I was born and raised in Toronto; when it came to applying to university, most of my high school classmates were headed to local Ontario universities.
However, in the fall of my senior year in high school, I travelled to Montreal for a long weekend to visit my sister who was studying at McGill. I fell in love with the city, the campus, and the feel of Montreal. Canada is a very diverse country and Toronto is a very multicultural city, but Montreal has a uniquely European vibe – the style, the food, the bilingualism. I was excited by the prospect of exploring something new and different, of embarking on a novel adventure and meeting new people while studying at a first-rate university that is known internationally.
What stood out about my McGill experience was the diversity of the student body. Hearing French and English every day and meeting classmates from across Canada, the US, and around the world really opened my eyes to global perspectives and opportunities. My Desautels management education also helped ground me academically and served me well. I enjoyed learning about economic theory, strategic planning, and the operational management of large organizations.
I also loved every bit of Montreal: walking up Mont Royal, sitting along Crescent Street in the springtime, having brunch on Saint-Laurent or Saint-Denis...and even walking along the ploughed sidewalks of Sainte-Catherine after a three-foot snowfall on the way to class! Also, I remember watching the Jays win the World Series in ’92 and the Habs run to the Stanley Cup in ’93!
But what shaped me most was the opportunity to learn to be self-sufficient – living away from home and on a budget, learning not to shy away from the unknown or from new challenges, and being around folks from around the world who were also eager to do something different from the ordinary.
While studying at McGill, I did a summer internship at a technology company in Germany, where I subsequently took on my first full-time job after graduation. I chose something that wasn’t close by or ‘safe,’ even though I had to learn German to work there. I then learned Spanish to take on a six-month posting at a facility in Northern Spain. Ultimately, that unique set of international experiences helped me gain a spot at a management consulting firm following my MBA.
It was as a consultant that I became fascinated by the disruption and transformation in how we as humans communicate, inform and entertain ourselves. I was fortunate to experience the start of the consumer internet in the mid-90s, the transition from dial-up to broadband, the zenith of CDs and then DVDs, the launch of the iPhone and iPad, and the rise of streaming music and video. When I was approached by Google/YouTube, the opportunity to play a part in driving that disruption and transformation inside one of the most innovative companies of the last 100 years was not an opportunity I could let pass by.
Looking back, I doubt I would have had that opportunity had it not been for McGill. It was there that I learned to try new things, navigate new environments, and overcome challenges. Though it was tough at times, I am certain I would not be where I am today without that foundation.
My advice to today’s students is to take risks and go out of your comfort zone. Don’t take the beaten path following everyone else. The satisfaction and confidence gained from persevering and succeeding at doing something new sets you up to do that over and over again. You will find that taking little risks along the way will benefit you immensely.
But also keep asking yourself what gets you jumping out of bed in the morning – what do you enjoy that brings you energy. And whatever it is that you decide to do, strive to reach the top of that craft or that profession. If I think about the diverse group of people that I got to know at McGill and have kept in touch with, they all chose very different paths but all strived for and reached the top of whatever profession they were drawn to – from tech CEO to sports broadcaster to public health expert to actor/screenwriter to biotech investor. For me, that’s part of what makes the McGill experience so unique.