Irene Jeremic

Irene Jeremic

Master of Laws (LLM)
2011
President and CEO, TheTableau Inc.

Current Role

President and CEO of TheTableau Inc., an Ontario business consulting company that operates both in Canada and the US.

What factors led you to enter your current field of work?

Passion for business and law, and in particular, business law.

What does success mean to you?

Success to me means a deep satisfaction with life achievements, and an understanding that one's lifework is only 'done' when abandoned. Here is what other's wrote about me: "It’s no wonder Irene Jeremic was a recipient of the Business in Vancouver’s Top Forty Under 40 Award. In just under a decade, she has made a name for herself by spearheading businesses and conducting turnarounds that produce stellar results. Since graduating from Simon Fraser University (B.Sc.), Jeremic’s career path has been nothing short of remarkable. As an executive at SFU’s spin-off company, eLearning Solutions, she unleashed her passion and displayed a knack for global commerce. As the eLearning Solutions’ VP Business and Customer Relations, Irene was responsible for managing of the development of an open source application for the United Nations. She then went on to pursue her MBA from Athabasca University – a challenging feat as she was working full time as well. Following that, Jeremic was approached by the juvenile furniture maker, Stork Craft, to design and implement a full company makeover and effect its turnaround. As Stork Craft’s Chief Information Officer, she conducted a massive overhaul of Stork Craft’s business, establishing a foundation for the company’s international development (her business architecture was recognized by Dell). She led e-Commerce growth from 5% to 50% of the corporate business, and went on to integrate the largest North American retail chains such as Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond and others. She then moved on to help a flailing subsidiary of Stork Craft’s – Ragazzi and led an award-winning (CIO 100 Honoree) Internet sales innovation for Wal-Mart Canada. Upon the successful company’s renaissance, while being the company’s Corporate Executive Advisor (CEA), she was named the 1st honoree of the Stork Craft Companies. In the history of then 64 year old company, Jeremic was Stork Craft’s youngest executive leader. Having achieved the highest recognition in the domains of business and technology, Jeremic then went on to pursue her Master of Laws (LL. M) degree from the prestigious Toronto’s Law School, Osgoode Hall, at York University, and then founded Anti Bully Bureau to raise awareness of the issues in professional environments. Today she is the President and CEO of The Tableau Inc., an Ontario firm that provides a one-stop business consulting and focuses on solutions that support corporate social responsibility, safer consumer goods and green initiatives. The Tableau Inc., an affiliate of the Tindale Foundation, quickly became a member of the CIO Executive Council—the ranks of Fortune 500 enterprises. Jeremic attributes a great deal of her success to her foundational education at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. Despite her intense commitment to her work, Jeremic is committed to giving back to the institutions that ignited her interests. She was simultaneously involved with local non-for profit organizations, serving on the Board of Governors for Association of Neighborhood Houses (ANH) and the Board of Management for the ANH’s Kitsilano branch, introduced the 1st co-op relationship between SFU and Stork Craft to support and develop young talent and was also a mentor to SFU’s Young Women in Business. After obtaining her law degree from Osgoode Hall, she also taught law programs at the Vancouver Career College. She has been recognized by the International Women’s Leadership Association as the woman of outstanding leadership and was named by the CEO Review their 2017 CEO of the Year for Canada.'

If you weren’t in your current professional role, what would you be doing?

Oil paintings. At an early age I was introduced to the illustrative arts and Renoir school of painting in Besancon, France. Following that, I was creating baroque and renaissance charcoal and pencil drawings, 'old masters' reproductions in oil on canvas, and original abstract oil paintings. This desire to create and re-create art was running in parallel with the desire to build a career in business and law. In turn, a career in business and law opened another door to art: I recently formalized a CIPO trademark for my oil painting technique, Sculpturette TM, where I use unpolluted layers of paint to achieve a certain 3D look and feel to my original oil paintings. My original abstract oil painting, "Running Trees," (registered copyright) has been created using this technique (registered trademark) and was recognized by the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council. Many visual artists are now interested in legal aspects of art, art business, and intellectual property in art. It seems to me that even if I had started my career as a visual artist, I would have still ended up attending Osgood Hall Law School.

How do you build and maintain your professional network, and how has this benefited your career?

Always ready to help! I keep being supportive and nurturing, and assist others whenever possible. People seem to remember kindness and keep in touch. A timely piece of information from my network benefited my career tremendously.

What are the strategies you use to remain resilient during challenging situations?

(i) Take another look at the situation from a different perspective;
(ii) Keep working on resolutions until the issue is resolved;
(ii) Never give up: "it's not over until it's over."

More Career Profiles...