ALUMNI SPEAKER SERIES “Navigating a Career: When to make a change and how to do it"

Thursday, April 28, 2022 7:00 pm - 7:00 pm EDT (GMT -04:00)

ALUMNI SPEAKER SERIES
Navigating a Career: When to make a change and how to do it

You’re young (or not so young). You’re in your early (or mid) engineering career. Perhaps ambitious and a little more than curious. “The Great Resignation” is underway due to the economic effects of the global pandemic, and as industry grapples so publicly with talent shortages, you might be wondering: “Is now the time for me to move to the next opportunity, role, company or industry? And how do I do it the right way?”

Join us for a lively discussion with a panel of Waterloo Engineering alumni at different stages of their careers who will share how they have leveraged their degrees, co-op and work experiences, and passions to shape fulfilling careers in everything from finance to AI to robotics to education. You will learn how to highlight your own particular skills to move across industries, roles, companies or into entrepreneurship, while figuring out what is “right for you.” 

Remote video URL

Moderator: 

lisa tong

Lisa Tong
BASc 2001, Chemical Engineering
Executive Director, Strategy and Transformation, Global Finance, Estee Lauder Companies
Director of Training, Coach Masters Academy Canada

Biography:
Lisa is a professional certified coach and project manager with experience in multi-national organizations in retail and consumer goods.  She holds an MBA from the University of Henley in the UK and is a Chemical Engineering graduate from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

She is currently an executive director for Estee Lauder Companies in New York and also director of training for Coach Masters Academy Canada on top of being an entrepreneur, blogger, and YouTuber.

Connect with Lisa Tong on LinkedIn.

Speakers:

chidi_ikebujo_headshot

Chidinma Ikebujo
MBET 2019
Senior Consultant
Deloitte Canada

Biography:
Chidinma (Chidi) Ikebujo has a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the Federal University of Technology Owerri and a master's in business, entrepreneurship and technology from the University of Waterloo. She has experience building a startup and is currently a senior consultant at Deloitte carrying out new technology implementations that solve business problems for Canadian companies.

She loves to learn, she's passionate about technology and building products that solve problems for people and businesses.

Connect with Chidi Ikebujo on LinkedIn.
 

rob otway headshot
Rob Otway
BASc 1985, Civil Engineering
Executive Vice President
Bird Construction


Biography:
Rob Otway is a professional engineer who has devoted 36 years to the construction industry. In his role as Executive Vice President for Bird Construction, Rob is responsible for all buildings and special project operations within British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Previously, he spent 25 years with PCL Construction in various executive and project management positions, including executive oversight of PCLs corporate sustainability strategy.

Rob graduated from the University of Waterloo (BASc 1985) and is a recent graduate of the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) Directors Education Program.

Connect with Rob Otway on LinkedIn.

travis ratnam headshot
Travis Ratnam
BASc 2006, Electrical Engineering
Co-Founder and CEO
Knowledgehook


Biography:
Travis Ratnam is the CEO and co-founder of Knowledgehook, an instructional guidance system that helps students learn more effectively by recommending expert-designed teaching activities based on data collected on each student’s learning needs. A winner of BNN’s Top Disruptors, Travis says it is his “responsibility and obligation” to support students for success during uncertainty triggered by COVID-19.

At the height of the pandemic, Knowledgehook Open Access was released to Ontario students grades 3 to 10 so that they could continue their mathematics learning from home through stimulating lessons and exercises. The online platform supported students and families to minimize the impact of school closures. The platform was endorsed by the Ontario Ministry of Education and was applied to all 72 Ontario school districts.

Travis is an electrical engineering graduate from the University of Waterloo and a former program manager from Microsoft.

Connect with Travis Ratnam on LinkedIn.


Please note: This session will be recorded with permission of the speakers and moderator and will be posted to view on the Alumni Speaker Playlist on the Waterloo Engineering YouTube Channel after the live session. Viewers do not have permission to record the session.