An interview with Natalie Giroux, President of Stratford Intellectual Property
As managers and executives at Stratford, we’ve led departments, divisions and whole organizations through growth and change. We have the “stars and scars” to offer meaningful, practical guidance or serve hands-on if that’s required.
Beyond our credentials, what sets us apart are the values we share and the ways we work. Every member of our team has a passion for giving back and helping organizations reach their goals. It’s why clients often tell us that when they met our people, they knew they wanted to do business with us.
To help you get to know us a little better, we sat down with some of our team members and interviewed them on everything from professional experience and obstacles to extracurricular activities and playlist recommendations. We thought you may appreciate seeing the personal side of our team through their shared personal insights, recommendations and hobbies.
The first team member we’d like to introduce you to is Natalie Giroux, President of Stratford Intellectual Property.
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🎵 What do you like to listen to while working?
Alexandra Stréliski, Ludovico Einaudi, Angèle Dubeau, Yo Yo Ma
Do you have any recommendations?
Album Inscape of Alexandra Stréliski
📚 What are your favourite business books, podcasts, and blogs?
- Atomic habits – James Clear
- Tiny Habits – BJ Fogg
- This is marketing – Seth Godin
- Leaders eat last – Simon Sinek
- Find your why – Simon Sinek
🌟 Who are you most influenced by?
People with positive energy who motivate me to exceed my limits.
💡What is one piece of advice you find yourself constantly sharing with your clients?
Think long term.
👍 How do you add value to your clients?
I add value by listening to their need and goals, trying to think ahead on what they should do to achieve their objectives and then implementing it for them.
🦄 What do you think makes Stratford unique?
Stratford Intellectual Property offers a very unique VIPM service that gives peace of mind to our client’s executive team as it comes to IP protection.
😍 What is your favourite type of client engagement?
Virtual IP management. I work with the client on a monthly retainer to design, evolve and implement their IP strategy while becoming part of their team.
I am very fortunate to have had several clients on this retainer model for over 9 years and meeting many new clients over the years. We have a multidisciplinary team helping to implement the strategy for the client and it’s a lot of fun.
✨ Do you sit on any boards or volunteer?
I am an occasional volunteering and was on different non-for profit boards (e.g. ensemble Prism) but currently dedicate a lot of my free time to my daughter while she still needs my help 😉
🚴♀️ What are some of your favourite past times?
Running, cycling, mountain biking, fat biking, snow-shoe running, skate skiing.
Violin playing alone, with small orchestras or with my daughter who plays the cello.
📺 Any recommended movies or TV programs?
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- District 31 (Radio-Canada)
- Friends
- Big Little Lies
- Grace & Franky
- Dead to Me
- Workin’ Moms
👩💻 Any recommendations on people to follow on their LinkedIn or Twitter accounts?
SJAM winter trail (http://www.wintertrail.ca/)
Why?
It is a community ski/snow shoe/fat bike trail system going from Kitchissipi beach to the War museum. It is groomed by volunteers and provides AMAZING trails accessible to everyone. Makes it really hard not to like winter and big snow falls.
🚧 What’s one of the biggest obstacles you’ve had to overcome as it relates to your career?
Convincing men that a young woman could have some intelligence and good ideas…. Not so easy at BNR, but Newbridge had a very open culture and gender did not matter, what matter was what you delivered.
📣 Do you have any favourite quotes?
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.
– Albert Einstein
If you are afraid to fail, you will never do the things you are capable of doing.
– John Wooden
Let’s go invent tomorrow rather than worrying about what happened yesterday.
– Steve Jobs
🤔 If there is one thing you hope your clients gain from working with you, what would you want it to be?
It would be the energy to get things done and inspiration to exceed limits!
We look forward to introducing you to others here at Stratford and we’d love the chance to get to know you better too. If you’d like to connect with Natalie or other members of the Stratford team, please reach out. We’d love to hear from you.