Partway into his Bachelor of Science studies at Dalhousie, Vijay Wadhawan made an important discovery: the academic and career path he had mapped out was not quite right for him.

“I had planned to be a pharmacist or physician, but I realized that I didn’t want to be a direct-to-patient health care professional,” he explains. “I still had an interest and some experience in the field, so I decided to pursue the business side of health care.”

Wadhawan switched to Dalhousie’s commerce program because it afforded him an opportunity to apply what he learned, gain experience, and explore career opportunities through co-op positions. “I worked for Research in Motion, which is now Blackberry Limited, for two terms, and I worked with Sanofi Pasteur in a variety of product management roles,” he says. “That experience was helpful in landing my current position.”

As VP of the Health and Wellness Practice at Environics Research, a Toronto-based market research and consulting firm, Wadhawan works with healthcare clients to transform market research insights into strategies and tactics that deliver a strong return on investment. He attributes his success in the role to his Dalhousie experience, particularly the leadership and management skills course. “It really enabled me to better understand what motivates people and how to engage them,” he says. The relevance and practicality of that course has been fundamental to building strong relationships with my clients.”

For Wadhawan, the most exciting aspect of working in health care is seeing how technology and science are advancing our understanding of common health issues to help people live longer, better lives. He believes these advances will also enable the industry to address issues related to health equity and accessibility, and to offer more customized and targeted solutions for every individual’s unique needs. In that light, he hopes Dalhousie’s commerce program maintains its focus on real-world application of learning.

“Some of my best experiences at Dalhousie were those that made learning accessible through different teaching styles and group work that allowed me to build a strong set of leadership skills for collaborating with stakeholders and achieving the best possible outcomes,” he says. “Health care is a human business and if Dalhousie ensures the next generation of leaders has a strong understanding of business fundamentals and emphasizes the importance of empathy and compassion in business, that will mean a bright future for everyone.”

Speaking of the future, Wadhawan says it is easier to envision what the business world will look like 100 years from now than Dalhousie’s commerce program. “I think we are entering an era when we are collectively having our consciousness raised, and people, particularly Gen Z, are expecting more from businesses than the products and services they offer,” he says. “I believe this will lead to more equitable workplaces, more opportunities for those who have not traditionally been represented in the business world, and more human-centred ways of doing business. I also think we will see businesses making more effort to engage and serve the individuals they interact with in ways that demonstrate that they know how to better meet and exceed their expectations. That is happening to some extent now, but I think it will really define how we do business in 100 years.”