a tough time securing a job in Canada. She recounts an out-of-body experience that changed her life’s trajectory. While attending an interview she recalls seeing another “Marguerite” who told her she wasn’t meant to be there and realized that she had no interest in working for the interviewer.
Upon her return home, something shifted for her – it was clear that she needed to return to her coaching/consulting/ facilitation business. The following day she received an email from a former colleague she had worked with in Jamaica before her immigration, asking her if she would be interested in facilitating his company’s strategy retreat the following January.
Marguerite has not looked back since that day! She now works with and “joy-coaches” executives in facilitating strategies while promoting a culture that encourages these strategies.
Since the pandemic, she has begun practicing mindfulness and encourages her clients to do so as well — to be kind and actively present in their working environments.