GRANT'S DESI ACHIEVER

FROM REFUGEE TO CEO

Nizar Ladak, speaker, author, corporate leader.

By SHAGORIKA EASWAR

Nizar Ladak is putting his years as a remarkably successful corporate leader to good use.

He shares life lessons, tying stories from his childhood, school and university years and decades at the top in the corporate world to leadership lessons he learnt, incorporated in his own life and passed on to others in his book, The Power of Scars: My Journey from Refugee to CEO.

“I look back at my life and see resilience,” he says. “What I wanted to highlight was that I am far from unique, we’ve all faced challenges. I wanted to communicate that you’re not alone. And that resilience is not some inbuilt quality, it can be taught, it can be learned.”

At the provincial level, Ladak was president and CEO of Compute Ontario and at the federal, Digital Research Alliance of Canada. He has worked with 200 universities across Canada. Prior to that, he was in healthcare, helping with policy development and organizational management as Director of National Health information at the Canadian Institute for Health Information and VP, CIO at North York General Hospital, and Executive VP at Health Quality Ontario.

He served on the board of directors of ENCQOR, a $500 million public-private collaboration to develop a 5G corridor between Quebec and Ontario.

The path to the top was long and arduous.

Ladak was born in Kampala, Uganda. Though he doesn’t recall much of his early life, some harrowing experiences during Idi Amin’s reign of terror are seared in his mind.

As he shares in his book, they were detained by Amin’s soldiers as they were trying to flee. They were held captive, and he was terrified his father would be shot. After escaping with just the clothes on their backs, a few personal mementos and birth certificates, etc., the family spent six months at a refugee camp in Malta before making their way to Canada in 1973.

He was five at the time. The family settled in Toronto’s Danforth area during a period when newcomers faced a lot of racism.

“We were different, we were people of colour, of a different faith. My parents struggled to find meaningful employment. I was beaten up at school, called the P word, it was a traumatic time for the family.”

Instead of helping him deal with bullies in grade 4, a teacher grabbed him by his hair and slammed his head on the desk for not being able to recite the 12 times table.

“How stupid can you be?” he yelled. “Indians are supposed to be good at math.”

Newcomers, whether immigrants or refugees, typically teach their children to fit in, not complain.

“We suppress things. But I finally gave myself permission to talk about my experiences – both the good and the bad.

The good includes being able to gain a university education.

“We were never asked if we were going to university, it was always ‘Which university?’!”

And forming a tightknit group of friends who remain close to this day. Two are in senior government positions, others found success in the corporate world.

“The 80s were a great time for growing up – no, really, in spite of my experiences. Those were innocent times, compared to the things children are exposed to on social media these days and the pressures they face.

“Certainly, I faced difficulties but all of us were going through it. As I write in my book, your scars may be lasting, but they do not have to define your future. And all of us immersed ourselves in Canadian culture. I had a very supportive family and community. One’s social network plays a huge part in one’s success.”

The experiences he gave himself permission to open up about include ones he’s shared in The Power of Scars.

“Resilience is not some inbuilt quality, it can be taught, it can be learned.” Nizar Ladak with his wife Lubna.

The abrupt loss of a job in senior leadership, for one. Hired as Executive VP at Health Quality Ontario, he became interim CEO when the then CEO, a man whom Ladak held in high regard and admired, chose to step away to return to a career in medicine. He did such a great job for six months that he was encouraged by the board to apply for the CEO’s position.

“I wasn’t successful and the man they hired as the new CEO called me within five days of taking over and said, ‘You’re fired’.”

There was no recourse, no help from the board.

“That was really rough. Many of us identify with our roles, people see the title, not the person.”

Ladak drew upon every bit of resilience he had to overcome this setback. And moved on to greater heights.

He was drawn to the fields of education and healthcare in part because he was shaped by his early experiences and wanted to help fix certain inequities.

“I was enthralled by sociology, it came intuitively to me. It allowed me to create a theoretical framework of my observations. But was there a career in it? What was I going to do with a sociology degree? A professor asked me if I had thought about teaching.”

After earning his MEd from UofT, Ladak returned as faculty, teaching leadership courses at various programs including the Department of Health Administration.

“There’s probably nothing more Canadian than publicly-funded healthcare. Of course, it can be better. But equally, we all have an obligation to elevate it, and I spent over 25 years doing my part.

“Our attitudes towards racial inequity are elevating. But unfortunately, we are moving away from the principles of DEI. Through dogma and what’s happening south of the border, things are changing. ‘Woke’ is a bad word, seen as too-left. We’ve been talking about racial injustice for decades. Years after the murder of George Floyd and the discovery of unmarked graves of the children at residential schools, why are we still talking about it?

The Power of Scars: My Journey from Refugee to CEO by Nizar Ladak is published by Sutherland Press, $36.95.

“I refer to myself as one of the proudest Canadians you’ll ever meet – and I am hopeful. I came here as a child, as a refugee, and received support through grants and bursaries all the way through to my doctoral degree. These are things that define Canada that we can’t let go of. Now it’s time to give back. I firmly believe in the adage, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats’. It’s a virtuous cycle.

“In all humility, I tell those who seek my advice to not necessarily look at me as a role model but as someone who benefited from all that he received from the country, from his social group and his faith-based community. Look for what supports you. Find within you the desire to propel you and persevere until you reach your goal. And when you do, don’t forget your journey and help lift others.”

Ladak is married to Lubna.

We make the perfect couple,” he says, sounding ever so happy. “We met in early university and have been married for 32 years now. She’s an MBA and a CA and recently retired as VP Finance at Ontario Power Generation. Lubna’s a remarkable woman.”

They have two daughters. Nadia, who graduated from Western University and runs her own business and Sameena, who is hoping to go into social work.

When it came time for Ladak himself to consider retirement, he knew he wasn’t going to spend his days golfing.

“There’s much I still want to – and believe I can – contribute.”

Missing a creative outlet, he launched the new chapter in life as a public speaker and writer.

He started a LinkedIn blog, A CEO’s Musings on Love, Life, and Career, quickly gathering over 10,000 followers. His posts received thousands to millions of views.

The story of how his book came to be published reads like a dream come true for authors.

Neil Seeman, a publisher at Sutherland House, reached out to Ladak, saying he was enjoying the blog. “Let’s meet for lunch,” he said, “and see if I can persuade you to write a book.”

Ladak confessed that he hadn’t the foggiest about writing a book, but Seeman was persuasive. And very supportive.

“He edited the book, it was the most amazing experience. It was cathartic. I go for a walk every morning and evening. During those walks thoughts would come to me, memories would surface, and I’d make notes on my phone. I told Lubna it was like there was a blackboard in my mind that I was reading off of. She and my sisters were very supportive. They said, ‘You’re a storyteller, you evoke images’.”

The Canada Ladak grew up in was very different from the ones in which his daughters did, and it has changed more since then.

Ladak is concerned about diminishing social supports and says he continues to see racism.

“But there also positive changes. A remarkably inclusive society and a willingness to eradicate racism. People contributing to making our society equitable for all. We are questioning which side of history do we wish to be on, not just as and for people of colour, but with our allies.

“There’s an increased focus on standing on our own as a country, a leader among the G7. And one quality that truly defines us as a leader is the value we place on pluralism. We don’t require newcomers to relinquish their cultural identities. As we arrive, we hold on to our cultural values, our ties to the places we come from. We use our identities to enrich Canada, to contribute to the Canadian identity.

“It behooves us to embrace pluralism. We need to contribute through our moral values. And then help educate others about the contributions our community makes. I’ve seen it in my roles at universities – there’s so much talent. But we’re modest to a fault as a country. We have to elevate our pride profile a little, flex our muscle! How many of us know that the inventor of AI is Canadian? The Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton! I believe the future is very bright.”

• Grant’s is proud to present this series about people who are making a difference in the community. Represented by PMA Canada (www.pmacanada.com).