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Member Profile - Cheri Maisonneuve

Cheri Maisonneuve was born in Cranbrook, British Columbia, nestled in Canada's Rocky Mountains, where much of her family still reside, and grew up in Quesnel, a forestry town in northern British Colombia. She has been living in Peru a little more than a year, where she is serving as the Executive Director of the Canada-Peru Chamber of Commerce. In this interview, she offers some insight into the functions and purpose of bi-national chambers of commerce and a few hints for young women who plan to move to Peru in pursuit of a career.

Cheri, Business After Hours Costa Verde

ACAP: Cheri, what brought you to Peru in the first place?

Cheri Maisonneuve: The previous Executive Director at the Canada-Peru Chamber of Commerce earned the same International Business Master's Diploma with a focus on Latin America where I studied in Vancouver. I learned of this job opening because of this connection and after a few vigorous interviews, was chosen. I thought the job would be a good fit since I had been trained in international business and had an interest in Peru.

ACAP: Tell us a little bit about your work at the Canada-Peru Chamber of Commerce. What kind of companies join as members?

Cheri Maisonneuve: The Canadian Chamber has a wide range of companies that participate as members, but you could say that we have an expertise in working with mining companies - since there is so much Canadian investment in this sector. But besides mining companies, we have telecommunication companies, banks, consultants, satellite imaging, law firms, construction and engineering companies, exporters and others. We hope to increase our membership among exporters next year, since Air Canada will initiate direct flights between Canada and Peru in November.

ACAP: Why do companies join chambers like yours?

Cheri Photo Champions ceremony

Cheri Maisonneuve: There are a couple reasons. For example, we hold networking events, such as luncheons, where we feature high profile speakers who discuss current and interesting issues, help companies get in touch with one another and a variety of important local services. We also give companies the chance to raise their corporate profile through our magazine “Dialogue” and through event sponsorship.

ACAP: There are quite a few different chambers of commerce in Peru. Are they competing with each other?

Cheri Maisonneuve: No, not really. You could say that there is a bit of competition in the sense that they all want the same companies to attend their events, but by and large they do not compete amongst themselves since they are mostly bi-national chambers, so their membership base is tied to a particular country. We each have our niche.

ACAP: Do the chambers vary from one another?

Cheri teeing up Golf Tournament

Cheri Maisonneuve: Yes, there are differences. For example, Canadian companies by and large have a very good reputation with respect to environmental protection, corporate responsibility and high quality and transparency, so this is one of the things that helps our Chamber stand out from the crowd. Another difference is that we offer a lot of social networking events - perhaps more than the other chambers - such as business after hours, golf tournaments and tennis tournaments. I think that the Canadian business philosophy is similar in some respects to the way Peruvians; we like to do business over good food outside of office hours.

ACAP: What were some of the personal challenges you faced as a young Canadian working in Lima for the first time?

Emilio, Hugues, Cheri, Steve balls Golf Tournament

Cheri Maisonneuve: I was totally unprepared for the issues of personal security that I faced as a young woman. Even though I had spent a lot of time traveling in Asia and Europe, I had never experienced the security threats I faced here, which was a bit of a set back. I had to change part of my behavior to adapt to this new reality. Other than that, I realized that even though I had “book smarts” about international business, I learned that a lot of the business idiosyncrasies that you need to know never make it into the text books, and the only way to learn them is through experience. I also learned first-hand that there are special challenges and barriers for a woman working in a Latin country where the “boys club” is still an important business reality. After a little over a year working here, I have really only begun to understand the ins and outs of the Peruvian business world and it has been a fascinating experience.

ACAP: Can you elaborate on the differences you found in the way business gets done in Lima?

Cheri Maisonneuve: Well, the old “it's not what you know, but who you know” seems to hold true here more than it does back it Canada. Another surprise was how closely knit certain parts of Peruvian society are and what a big role social status plays. In many ways, Lima is tiny when it comes to the social network that stitches the business community together. Everybody in the business world seems to know everybody else. It is all about “who is married to whose sister of your brother-in-law's cousin.” Extended family is much more important than in Canada. Here, second and third cousins are still “family,” while back in Canada, you are lucky if you even know whether your second cousins even exist. Canada is only 137 years old. There is furniture in Lima that is older than that.

ACAP: What advice would you give to a young woman who is moving to Lima to work?

Mission Hills, Kellowna

Cheri Maisonneuve: I would tell her that she needs to come to Lima with an open mind and be ready to adapt. She also needs to do her homework before she arrives. She should try to make contacts before she comes down, perhaps by contacting a chamber of commerce. Then, once she arrives, she should try to make contacts and establish a social and business network in Lima.

ACAP: Why did you join the ACAP when you arrived?

Cheri Maisonneuve: One of the directors at the Canada-Peru Chamber of Commerce was also a director of the ACAP so he was the first one to tell me about the association. I thought that it would be a good way to meet people outside of my work and a good chance to learn from other expatriates who had more experience in Peru than I had. It turned out to be a wonderful safety net and a good network of people who have been here for a while and who have been able to teach me a lot about the way things work in Lima. There is no way you can gain an understanding of the current Peruvian reality without some understanding about what has happened in the past, so it has been pretty fascinating to learn these things from others with more experience.

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