OUR STORY

At the heart of our effort is a desire to help GCs elevate their leadership and be seen as a strategic business executive within their organization.

Rooted in the values of Connection, Growth, Leadership, and Well-Being, The GC Collective is more than a community—it’s a collective designed to transform the way General Counsel lead, connect, and thrive.

Paula Pepin, recognized as one of Canada’s Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers and Founder of the GC Collective, created this community after leading the Legal function at a global, high-growth tech company. Paula experienced the unique isolation of being a General Counsel - expected to be the ultimate problem-solver, trusted advisor and business leader - without peers who truly understood the pressures of the role.  She recognized that many GCs were grappling with similar challenges and set out to change how they can better access practical leadership training and support. 

Paula built the GC Collective to be a space where GCs could connect authentically, validate their experiences and work together to elevate their impact as leaders. 

Paula’s vision resonated deeply with some of her long-time collaborators, Jenn Smyth-Whelly and Teresa McCabe (Founding Marketer + Brand Strategist), who shared her passion for building meaningful communities. Together, they set out to evolve The GC Collective into a thriving community that fosters connection, develops leaders and delivers practical tools for professional growth. 

MEET THE FOUNDERS

Our Founder Team, Paula Pepin and Jenn Smyth-Whelly, are seasoned executives, each with 20+ years of Exec experience in high-growth global organizations.

Paula Pepin

Paula has over two decades of experience as a Legal and HR executive with a proven track record of driving transformation in global organizations. In 2020, Paula transitioned from her career as a GC in high-growth businesses to supporting other GCs to become strategic business executives who are confident to lead high-performing legal teams in complex business environments.

ABOUT PAULA

Proven Leadership: Named Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers and a former Legal and HR Executive with more than 20 years of experience leading organizations through hyper growth and transformation.

Global Experience: Scaled a global team of legal professionals of 15 in a high-growth tech organization, supported the establishment of offices across Europe, Asia, and Central America and spearheaded more than 10 strategic acquisitions.

Advising and Coaching: Advised and coached dozens of GCs and in-house legal departments at internationally-recognized brands to become high-performing, cohesive teams that can deliver strategic value and thrive in complex business environments.

Strategic Planning: Expert at linking strategic planning, business operations and in-house legal strategy.

Community Builder: Has been connecting GCs together long before founding this vibrant community for General Counsels, promoting professional growth, shared knowledge, and collaboration.

Transformative Impact: Recognized as a thought leader in advancing the role of the GC, Paula is known for her visionary leadership and forward-thinking approach to in-house legal leadership.

FOunder, Coach + Former GC

  • Paula is a certified professional executive coach who brings over two decades of experience in Legal and HR executive roles, culminating in her recent position as Senior Vice-President and Head of Legal and Corporate Secretary at Hootsuite, one of the most widely used social media relationship platform. As a member of the executive team, she played a pivotal role in the company's growth, overseeing its expansion to more than 1,100 employees, supporting the establishment of offices across Europe, Asia, and Central America and leading the company through eight acquisitions.  

    Driven by a passion to bridge the gap between legal expertise and leadership acumen, Paula founded LexGO Inc., a boutique consulting firm dedicated to transforming and scaling in-house legal departments. Over the past five years, she has worked with globally-recognized brands to build strategic plans for their legal teams and implement programs that turn them into high-performing, cohesive units capable of delivering greater value to their organizations. Her unique coaching approach fosters collaboration among legal leaders, helping them evolve into aligned teams that excel in operational execution.

    Through her tailored coaching and advising programs, specifically designed for in-house counsel seeking to become respected business executives, Paula has empowered countless legal leaders to evolve into strategic business executives, equipped with the necessary skills to navigate complex organizational landscapes. 

    Since the launch of the GC Collective in 2023, Paula's human-centric, values-driven approach has resonated deeply within the legal community, as evidenced by the rapid growth of the collective. Recognized as one of the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyers in 2024, Paula remains committed to redefining the role of the GC and empowering legal leaders with the skills and resources to succeed in today’s dynamic business landscape.

Jenn Smyth Whelly

Jenn Smyth-Whelly has 25+ years of experience in strategy, operations and leadership. Under the hood of her career journey has been a foundation of understanding how organizations and people change. As a seasoned executive leader, Jenn has successfully led businesses through challenging transformations while applying practical solutions that meet needs of people around her.

ABOUT JENN

In-House Strategy Expert: One of a handful of experts around the globe that specializes in strategic planning, operations and leadership specifically for in-house Legal departments. Jenn has advised at Lululemon, Affirm, Epcor, KPMG, Miro, Seaspan and University of Toronto to implement winning strategic plans that elevated the impact and value of legal teams.

Change Leader: Seasoned strategy and operations leader with over 25 years of executive experience across Product, IT, HR, and Professional Services. Expert in guiding organizations through significant transformations and high-growth phases.

Master Facilitator: Sought-after expert in designing and delivering impactful workshop and leadership offsite that not only reach desired outcomes but leaves a lasting impact on those that participate in her sessions.

Leadership Guru: Leaning on her MBA in Organizational Leadership, Jenn embraces an evidence-based approach to leadership theory and organizational design. She can see past the latest fades and leverages academically-proven strategies to elevate individuals and teams.

Global Perspective: With work experience in Australia, India, Germany, Hong Kong and U.S.A., Jenn has deep empathy for cultural differences in the way of work while understanding the complexities of scaling multi-nationals businesses.

Co-Founder, Strategist

  • Across the globe, Jenn is one of a handful of experts that holds a niche specialization focused on strategy planning for in-house legal teams.  She has worked with several recognized brands - Lululemon, Affirm, University of Toronto, Epcor and Seaspan - who have crafted a sustainable vision for their legal teams, their structure, processes and accountabilities resulting in a lean, efficient, and results-driven legal department.  GCs and CLOs seek Jenn’s counsel on how best to strategically elevate the impact and value of their departments. 

    As a former VP of Strategy at Hootsuite, Jenn was responsible for the corporate-level PMO function that managed the highest prioritized strategic projects and she led the business technology function that was responsible for governing the corporate data warehouse and administering 300+ enterprise SaaS tools for the business.  

    Prior to Hootsuite, Jenn was the General Manager of NGRAIN where she led the company through a strategic transformation from a services-based to product-centric model.  She also worked alongside the Board and team to a successful acquisition to mCloud. 

    Finally Jenn is sought-after for her seasoned facilitation skills and ability to create clarity in messy, complicated situations. She is known for fostering a deep understanding of different ways of thinking and building connective tissue between teams, and pushing toward big goals that leave a lasting impact.

OUR VALUES

We hope you’re here because you share our values and understand the power of collective wisdom. To that end, here are the pillars on which our community is built:

ENGAGEment

We share generously and promise you will get as much as you give.

GROWTH

We challenge ideas and understand we are all on a continuous journey of learning.

LEADERSHIP

We meet people where they are at and model by example.

CONNECTION

We aspire to form lasting relationships that you can continue to lean on.

WELL-BEING

We create space to ask any question - free of judgment and full of empathy. 

DIVERSITY

We intentionally integrate different perspectives and living experiences.