Rebekka Keough
2024 Board of Governors Nominee
About
Rebekka Keough is a Product Leader at Amazon, where over the past 10 years she has led business units in Europe and North America. She first joined Amazon in Spain in 2013 when it was a newly launched Amazon geography, working to establish and grow the consumer retail business. Over the years she led a variety of media and electronics product categories, owning the P&L (profit and loss) and strategy, driving European integration initiatives, as well as leading negotiations with large brands and publishers. Since 2020, Rebekka has been developing strategic people experience and tech human resource capabilities and initiatives for Amazon globally. This work has spanned scaling technology, leading global enterprise solution roadmaps to enable Amazon to hire more than one million people annually in over 30 countries. Through this work Rebekka established new talent-acquisition operating models to drive the flywheel of talent, innovation and delivery for customers, and she developed avenues for Amazon to work with the world’s leading academics at the forefront cutting-edge scientific domains.
Prior to joining Amazon, Rebekka was a management consultant at McKinsey & Company. Based first in Canada and then in Spain, she served global customers across sectors and worked bilingually in English and Spanish. With a passion for building, she next worked on FinTech innovation at Bankinter, a Spanish bank, and amongst other initiatives, launched the Spanish banking sector’s first 100 per cent online, remote and paper-free new-customer sign up at a critical juncture when the industry transformed from physical to digital-first models.
Rebekka earned her HBA at the Ivey Business School at Western University in Canada, and her MBA from IESE Business School in Spain. Rebekka is an alumna of SMUS, attending as a boarding student from 1998 through to graduation in 2003. Rebekka and her husband Paco now live in Victoria, where their two children, Carmen ’33 and Lucas ’35, have attended SMUS since Kindergarten.
Outside of work, Rebekka spends her free time either dashing between her childrens' many activities (soccer, birthdays, piano etc.) or out enjoying the incredible West Coast, hiking and exploring local parks. In the years "BC" (before children) she was an avid cyclist and one summer biked the 8000-km across Canada. A common thread through all of Rebekka’s experiences has been a recognition and appreciation that people are at the heart of everything, and that is the part that she most enjoys and values.
What is your connection to SMUS?
My connection to SMUS began as a grade 8 boarding student in Symons house in 1998. Over the next five years SMUS was both home and an experience which I embraced and remember with appreciation. I was an active member of the boarding and Victoria SMUS community, played volleyball and basketball representing SMUS at the provincial level, and was a prefect and Head Girl in my senior year. My brother Glen Keough '11 also attended SMUS after I graduated.
As a parent of two young children attending the Junior School, SMUS yet again holds a central role in our lives. The overwhelming and positive experience of these last few years has deepened my understanding of what a unique and special place SMUS is. This School has been instrumental in our family decision to build roots in Victoria. For my husband, Paco, and I, SMUS has been a bright spot and a source of community since we moved here in 2019.
Why do you want to be on the Board of Governors for SMUS?
I am deeply appreciative of the role SMUS has played in my life to date and for the experience my children are having right now. I admire SMUS as a leading educational organization and value it as an a place of growth, learning and community. It would be a joy to give back to the school through sharing my experience and skillset.
Setting aside my personal connection to SMUS, I have long been interested in education – at varying points over the years. I’ve expressed to loved ones that perhaps I might shift into the sector directly as a professor or administrator but life and career have brought me in a different direction. Underpinning that feeling, is my deep held belief in how important education, exceptional educators and educational institutions are in building the next generation and the society we would like to be part of today and in the future. Bringing my experience to serve SMUS would be fulfilling a long held personal aspiration. My interest is ensuring the positive evolution of SMUS through the contribution of constructive, sound and balanced governance.
What personal and professional experience would you bring to the Board if selected?
Governance and strategic planning for world-class, leading organizations and institutions have been at the heart of my professional experience since my early days in McKinsey & Company, through to my current responsibilities at Amazon. My toolkit is well rounded — from strategy to finance, to learning and listening to inspect and define. I bring a systems-thinking approach to both problem and opportunity spaces. I will bring these skills to the Board in order to assist in looking around corners, evaluating strategy and vision, and ensuring those tasked to execute on strategic priorities are empowered to do so.
Another element I bring to the Board is my enjoyment and fluency in connecting and communicating with people. Professionally I’ve presented at major conferences, worked as lead negotiator and liaised at all levels within complex, matrixed organizations. Personally, I get energy from engaging with others and appreciate diversity of both perspective and people. My experience living and working internationally and in a multilingual household helps me to understand the experience of those in the SMUS community who are both local or from abroad. I hope this would be an asset, not only in working within the Board, but also as the Board engages externally with the broader community.
Do you understand and agree to the principles of good governance as outlined on the Society Webpage?
I understand and agree to the principles of good governance outlined on the webpage and value the rigor to identify and define best practices and expectations. For example, as a parent at the school, I understand and appreciate the importance of separating the interests of the school from the specific needs of a student or particular school community constituency. I also value and align with the role of the Board in governing the school, in support and promotion of the School’s Vision, Mission, Strategic Plan and long-term viability, and not in administering it. Finally, I absolutely understand, and am accustomed to working in the best interests of my company and organization – including maintaining confidentiality. As such, I look forward to participating in Board deliberations and decisions with healthy debate and then fully supporting the majority decision through collaborative resolution. I look forward to contributing the time, effort, and support required of the role and acting in the best interests of SMUS.
Do you understand and support the Strategic Plan, Floreat, for SMUS?
I emphatically support Floreat 2030 and believe it is an inspiring, comprehensive, yet realistic plan. Floreat’s pillars align governance and management of SMUS on a shared vision for the future, while transmitting the essence of what SMUS is and means to its extended community. Reflecting on the plan’s first pillar, Foundation of SMUS, I appreciate the articulation of confidence but not complacency, and change through evolution. I value the focus on excellence and offering the best education in Canada including in STEAM, while nurturing the holistic learner and the overall SMUS community. Having lived as a boarder myself, with day students, and a family that is both local and international, I see the strength in distinctiveness and diversity of the school body and offering.
Over the years, as I’ve described to people what stands out to me about SMUS, Floreat’s second pillar, an exceptional Preparation for Life, is often what I’ve highlighted. I celebrate Floreat’s focus on developing the whole person, combining academic excellence with athletics and arts and culture, as well as building the character and wellness of the students. This comprehensive education is what I want for my own children, and the preparation I would like for our leaders at all levels.
The pillars of Sustainability and Community describe a vision that is central to what SMUS is and how it achieves its mission and vision today, and for the long term, including the importance of investing in professional development and SMUS as an employer of choice, of pride and participation in community, and in governance and long-term robust financial sustainability. It would be an honor to be a part of the Board’s governance work, and to contribute to ensuring the success of Floreat 2030.
Do you understand and support the need for a culture of philanthropy at SMUS, both amongst the Society Members and the Board itself?
A culture of philanthropy holds an integral and important role at SMUS. The most direct consideration is that the diversity and excellence of the student body and education, and the resources, environment and plans laid out in Floreat are achieved thanks to the efforts of not only tuition fees, but critically philanthropic giving. Stepping back, there is a deeper component – service is central to our School’s Vision and Values, and community is amongst what many value most about SMUS both during their time at the school and beyond. A culture of philanthropy is thus not only about giving, but also about contributing and participating including with one’s time. Because of this, I particularly value Floreat’s emphasis on participation – all of us together can continue to build SMUS, and leave our mark, akin to those who years ago helped to literally raise the chapel. I believe the focus on participating as one can, is an inclusive approach to philanthropy with which aligns with my personal views and desire for SMUS to be a place for every student. On a personal level, I understand this well - my own journey as a student at SMUS began supported by a bursary/scholarship thanks to the philanthropic efforts of the Cropper family, who later became dear and lifelong friends. I do not underestimate the impact their gift had on my life and am grateful to pay it forwards by supporting the Annual Fund and the Journey for Life Campaign.