Kosta Georgakakos was born and raised in Halifax and came from your stereotypical big fat Greek family. His grandmother and her seven brothers all opened restaurants, so it was not uncommon to find him in the back of their kitchens’, cutting fries at the age of 12.

Some would say, this would be classified as cheap, child labour but this was the moment Kosta fell in love with potatoes and decided to pursue a career in them. By leveraging the Dal Commerce Co-op program, he was able to secure two coops with McCain in different departments and expand his skillset. By establishing the necessary relationships, he landed a full-time job with McCain as a Foodservice Sales Rep in Calgary upon graduation in 2014.

This was an experience unlike no other, as he was finally able to convince Greek restaurant owners to finally buy frozen fries and spare their poor grandkids from the hard labour times he once endured. As he excelled quickly in this role, Kosta was offered a Foodservice Marketing position in the Toronto head office where he continues to excel and grow with the company. Overall, Kosta has been with McCain for 8 years and is now the Commercial Planning Manager for North America.

When asked if he had any advice for students in commerce that are unclear on what major/ career path is best for them, Kosta had this to say:

“Leverage and differentiate your co-ops as much as possible. Co-ops are there for you to test and learn. Even if you go back to the same company, try to change your function and ensure you get out of your comfort zone. “