Alumni Spotlights
Ken Finch succeeds in business
But engineering is what got him there
“I don’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be an engineer,” says Ken Finch, who graduated with a BASc in Civil Engineering in 1968. After finishing high school in Merritt, B.C., UBC was the logical choice for Ken who remembers his five years at university as “some of the best of his life.”
Currently President and CEO of Kal Tire, Canada’s largest retail and commercial tire dealership, Ken considers his days at UBC in Civil Engineering as a combination of intellectually challenging courses and great social activities—particularly, he says, the socials with the nurses.
He had originally intended to study electrical or mechanical engineering, but once he arrived at UBC he discovered an aptitude—and a passion—for structures, and joined the Department of Civil Engineering. He then spent 12 years working as a civil engineer, ending up as Chief Engineer for Permasteel Engineering in Vancouver. Working at Permasteel, a design-build contractor, Ken found a lot of satisfaction designing both family houses and commercial buildings and then seeing his designs become reality.
In 1980, however, his career took a new turn when Tom Foord offered him a position as Senior Vice President of Kal Tire, the family business. This new move would take him away from the civil engineering that he loved, but the new opportunity to apply his skills in a successful and growing business was too hard to pass up. In October 1980, Ken joined Kal Tire.
He was both pleased and surprised to find out how much his engineering education helped him succeed in business.
“There’s an indirect link between engineering and business,” he says. “The training you receive as an engineer—the ability to problem solve by gathering the facts, evaluating all aspects of a problem, parsing it out logically and coming to a solid conclusion—that’s invaluable in good business.”
He is now firmly of the belief that business training should be made available to all engineers while they pursue their education. “Most of the engineers I went to school with have ended up in senior management, and business skills are crucial,” he notes.
Ken took over the role of President from Tom Foord in 2005, and continues to enjoy being part of a successful business and a successful team. “I couldn’t have had this career without the discipline and knowledge of my engineering training,” he says. His advice to other engineers who are entering the workforce? “Push yourself beyond your field. Don’t be afraid to move beyond your engineering training. The non-technical challenges you will face might just be the most rewarding,” he smiles. “They have been for me.”
