When Philip Pfeiffer, HBA ’06, did an exchange in Germany during his final year at Ivey, he knew he wanted to pursue an international career.
“I had the international travel bug and I knew I wasn’t coming back,” he said.
Pfeiffer contacted the Ivey Alumni Network’s Ambassador for Germany to learn about opportunities to work abroad in corporate finance and began his career as Asset Manager at Bernhard Schulte, a multinational shipping company. He is now Chief Financial Officer of Asiatic Lloyd Maritime, a Singapore-based company with its roots in Germany focused on ship-owning and ship-management activities.
Pfeiffer was one of more than 30 Western and Ivey alumni who shared advice and perspective on what it’s like to work in some of the world’s largest international business hubs for the 2022 Western & Ivey Global Career Conference, which ran February 23-25.
The conference featured panel sessions, workshops, and mini-case competitions, and shared the perspectives of alumni working in six different countries and a variety of industries: finance, consulting, tech, and entrepreneurship. The initiative is supported by Ivey Career Management, Western Alumni, and the Ivey Alumni Network, along with two student clubs: Western Capital Markets and the Ivey International Business Club.
Ryley Mehta, HBA ’20, one of the co-organizers, along with Nicholas Mehta, HBA ’18, BMSc '18; and Jordan Camilleri, HBA ’15; said the goal of the conference is three-fold:
- To inspire students to think globally and provide a foundation for those interested in pursuing international careers;
- To connect alumni with each other and the School; and
- To enhance Ivey and Western’s global reputation.
“We want to inspire global mindsets among students and develop a pipeline of tangible recruiting opportunities for students to pursue internships and/or full-time jobs outside of traditional North American markets,” he said.
Encouraging students to have a global mindset fits with Ivey’s new strategy, which includes a focus on developing global citizens and increasing the School’s international scope.
During her video address, Ivey Dean Sharon Hodgson encouraged students to consider global careers given they help leaders to gain perspective, appreciate diversity of thought, and approach problems differently.
“Your playing field is not Canada. Your playing field is the world,” she said. “More than ever, the world needs innovators, challengers, and changemakers like you. You’re coming into the workforce at a time when you can really make a difference. And the world needs you.”
Seize the power of the alumni network
Hodgson also encouraged the students to leverage the alumni network since Western and Ivey alumni live and work in almost every corner of the world.
Pfeiffer, who is president of the Ivey Alumni Network’s Singapore chapter, told how keeping connected with alumni helped him in his career and has been a good source of mentorship. He cited various opportunities, such as a Mentors Circle, Entrepreneurship Circle, and the new Ivey Career Connections Program.
“Whether your journey starts at Global Ivey Day, a networking event, or just reaching out to other alumni – even virtually – each connection and reconnection matters and can make a difference,” he said.
Pfeiffer shared highlights from his journey to an international career, including the role of alumni connections, for a session called Leveraging the Alumni Network. The panel also included two Western alumni: Wayne McArdle, LLB ’82, Chair of Conduit Capital and a member of Western’s U.K. Foundation; and Simon Yu, BMOS ’11, Senior Manager of CBRE and president of the Western alumni Hong Kong Chapter.
McArdle said his experience being on exchange at Case Western in Cleveland during law school spurred his interest in working outside of Canada. Although he initially worked in Toronto, he had a chance to do a three-year stint in London, England. He said he enjoyed that it was such a cosmopolitan city. After returning to Toronto, one of his network contacts told him about another opportunity to work in London. He seized it and has been there ever since.
The benefits of broadening your horizons
“Getting out of your home town and out of your university town is really important in terms of setting yourself up for a more international approach to business and life. It stretches your boundaries, takes you out of your comfort zone, and forces you to meet people in circumstances that are more challenging for you, but probably more enriching, too,” he said. “Look beyond Bay Street. There is a constant route of graduates from law and graduates from business going to Bay Street. There is more to business and law than Bay Street and the sooner you discover that, the more interesting it can become.”
While there’s never a straight path to working in a foreign destination, McArdle said Canadian talent has a great reputation around the world.
“I think you'll find Canadian training is world-class, wherever you go. Whether it's business or law, you'll find, if you're in the top 25 per cent of your class at Western, you’re in the top 25 per cent of educated professionals around the world,” he said. “If you have your eye on working outside Toronto, or London [Ontario], or Canada, and you keep pressing on the channels that allow you to develop an interest and skills outside of Canada, hopefully you’ll be rewarded and get a decent posting and have a thriving career outside of Canada.”
Although Yu wanted to work in Hong Kong because his family was there, he also saw an opportunity to progress his career by working abroad because finance, real estate, and insurance are big industries in Hong Kong. He chose real estate for the people aspect.
Yu spoke about the meaningful relationships he has developed through reaching out to Western alumni and volunteering in the alumni space for more than a decade. He encouraged the students to take advantage of their alumni connections wherever they go and share their stories – especially those about working internationally – because they might inspire others.
“Don’t be afraid to reach out. That common ground is really strong. That little Western in you will affect other people,” he said. “Share your story, and you might inspire others to share their story, too.”
Thank you to the conference team
In addition to Jordan Camilleri, Nicholas Mehta, and Ryley Mehta, the full team of co-organizers also included Emma Hristov, Katherine Peng, Tianlu Sun, and Jerry Wu, all HBA ’22 candidates.
