Shannon Glover – Shawcor

Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and operating in over 20 countries with nearly 4,000 employees, the global manufacturer Mattr is concentrating on its composite technologies and connection technologies segments.

Beginning in late 2020, Mattr’s predecessor Shawcor started to simplify its businesses and focus on its core competencies. Continuing that work into late 2022, the company completed several divestitures of non-core businesses. In September 2022, it announced plans to further divest certain remaining oilfield businesses, including its Pipeline Performance Group, and focus on its two remaining reporting segments, composites and connection tech.

Shannon Glover | Vice President of Legal | Shawcor

The company’s vice president of legal since 2021, Shannon Glover played a significant role in supporting many of these divestitures.

Feeling that the name Shawcor was closely tied to the PPG business, Shawcor’s CEO announced that the company would be changing its name to Mattr—the rebrand officially launched on June 7.

“The goal of the rebrand is to propel the business into the future,” Glover says. “We want to ensure that the market knows our strengths, especially in the infrastructure and industrial sectors.”

Acquiring a new future

Supporting Mattr’s growth objectives and enhancing its strengths in developing materials-based solutions, she also worked on two recent acquisitions.

In 2022, the company acquired Kanata Electronic Services, a privately owned manufacturer and supplier of specialty cable assemblies and wire harnesses for the nuclear and aerospace industries. That business now forms part of Mattr’s Shawflex brand within the connection technologies segment. In 2023, the company also acquired Triton Stormwater Solutions, a privately owned provider of highly engineered underground infiltration chamber products that are used for stormwater management, which now forms part of Mattr’s Xerxes brand within the composites technologies segment.

Glover adds that although she and the company had great support from external counsel in connection with the divestitures and acquisitions, the expertise of Mattr’s internal team really impresses her.

“The high caliber of the Mattr teams supporting the merger and acquisition work offered the creativity that we needed in order to navigate the various hurdles inherent in every transaction,” she says.

According to Glover, closing a transaction is only the first hurdle. Having a solid team to smoothly integrate the newly acquired entity is key to achieving a truly successful transaction.

Another important element of her role is the wide-ranging support she provides to help the company achieve both organic and inorganic growth. She also advises on building a strong governance infrastructure and helps the company work towards meeting the 2030 environmental, social and governance goals it has set. She also generally supports the development of processes to enhance its risk mitigation efforts.

As the assistant corporate secretary as well as the vice president of legal, she’s currently working on modernizing the corporate functions of the 50-year-old company. She has implemented an external whistleblower hotline, supported compliance with public company disclosure requirements and ESG reports, and helped develop and update governance policies and practices.

Many of Glover’s work streams require her to collaborate across functions. Over the course of more than 20 years spent working as in-house counsel, she’s become a generalist by necessity as she has had to address a wide array of legal issues.

Since joining Mattr, she has enjoyed learning about the different businesses within the corporate family—and some new areas of law she hadn’t previously encountered during her time in the energy sector. She has discovered the many advantages of bringing together representatives of different functional areas on a global basis, especially when trying to deliver on significant projects like the recent rebranding effort.

“I’m a senior lawyer who takes tasks and runs with them while striving to ensure that the legal department is a collaborative business partner,” Glover says.

Energy transformations on a global scale

No matter the changes that occur in the energy industry, Glover says one of Mattr’s main goals remains to continually evolve its efforts towards creating a dynamic and innovative work environment. This will attract, recruit and retain skilled, talented people across the world, she says.

She was drawn to the company for its mission and its global presence as well as the opportunity to apply her skill set outside of the energy industry, where, until a few years ago, her career had been focused since graduating from the University of Calgary with her law degree.

Beginning her legal career as an articling student and associate lawyer within the energy practice group of the Calgary-based firm of Macleod Dixon, Glover got her first experience with global law given the nature of the clients. She also participated in an exchange the firm offered with its office in Latin America, building on her experience as an exchange law student in Colombia.

After leaving private practice for the in-house world, her career path wound through several energy companies. By January 2009, that path had led her to MEG Energy Corp. The Canadian oil sands company concentrates on sustainable energy and thermal oil production in Alberta, and she was its associate general counsel by 2011.

She also feels passionate about community involvement and has served for many years as a board and committee member of Woods Homes, a local charity providing treatment and support for children, youth and families experiencing mental health challenges.

As a mother of three, Glover’s life is busy, but she says she’s been lucky to work in Calgary where many large public energy companies are headquartered, offering the opportunity for high-quality work.

“Mattr is transforming itself for a brighter future, not just for the company and its team members but for communities across the world,” Glover says. “I’m excited to be a part of the company’s transition and to get an opportunity to play a meaningful role in shaping its future.”

View this feature in the Vanguard Summer IV 2023 Edition here.