In memory of a dear friend and colleague (2024)

Two weeks ago my boss, mentor and friend, Meg Burke , passed away. I hesitated to post anything here, as this seems like an odd forum in which to celebrate a life as bright as Meg’s,but I didn’t see anyone else post on LinkedIn and I didn’t want to let the passing of such a remarkable person go unnoticed. I know that at least some of her former colleagues and some of her friends may only be connected to her via this platform – and if no one else was going to, I felt compelled to share the tragic news and a few thoughts about her. My words can’t really do her justice though. If you know her, you know. But even if you don’t, you can get a sense for who she was, as well as her courageous battle with cancer – and the unfortunate progression of the devastating disease – on herCaring Bridge page.

I wanted to share two brief things – one on who Meg was and one on processing grief in the workplace.

It’s particularly hard to have lost her as she was so bright of a force. She was the global head of Asset Management’s Change Management, Business Intelligence and Operations Embedded Risk Management teams and head of Dallas Operations. She was incredibly smart, but also humble and funny. Meg was (it’s still hard to use the past tense here) a beacon of brightness in the office. We didn’t always agree – but I always respected her perspective, and, I always felt, she did mine. She cared deeply about the people that she was responsible for and it showed in every interaction. Even when she disagreed with you, she always did it with a smile. I was flippingthrough ourannual reportlast week while waiting for a meeting to start – and noticed a great shot of Meg on page 9, where you can see a small sense of that smile. But her openness and friendliness extended beyond the office too. She described kids in her neighborhood stopping her while she was walking her beloved dog, Rita, and you could just sense the joy that she had in interacting with everyone she met. It really is hard to imagine that such a bright, joyful, curious and friendly person – such a genuinely good person – was taken from this world so young.

I also can’t help but also reflect on what it’s like to lose a close colleague. This was my first experience with it. Although we all prayed and hoped for Meg’s recovery, I had a vague sense that at some point in the next few years, she would likely die. I thought I was prepared for that. I was wrong. Her death floored me. I think it did to others too. I saw many red eyes across the floor and over zoom.It feels odd to feel so strongly in the workplace. We may get passionate about the projects that we work on, but nothing prepared me for losing a dear friend in the office. We get used to having people leave the firm, but truly losing a colleague was nothing like those times. The firm stepped up here, offering confidential counseling through an employee assistance program. It also did a nice job of pulling together a video of advice from Meg, so we could hear from her again. But the most important thing was having people reach out to me – and me reaching out to others. It was helpful to check in on each other – and feel checked in on. And perhaps that too is a part of Meg’s legacy – in her passing, she brought others together just like she did in life.

I also know that Meg and her husband asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made toThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to support innovative patient care, research, education and prevention programs.If you want to make a donation, please visit theRemember Meg Burke page.