Employee Highlight Special Edition: Alex Mulders

In this special edition of our employee highlight series, we are so excited to present our star Communications Specialist: Alex Mulders! Attendees of HRD Canada HR Leaders Summit this November 15th and 16th will have a chance to meet Alex and learn about the exciting new initiatives at CloudAdvisors, the culture that led her to join the team, and how CloudAdvisors can have a lasting impact on your recruitment goals.

Read on to learn what you should ask Alex in Toronto at the conference, and all about her background that led her to be an entrepreneurial thinker, leader, and pillar of strategy on the CloudAdvisors team.

"Employee benefits can be such a difficult area for employers to perfect, but I really believe that the marketplace and analytics produced by CloudAdvisors will have a profound effect on employee happiness, and employer’s ability to recruit competitively. "

Growing up in an entrepreneurial household:

Alex Mulders was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario under two inspiring entrepreneurial parents. Alex spent much of her youth traveling the world with her family, shaping her deep understanding and appreciation for cultural values and diversity today. After some uncertainty choosing an area of study, Alex found her passion and graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Psychology, History, and Indigenous Studies in 2021.?

Alex joined the team in January of 2022 as a PR and Social Media Intern at a vital time in the company’s business history. Through her exceptional communication skills, tenacity, and ability to identify key strategies, Alex quickly made an impression on the leadership team, moving into a full time role as Communications Specialist.

Today at CloudAvisors, Alex is a powerhouse in relationship building, campaign planning, strategy integrations, and content creation. On the non-technical side, Alex is a pillar of insight for the CloudAdvisors marketing team, consistently driving necessary team change, delivering exceptional deliverables, and building her network of relationships.

When asked why she found her interest in psychology, Alex says she was largely inspired by her parents. Her mom was a pioneer in the communications and public relations industries - starting two successful companies in these areas before they were popularly labeled as ‘PR agencies’. Because Alex grew up in a highly successful entrepreneurial environment, she felt strongly inspired by her mother’s success. Her mom became her role model, not just as a mom, but as a working, successful woman, and as someone who built an extensive network across the country through her own skills, strengths, and drive.?

Her mom’s inspiration largely drove her own interest in business and psychology. To Alex, communications is another form of psychology - it’s the art of understanding people, and she used it to understand the social side of business. Alex’s deep understanding of behavior helps drive her success in her current role at CloudAdvisors.?

What do you like about working at CloudAdvisors?

“I like that we have the flexibility we have at CloudAdvisors, and I think that’s largely driven by the team. I really like all my coworkers. Our whole team is young, which I think contributes to a high degree of ambition and drive to see everyone on the team succeed. Unlike larger corporations, there’s no overwhelming hierarchical feeling to the business; everyone feels equal and important. Just today I had a call with our CEO - as the most junior person in the company, that would be unheard of in larger organizations.?

I also like working in tech. I like the opportunities that come with the territory. There’s more opportunity from leadership to try things out, make mistakes, and learn from them. On the other hand, there’s also so many opportunities to succeed in different ways. I’ve been able to help build a marketing team from nothing and put CloudAdvisors on the map. It’s so exciting to hear our name circulating in new circles, and understand how my efforts directly affected that change.”

What do you do outside of work for fun?

“I’m a big sports fan. I like to play sports, watch sports, any sport I generally get involved in or know the latest news about it. I grew up playing soccer in Toronto, and I currently play on a women’s soccer team locally in Vancouver. Being born and bred in Toronto, I’m a huge fan of my home teams: the Maple Leafs, and Raptors.

Aside from sports, I like all things food. I like to cook a lot and try new dishes from new cultures. I also like to try new restaurants in the area and find foods that are new to me. Vancouver has a pretty incredible food scene, so it’s been exciting to explore the area and find my new favourite spots.?

Lastly, living on the west coast you have to be into the outdoors, so I spend most of my weekends adventuring. This summer I tackled a number of big hikes around the lower mainland and in the sea to sky corridor. If it’s sunny after work I’ll try to head out for a short hike, or a long bike ride around Vancouver. I’m also really into snowboarding, I’m really looking forward to this upcoming ski season. I’m hoping to get the team up to a local mountain together this season too.”

What should people come ask you about at the conference?

“Attendees should talk to me about what sets us apart. I joined CloudAdvisors because I could tell from the beginning that the community in the company was really strong. CloudAdvisors has something unique that’s really valuable, which I could tell from the start in my interview. I think our vision and values make us a trustworthy, strong organization, and really guides the work that we do and the dynamics of the team.

For those from the HR community, I’d love to talk about our impact on the future of recruitment and retention. Employee benefits can be such a difficult area for employers to perfect, but I really believe that the marketplace and analytics produced by CloudAdvisors will have a profound effect on employee happiness, and employer’s ability to recruit competitively. Not only that, but employers that make the most out of CloudAdvisors can find ways to boost employee engagement in both their work and their benefits, time savings and cost savings, and improve their overall team culture and performance.”

What initiatives are you excited about upcoming?

“We have some really cool initiatives coming up in January that employers, advisors, and providers should keep their eyes out for. On the product side we have new automations waiting to be published, so our customers should start getting excited about what we have in the works.?

I’m also really excited about what we have on the marketing side. We’ll be at more events in the next year and hopefully see some of the same faces that we’re meeting at HRD this month. I’m excited to have the ability to further promote the marketplace and the benefits of the CloudAdvisors’ platform.?

The more people we talk to, the more employees we’ll be able to impact positively, meaning more Canadian families will have excellent access to health care. This is such a new product and new concept that it requires face to face explanations for a lot of employers, but I really believe understanding how to search the marketplace and see what's available is what unlocks the transparency in the industry that we’ve never seen before.”

You can meet Alex Mulders and CEO Matt Lister ?? by registering for the HR Leaders Summit conference here: https://www.hrleaders.ca/