Andrew Ramlo: Executive director, Urban Futures Inc.
After completing a bachelor's degree at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Andrew Ramlo found himself in a classic early-career catch-22: graduate school called for work experience and industry demanded a master's degree.
Looking for a way forward, Ramlo started chatting with his UBC professors. And they threw a new idea into the mix.
"They said, 'Well, I guess what you really have to do is try and make your own work experience,'" he remembered.
That idea set Ramlo on an entrepreneurial course – first with a small planning consultancy, and eventually with Urban Futures Inc., a strategic planning and management consultancy.
The advice also convinced Ramlo of the value of mentors.
"If [my professors] hadn't pushed me or suggested what they had, I probably would have ended up in a municipal planning job somewhere," he said, noting that that would have stopped him from being able to do non-profit research work for Urban Futures' sister organization, Urban Futures Institute.
Ramlo said he's continued to find mentors in his business career but that he's been keen to ensure the relationships have value on both sides.
"It is a two-way street – it's not necessarily me phoning them all the time saying, 'Hey, what do you think about this,'" he said, noting that as he's carved out a niche in the world of information and data, he's become better able to return favours.
"That makes me feel really good that I'm able to give back a little bit to them for all of the help and advice that they've given me."
Ramlo said he also looks for opportunities to mentor the next generation – as a mentor through UBC's ArtsOne program and beyond.
"It is something that I do because I do feel really strongly about how my mentors were able to help me along the way."
