The Legacy Builders: Meet Olga Lima
Welcome to The Legacy Builders — a special feature series I’ve created as Co-Editor of BE Magazine’s Work section. I launched this series to spotlight women who are doing more than showing up for a job — they’re leading with conviction, building with purpose, and using their work to leave something that lasts.
You’ll hear directly from women influencing boardrooms, raising families, launching ideas, leading classrooms, and shaping culture — each sharing how faith and purpose show up in the work they do. Through these candid Q&As, you’ll find insight and encouragement to bring your beliefs to the front lines of whatever you’re building — from your business to your daily life.
This series is a reminder that Monday isn’t something to survive — it’s a space to show up with vision, faith, and fire. Whether your work already flows from what you believe — or you’re still finding your way there — you’re in the right place.
Read on, be inspired & let’s get to work!
Amanda
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Meet Olga Lima
Olga Lima is a Canadian-based global banking executive, leadership strategist & coach, speaker, and consultant specializing in leadership development, Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) Integrations & Divestitures, organizational transformation, and inclusive leadership. She is the founder and CEO of OL&I Consulting, a firm focused on leadership development training, coaching, and M&A integration advisory services. She is passionate about mentoring and coaching emerging and high potential leaders to accelerate their growth to Senior roles while maintaining harmony in their professional, personal and spiritual lives.
What first sparked your passion for the work you’re doing today — and how did your values or faith influence your decision to start?
I moved to Canada from Colombia 24 years ago when I was 20 years old to pursue my MBA here. This journey has been interesting, full of both blessings and challenges along the way. When I moved here, it was the first time being away from my family, my country and my culture. Navigating life in a new country as an immigrant from Latin America, who, at the time, had limited knowledge of English was a unique experience that has taught me the importance of discipline, resiliency, persistence and faith to believe in your dreams.
I have been blessed with a career that has allowed me to hold senior jobs leading M&A Integrations and Divestitures and working on leadership development in the financial industry globally for over 20 years. My unique journey as an immigrant businesswoman sparked my passion to inspire, coach and empower others to accelerate their growth into senior roles while maintaining harmony in their professional, personal and spiritual lives. This motivated me to open my own business over a year ago, OL&I Consulting (Opportunity, Leadership & Integrations) combining my two areas of expertise and passion with the vision of inspiring and shaping the next generation of leaders to bring inspiration, impact and Kingdom Transformation. My Christian Faith is the foundation for my business since I truly believe this is part of my God given purpose in this season of my life.
How do you stay connected to what really matters while growing your business or career?
Since beginning my Christian journey as a teenager and deepening my faith in my early 20s, I have sought to maintain harmony among my professional, personal, and spiritual life. At times, especially while holding senior roles in M&A, this has been challenging. However, I have always viewed professional success as an opportunity to bless others. I truly believe we are blessed so we can bless others. Therefore, from the beginning of my career, people have been priority over success or profit. I have taken the opportunity to work with people from so many different cultural and ethnic backgrounds to pour into their development and wellbeing. Success can boost your ego in the wrong way, so I rely on my spiritual disciplines daily to keep a healthy heart posture and to remind myself that true success means achieving our God given purpose and that we are responsible for impacting peoples lives in a positive way, this is part of the legacy we build with everyday actions.
What kind of impact do you hope your life and work will have — on your community, the world, or future generations?
My legacy and impact, I would say, as a Christian woman, I would like to be remembered as one who modelled to others the importance of investing time, energy and effort helping people flourish in their God given identity, discover their potential and fulfill their purpose. Being a voice that reminded people that the Creator is inside of us giving us the spiritual inner strength to have the resilience and tenacity needed to navigate challenges in life and have the faith to believe that the journey will get better because it does get better, and finally, I would say, reminding people to learn to laugh because it makes the ride a lot better.
Talking about the future generations, my passion is to invest quality time raising and shaping leaders from different cultures, ethnic and professional backgrounds to learn Kingdom Leadership principles to bring transformation to cities, countries and nations and focus on what really matters: Showing the love of God to others in tangible and practical ways to awaken their spiritual lives and get them closer to God.
What would you say to a woman who feels pulled toward something more, but isn’t sure where to start?
I would say start by seeking God in prayer to get wisdom and guidance on your purpose & calling and get direction on the blueprint to accomplish it and the path forward. Move to action even if feels like imperfect actions. Also work with passion! When Leaders project passion for their vision, you create an atmosphere of expectation and hope among the people that mobilizes them to make things happen and get the job done in the journey to achieve your purpose. That’s how you combine passion and accountability. Also develop resilience to keep going when situations are difficult, owning your mistakes and learning from them. “The key to persistence is passion, the key of passion is purpose, and the key of purpose is perspective”.
How does your faith show up in your work/business?
I see myself as an integral person, so the professional, personal and spiritual components are all embedded in one for me. The combination of the three working in harmony is the foundation of who I am, and it’s challenging sometimes but it’s worth trying. I will give you an example: Because of the nature of the M&A, Integration work I did for so many years, I had the privilege to lead large teams for a long period of time with many people from different walks of life reporting to me. During that journey, I would hire people and would see them flourish in a single life, then getting married, others getting divorce, remarrying, having kids, facing health challenges, you name it. My spiritual foundation helped me to never see my role as an M&A Integration Leader only but as an opportunity to invest in people, have a positive influence and make a difference creating a culture of honor and empowerment.
I would often say to the people reporting to me, “Ok, now as your manager, let’s talk about a specific issue and discuss the potential solution, which we did. And now, as your friend, let’s talk about your problems at home, and finally as your spiritual counselor, let’s pray.” Of course, this required putting extra hours of my personal time but it also made me see my profession with a bigger purpose. It also gave me the reputation of the prayer lady in the financial institution I used to work with, so I guess some seeds were planted. Another example of how the spiritual makes a practical difference relates to resilience to forgive and move forward when people very close to you at work disappoint you. At first, your human nature wants to react but then you go to your knees and seek Divine perspective until you can give them grace, they give you grace, and you continue your journey. It’s a process that takes time but it’s the only way to move forward. The power of forgiveness in action! I have carried this philosophy to my work now as an entrepreneur.
Connect with Olga on LinkedIN
#TGIM
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📩 Know a woman who's leading with conviction and building something that lasts?
We’re on the lookout for Legacy Builders — the women living their purpose in the boardrooms and communities across the nation. Nominate someone (or yourself) to be featured in an upcoming spotlight. Email Amanda at: Editorials@Bemagazine.ca
🚀 Want more bold insights at the intersection of faith, purpose, and leadership?
Explore other stories in the Work section and follow Amanda @buildwithbizu or @amandastassen for more strategic insights to help you lead with clarity, grow with intention, and build what matters.
