Rise of the Matadora A determined drive leads Laura Nashman to the top by susan lundy photography by don denton
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espite her impressive title as CEO of BC Pension Corporation, Laura Nashman has a surprisingly non-descript office. Spacious but simple, the room is adorned by only a few personal items, and located mid-level on the non-view side of BCPC’s Jutland Road building. But a small photograph on one wall speaks volumes. The image is of Christina Sanchez, one of the first female bullfighters to gain prominence in the 1990s in a traditionally male-dominated world. Seemingly in a dance with the bull,
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Sanchez’s arm is raised, red cape flying. Nashman doesn’t endorse bullfighting, but the photograph — a gift from her husband, Lawrence Saunders — aptly articulates her determined drive to finesse her way to the top. “To me, the image was the perfect metaphor for Laura: fearless, and able to handle the most daunting challenges with apparent ease,” says Saunders, who first spotted the photograph in The Globe and Mail in the 1990s. Petite and dressed with a quiet classiness, Nashman is warm, engaging and, true to her form of leadership, completely