Local business leaders share their unique lessons and strategies for success. Andrew Bay interviews experts across of range of fields, including engineering and technology, as they provide valuable advice on guiding high-performance teams and building strong businesses.
Meet your host
Andrew Bay is an Executive Financial Consultant at Bay & Associates. He has delivered over 200 financial literacy workshops to over 80 companies. Andrew is experienced in individual wealth management, advanced compensation agreements, pension planning, and group benefits.
Featured Videos
The Power of Speaking Up: Driving Your Own Career Growth
Aleem Nawla emphasizes the importance of advocating for your own professional development, sharing his experiences of driving his career growth by communicating his goals and aspirations to his leaders.
How to shine in your belief system through activism
Caroline Andrewes discusses her passion for personal activism rooted in her volunteer ethic, explaining how being in a position of privilege creates a responsibility to help others through community service, professional volunteering, and financial donations.
Building Better Leaders: Why Associations Matter
Mike Currie explains how professional associations serve as training grounds for engineering leadership, teaching skills that universities don't cover through hands-on experience leading project teams, associations, and companies.
Aleem Nawla - Civil Engineer for Stantec | ACEC-BC YP Co-Recipient (2024)
As a civil engineer, Aleem’s proud to be a part of many multidisciplinary teams—creating safer communities through civil design and construction management of transportation and infrastructure projects. Most recently, he was part of the multidisciplinary atmospheric response team working on British Columbia’s (B.C.’s) Highway 8 response to rebuild a key economic corridor after major flooding washed out the road. Community is at the heart of what Aleem does. He chose civil engineering as a way to give back and volunteers with local organizations supporting new Canadians with their resumes and networking skills. He’s also an active volunteer with Engineers and Geoscientists of B.C., working with students pursuing engineering. When he’s not working with transportation and infrastructure projects, Aleem enjoys traveling, watching and playing sports, singing karaoke with friends, and is always ready to play a round of cards.
Mastering Soft Skills: The Secret to Becoming a Successful Engineer
Aleem highlights the critical role soft skills play in becoming a successful engineer, emphasizing the importance of mastering communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills alongside technical expertise.
Redefining Industry Leadership: Insights from ACEC Young Professional Award Winner
Aleem, co-recipient of the ACEC Young Professional Award, shares how this recognition has impacted his perspective on his career path and the future of industry leadership, emphasizing the importance of giving back and community engagement.
The Power of Speaking Up: Driving Your Own Career Growth
Aleem emphasizes the importance of advocating for your own professional development, sharing his experiences of driving his career growth by communicating his goals and aspirations to his leaders.
Empowering Professionals at Every Stage: Inside Stantec's Developing Professionals Group
Aleem provides insights into Stantec's Developing Professionals Group, an initiative designed to support and empower professionals at all career stages through leadership, community, professional development, and peer support.
Why Mentorship Matters: Empowering the Next Generation of Engineers
Aleem shares his personal journey and the profound impact mentorship has had on his life and career, emphasizing the importance of supporting and empowering the next generation of engineers.
Navigating the Transition from University to the Engineering Workforce
Aleem shares his experiences transitioning from the competitive university environment to the collaborative engineering workforce, highlighting the importance of developing soft skills alongside technical expertise.
Financial Lessons and Reflections from a Young Engineering Professional
Aleem discusses the financial wisdom he gained from his parents, the importance of early financial planning, and his reflections on entering the housing market as a young engineering professional.
Beyond Engineering: Making a Difference in the Community
Aleem shares his passion for community leadership and his dedication to supporting newcomers to Canada, drawing from his own family's immigrant experiences.
Mike Currie - Senior Water Resources Engineer | Past President of Kerr Wood Leidal
Mike Currie has over three decades of leadership at Kerr Wood Leidal. Following his tenure at BC Environment's Water Management Branch, he served as KWL President (2006-2015) and established himself as a leading authority on debris flow hazard mitigation, flood management, and emergency response systems. His expertise has been recognized through multiple ACEC-BC Awards of Merit for engineering excellence. Mr. Currie has held prominent positions including National President of the Canadian Water Resources Association and Chair of ACEC-BC. His contributions to the profession have earned him numerous distinctions, including the Engineers Canada Fellowship and ACEC-BC's Meritorious Service Award for outstanding contributions to the consulting engineering profession.
What's going to hold you back in your career?
Mike discusses the critical non-technical skills engineers need for career success, including people management, team building, and writing abilities. Drawing from mentorship experiences, he provides guidance for all career levels to develop these often-overlooked but essential workplace skills.
From Last Resort to Life's Work: Mike Currie’s 35-Year Engineering Journey
Mike Currie's "trying something different" approach turned into a rewarding 35-year tenure at KWL, proving that calculated career risks can yield the greatest rewards.
Career Advice for Young Engineers from an Industry Veteran
Mike Currie advises young engineers to get involved in industry associations for networking and training while developing crucial non-technical skills like writing and presentation abilities. He emphasizes defining personal success, surrounding yourself with capable people, and working as a team toward common goals for long-term career success.
The Making of a Water Resources Expert: Mike Currie on Building Technical Expertise
His journey shows how passion for the outdoors and dedication to understanding natural systems evolved into technical mastery that clients and colleagues rely upon.
Making Success the Standard: The Quest for Better Client-Consultant Agreements
Mike Currie explains his work modernizing the Client-Consultant Agreement for ACEC-BC, emphasizing how standardized contracts save executive time and reduce legal complexity while creating fair agreements for both parties.
Enemies to Allies: Leave Your Company Badge at the Door
Mike Currie describes his transformation from a "association junkie" at UBC to a key figure in BC's engineering community, initially reluctant to join ACEC-BC due to viewing competitors as "enemies."
Calm in Chaos: Mike Currie's Guide to Emergency Response Leadership
Mike's experience leading teams through natural disasters like floods and landslides, emphasizing the unique challenges of crisis leadership including maintaining clear command chains, prioritizing safety, and developing "bedside manner" when dealing with distressed communities.
Building Better Leaders: Why Associations Matter in Engineering
Mike Currie explains how professional associations serve as training grounds for engineering leadership, teaching skills that universities don't cover through hands-on experience leading project teams, associations, and companies.
Work hard, play hard: How to prioritize work-life balance
Mike discusses work-life balance challenges in engineering, offering practical advice on avoiding overwork, taking time off after deadlines, and cultivating outside interests. He highlights how engineers' approaches shift from facing tight deadlines as juniors to better time management as seniors, emphasizing a "work hard, play hard" philosophy with physical activities to counterbalance work demands.
Michael Richardson - Past President and CEO of Binnie & Associates
Michael Richardson is the Past President & CEO of RF Binnie & Associates, a Civil Engineering firm in British Columbia. When Michael stepped into the President & CEO role, the firm had 60 employees, now it has grown to over 300. Binnie has continually been recognized as a Top Employer both provincially and nationally, largely because of his leadership and planning. For more information about Binnie, visit their website at https://binnie.com/
Succession Planning in Engineering Firms
Succession planning is ambitious but critical to a business's success. Michael Richardson speaks on how their company planned for a successor and the challenges along with it.
Opportunities and Challenges of Business Growth
How does the leader of a company manage growth? You put your employees in places where they excel and good things follow.
Advice for Young Professionals Starting Their Careers
There have been many challenges for young professionals trying to start their careers. Michae gives advice on how to succeed early on in your career.
The Value of Great Corporate Culture
Michael Richardson speaks on the value of great corporate culture and how important it is when running a business. It reduces turnover, attracts top-tier talent, and moves the entire employee base closer together.
Financial Planning in Leadership
Planning will guide your success or lack thereof. What are you trying to achieve if you don't have a plan? Michael speaks on the importance of financial planning, both personally and in business.
The Invaluable Role of Mentorship
Michael has had a mentor for most of his professional life. He discusses his experience with a mentor, the importance of having one, and how to find one.
Caroline Andrewes - President and CEO of ACEC-BC
A registered Professional Engineer and Chartered Professional Accountant, Caroline has more than two decades of experience with multi-national, high-tech companies with roles in engineering, finance, supply chain, corporate administration, and risk management. Most recently, Caroline was a Director with Creation Technologies, Chief Financial Officer for Ekona Power, and operated as an independent management consultant.