Being able to contribute to a school’s brand at a university level is an inspiring prospect for young professionals keen to make their own path in the business world.

Kenneth Glass was a member of the class of 2016, one of the earliest cohorts of the Master of Business Administration (MBA). As a graduate working as a strategic partnerships executive with The Canadian Institute, he is excited to have made an impact at TRU.

Glass grew up in Toronto and studied politics and business at Trent University in neighbouring Peterborough before moving to Kamloops for grad school.

Now he manages revenue targets across 26 projects and is a member of a team responsible for $2 million in revenue annually. We caught up with Kenneth to ask a few questions.

Q & A with Kenneth Glass

Why did you choose TRU?

I was always interested in grad school. After working for a year and carefully considering my options, I decided I’d like to pursue a career in business.

Having only minored in business during my undergrad, I thought TRU’s pre-MBA program would be a great way to sharpen my skills before diving right in. Visiting TRU’s beautiful campus early on sealed the deal.

What were some highlights during the program?

The inaugural MBA Games, the Simon Fraser University case competition that I and a couple classmates competed in and trips to Vancouver were high points. Moving to the West Coast was an adventure and the experience overall was amazing.

All of the profs and courses were immensely helpful and were a crucial part of my overall education. I have to say, what I learned in Bernie Warren’s Decision Modelling course I use every day. Excel can be a mighty sword to wield in the workplace.

What did you do immediately afterward?

I was quickly employed and moved back to Toronto to work in the events management industry. The company was a small start up not far from downtown.

While I learned a lot, the advancement prospects were slim, so I decided to move to a more established firm.

What are you currently doing?

I handle sponsorship for a number of the conferences we organize. Everything from law enforcement to infrastructure, energy, legal, etc.

Sponsorship is an opportunity commodity for companies to network and be branded to the people who join us onsite at shows.

What’s your key piece of advice?

Education is the best investment one can make. Timing is a crucial component with an MBA, so flexibility which TRU is great for can be key.

For those who have an MBA, be patient. Much of the benefit comes later in your career and isn’t felt immediately after graduation.

What do you plan to do?

The long term goal is go into venture capital (VC). The events industry, just like VC, gives you exposure to a number of different companies, gets you familiar with industry trends and technologies, and keeps you networking constantly.

Sales, big ideas, people, presentations and looking at new companies as investment opportunities are all things that I get fired up about. The first step is move into mergers and acquisitions and go from there.

Anything else you want to add ?

An MBA is a brand. Each school puts their own twist on that brand to create an identity: Sauder, Rotman, DeGroote, Schulich, etc.

As students in a newer program, those of us who attended or are attending TRU are involved in establishing what that identity is. Once established, that identity will represent TRU’s School of Business and Economics to all future students both internally and externally.

I’ve always found being able to contribute to that legacy to be exciting and inspiring.

Check out Kenneth Glass featured in a recent video highlighting some of the unique benefits of TRU’s MBA program.