Sema Burney, Associate of Symmetra based in Montreal, is a bilingual Human Resources Professional (French and English) specialising in the areas of diversity and inclusion. Born and raised in Quebec, Sema has always had a keen interest in diversity and has witnessed firsthand the changing face of its population. Armed with over 15 years of experience in human resources and accounting, Sema offers training and consulting services to Quebec and Canadian organisations struggling to keep up with changing demographics and the challenges they bring to the workplace.

As a Chartered Accountant and holder of a Master in Business Administration, Sema brings diversity of thought, perspective and experience to the Symmetra team and high levels of credibility to her training sessions with her keen business sense and her solid understanding of the bottom line. She has worked for both large multinational companies as well as small privately owned businesses. She has covered a wide range of industries including financial services, transportation, health care, advertising, government, education and not-for-profit. The largest portion of her professional experience comes from the National Bank, Quebec’s leading financial institution, where she worked for five years in various Human Resources functions including Employment Equity and Diversity, Sourcing and Corporate Recruitment.

Throughout her career, Sema has been renowned for her positive attitude, her energy and her passion for people. As an experienced corporate trainer an an inspiring speaker, she can relate to employees at all levels within an organisation. This coupled with her ability to combine her knowledge of human resources and finance into HR strategies that bring business results positions Sema as a powerful advocate of Symmetra’s value proposition – to drive business performance and innovation through inclusion.

In addition to her consulting work, Sema is actively involved with the MBA program of McGill University where she provides coaching services to international students.