Hemmings encourages her group to step outside their comfort zone
As vice president, lead counsel for Canada at General Motors of Canada Company, Faithlyn Hemmings takes responsibility for all legal needs for the company, which includes everything from drafting contracts and providing strategic guidance to the business, to managing relationships with external counsel. In addition to leading the eight-person legal team, Hemmings also serves as privacy officer – a critical role in the auto industry.
“The privacy of our customers is very important to GM, so that means we treat information with care,” says Hemmings. “We take the steps that are needed to ensure we’re obtaining and using information in a compliant way. The approach is certainly multi -layered, and we take various steps to safeguard, and we examine and re-examine our procedures to make sure we’re doing what we should be doing as an organization in terms of managing all aspects of privacy.”
Taking risks has served Hemmings well throughout her career. When she first left private practice for an in-house role at Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. back in 2008, she took a leap of faith as she had no prior knowledge of the auto industry.
“Moving from a law firm with lots of legal colleagues to become the only lawyer with Hyundai seemed pretty daunting, but the recruiter kept reaching out, so I interviewed with Hyundai, and the rest is history,” says Hemmings. She spent eight years at Hyundai, working her way up from counsel to general counsel, which was followed by a brief stint at Sym-Tech Dealer Services before the opportunity to join GM arose. She started at GM as senior counsel in 2018, climbing the ranks to general counsel last year.
Hemmings encourages her team to step outside their comfort zone, just as she did. She provides opportunities for growth by encouraging her team to challenge themselves, and she puts an emphasis on learning and continuous growth from day one.
“I think it’s important for people to challenge themselves and continuously be improving, so I encourage my team to try new things, even when they are fearful, because that’s how I learned in the past,” says Hemmings.
She also seeks to empower her team by putting trust in the people around her and creating a space where people feel they can speak up, even when they have a dissenting opinion.
2023 has been a particularly busy year for Hemmings and her team. In addition to monitoring evolving privacy laws, they have also been focused on regulatory changes including amendments to the Competition Act, consumer protection laws, and the regulation of artificial intelligence.
Hemmings’ team is at the forefront of a pivotal time at General Motors, as the company is transitioning to an all-electric future, so being responsive to the changing environment is another key priority. In 2024, Hemmings plans to continue learning and encouraging her team to take on new opportunities.
“I have been fortunate enough to have a career journey that’s been filled with amazing learning and incredible growth,” says Hemmings. “I’ve met and worked alongside some really remarkable people, and I’ve achieved things in my career that I never even dreamed of.”
