For James Donaldson, there is never a dull moment. It is his job to spot anything that negatively impacts members of the food and beverage industry in British Columbia. In other words, he looks out for their interests. This is not a role that James thought he’d end up in – when he graduated, he didn’t have a plan or clarity on what he wanted to do. Eventually he entered the food industry, which gave him the opportunity to learn more about himself and what he can bring to the table.

Andrew Lawton has to make up his job title sometimes, because he has worn so many hats. He manages a media company called True North, hosts his own show, writes books, and has started a journey in event management. Sitting in one place for too long is not his M.O. To him, he tries to find different things to do and not settle into a routine.

What does Gavin Dew do for a living? He jokes that even his wife doesn’t know. But to him, his work is to get complicated major projects built in difficult situations. Those situations may be politically difficult or controversial, but that does not scare him. To him, anything worth doing is hard – to him, that is “interesting and fun.”

For Christy Smith’s role in indigenous engagement in environmental consulting, fieldwork is what makes her thrive. She loves going out into the community to build relationships and understanding the nuances of each community. This is a far cry from her dreams of being an artist, which were put on hold after she became a mother; she realized that she wanted to produce a work of value for her child’s future. This led her down a path of self-discovery, both personally and professionally.

Mohammad Doostmohammadi’s work days are long – to him, it is not always a bad thing because his work is his passion. “I am doing what I enjoy,” he says. “It’s my life.” He sees himself as an inventor and entrepreneur, finding ways to turn various forms of electronic and mining waste into recycled materials. To him, his passion drives the fun in running his start-up – in fact, passion is vital in order to succeed.

What happens when a bunch of side gigs become a career? For Ernest Lang, he points to himself as the answer. As head of Promerita, he invests and advises on financial matters around corporate assets, wealth planning, real estate, and more. His interest in money was rooted in necessity – coming from a family with one parent and with limited means, he had to figure out how money worked and that has led him to a “survive at all costs” approach to business.

David Williams does everything. Or at least, it seems like he does. In his role at the Business Council of British Columbia, he has to talk and listen to all groups of people, depending on the issues of the day. To know what is going on, he has to read all the time – what experts are saying, what business leaders are saying, and what data is out there. It’s his job to find out what makes the economy tick.

Dr. Aziz Ghaharya’s business is in research – and it really is like running a business, from idea development to funding to reaching the finish line. And the competition is tough. He didn’t start out as a burn unit researcher; by using other studies as stepping stones, he was able to become a full professor and one of Canada’s foremost experts in burn and wound health.

The margin of error of drug abuse is narrowing, according to Chantal Vallerand. And that is how she remains passionate about her role as leader of Drug Free Kids Canada. It drives her forward every day, allowing her to seek out potential funders and supporters, explaining to them the importance of the mission to keep dangerous drugs away from youth.

Have you ever felt confused about your career or company and not sure where it is going? Ron Bremner’s job is to help you navigate through that. He finds joy in working with his clients to look at work with a new perspective. Over time, he finds that those clients become friends – because seeing their growth gives Ron immense pride.

“You’re always the face of the party – that’s just a reality.” As leader of the British Columbia Conservative Party, going to new places and showing up is a large part of John Rustad’s job. That is nothing new to him, as someone who grew up in Prince George and having jobs that took him all over the province with all kinds of different experiences. As someone who takes all kinds of opportunities, this worked perfectly into his journey into business and, eventually, politics.

As the president of Neptune Terminals, there are no typical days for Megan Owen-Evans, but some days can get long – but it is an element of the job that she loves. This is a job she never considered when she was going to school. In fact, she thought she would be a doctor but didn’t end up finishing that journey. Instead, she worked in various jobs and realized that her dreams lay elsewhere. Finally returning to school, she had a fresh plan and different direction.

As a lecturer at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business, Adam Pankratz’s job is to communicate the challenges of business to his students, which range from undergraduates to masters-level students – and make it interesting. This was nowhere near what he envisioned for his career when he graduated with a linguistics degree and worked in the hotel industry. As with all careers, it is never a straight line. But his difficulties with finding a job that matched his skills led him to the world of business and an entirely new path.

Nick Bostrom’s job is to think about humanity – after all, as a philosopher in a complex world that has the rise of artificial intelligence, there is a lot to think about. When he started out in his career, academia was the only field where he could do that kind of work. But in today’s world, his work at the Future of Humanity Institute has gained importance as society starts to question how humans work with technology and artificial intelligence, and what that means to being human.

Balancing acts are nothing new to Christine Kennedy. As president of Woodfibre LNG, which is essentially a giant construction project, she has to balance relations with First Nations, local residents, and project stakeholders.

As CEO of the Vancouver Board of Trade, Bridgitte Anderson needs to be diverse – after all, that is what her members are.

How do you create economic opportunities and attract the right investments? That is a question that Jacquie Griffiths tries to answer every day, as the President of Invest Vancouver. The key to this is developing talent and seeking investors from abroad, helping to create a well-rounded industry. This is a lot of responsibility – and it all depends on the sense of relationship-building that she developed very early in her career in workforce development.

When Gidi Grinstein saw the Oslo Accords after his military service in Israel, he was fascinated. He knew he was witnessing an incident of great statesmanship in history – and realized that he wanted to be part of groups that shaped public policy. Leveraging that passion, he started the Reut Group, a public policy think tank. At first, he did everything. Over time, he realized that he couldn’t do everything alone – he had to work with people around him.

For Roger Pielke, the best part of his job is having ears on the ground for public policy. His role as a professor was not surprising, coming from a family of academics. But his passion wasn’t discovered until a chance trip to Washington, DC, where he discovered how politics and policy can turn on a dime and require trust in order to function.

Alex de Vries’ role as a “digiconomist” started as a hobby, combining her history with economics with a passion for digital economy. In his role, he provides warnings and cautious advice on those getting into cryptocurrency. This was a far cry from his younger days, when he had no idea what he wanted to do – but keeping his options open paid off.