Montreal's Top Employers (2025) - Flipbook - Page 44
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MONTRÉAL’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
Rio Tinto drills into varied and rewarding careers
G
rowing up, Stéphane
Bérubé heard stories
about what a good
employer Montréalbased Rio Tinto was
from his maternal grandfather
and an uncle who worked there.
In 2002, he joined Canada’s largest
mining and metals company as a
summer student while taking metallurgy at Cégep de Trois-Rivières.
“I probably have aluminum running in my veins,” Bérubé jokes,
referring to his family’s history
with Rio Tinto.
That first summer, he worked
at the company’s research centre
analyzing the quality of aluminum
products. The work was in line
with what he was learning at
CÉGEP, and he loved it. Bérubé
also loved the salary, which was
the same as a process technician.
“I made enough money in the
summer that I didn’t have to work
during the school year, so I could
focus on my studies,” he says. In
2006, he joined Rio Tinto as a
process technician. Sponsored by
Rio Tinto, he pursued a finance
degree at Université du Québec à
Montréal.
After two promotions, Bérubé
moved to the head office as a
metal management manager in
2015. “I started at Rio Tinto in
front of a furnace, sweating, and
now I wear a suit to work,” he says.
Rio Tinto employees at the organization’s hub in Montréal.
“The company is so big and has so
many departments that you can
do whatever you want, and your
managers will always support
you.”
Angelina Mehta is another
example of a Rio Tinto
employee who started out at
ground level — or, in her case,
underground. While earning a
mining engineering degree from
McGill University, she spent the
summer of 1994 as a surveying
student at a Val-d’Or Abitibi mine
carrying tripods while climbing
ladders in underground tunnels.
At the time, Mehta, the daughter
of immigrants, was the only
woman working in the mine
— and the only brown woman.
“But I felt welcomed and taken
care of, and after that summer, I
knew I could do anything,” she
says. She spent the next summer
driving 200-tonne haul trucks
at the Endako mine in British
Columbia.
Rio Tinto is one of the
largest mining companies
on the planet, with global
diversity of operations,
locations and people.
— Angelina Mehta
Vice President, Health,
Safety and Environment,
Aluminum (Acting)
Mehta left Rio Tinto for several
years to pursue an MBA and
work in the finance industry
in Toronto, returning in 2011 as
superintendent of business and
strategic planning. Maternity
leaves also took her away, but she
returned permanently in 2021 and
is now acting vice president of
health, safety and environment
for aluminum. “I call this my third
round with Rio Tinto in 30 years,”
she says.
In 2022, Rio Tinto published
an Everyday Respect report, an
important step to fostering a more
diverse, inclusive and equitable
culture. The report addressed
racism, bullying and sexism
within the company. “It’s a tough
report to read, and while I had
great site experiences, I know that
others do not,” says Mehta.
Mehta listens to the women
who reach out to her to share
