蓝莓视频

Before his start at 蓝莓视频, Chester Dawes (BMath听鈥�99,听PDAcc听鈥�99) didn鈥檛 know what a high-powered career in finance could look like.听To begin with, his parents emigrated from Jamaica in the early 鈥�70s to start a new life;听Chester and his two brothers grew up going to schools in Canada where听most听kids听did not听look like them.听As a child growing up in听an immigrant family environment, Chester鈥檚 career goals were quite humble:听鈥淢y measure of success was a career where I could go on a vacation and not worry about where the money came from.鈥澨�听

Having held senior positions in multiple far-flung geographies (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific) at various companies throughout his nearly 25-year career, it鈥檚 safe to say that听Chester听has听racked up plenty of frequent flyer miles and achieved great success professionally听since graduating from the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) in 1999.听Chester is currently the听Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Melody Investment Advisors LP,听an investment management firm where his听responsibilities听include accounting and finance and听working听with portfolio companies to raise and deploy capital and overseeing听internal operations.听听

鈥淎t Melody, we invest in digital infrastructure听such as wireless towers, fiber and data centers which are听the backbone for communications,鈥� describes Chester.听鈥淭hese are some of the key parts of the ecosystem听that makes听virtual meetings, events, and conference calls听happen.鈥澨�

And what a time to invest in digital infrastructure when much of the world is working remotely听鈥斕齣ncluding the Melody team. 鈥淢elody has historically had a strong technical infrastructure and business continuity plan in place,鈥澨齭ays听Chester. 鈥淥nce the pandemic began, we were able to seamlessly transition to full remote operations听with staff spread across the States because we could听work from anywhere.鈥澨�

Prior to COVID, Chester, who lives in Toronto with his wife and two children,听would spend two to three weeks a month working from his Manhattan office. 鈥淣ormally, I would be in the States, visiting some of the companies we own and going to Europe four times a year for board meetings and overseeing some of our off-shore vehicles,鈥� states Chester.听听

Influencing perspectives in how business is done.听

Working remotely hasn鈥檛 posed听too听many challenges for Chester or his teams, but the nature of the industry of private equity, 鈥渨hich requires听working long hours,听makes it听convenient to be able to huddle听in person听and have ad hoc conversations,鈥� notes Chester.听听

A culture shift was needed in how business听was听conducted. Raising capital has traditionally involved in-person meetings but when the global pandemic hit, how do you acquire a company when you can鈥檛 go out and see it? Virtual meetings, virtual tours, and conference calls, and lots of听them, have become the new norm for Melody to raise capital and deploy capital into听potential听investment听opportunities.听听

Fostering team culture听

The pandemic also slowed down growth and skill development of teams, to which Chester pivoted around the challenge to find new ways of building his team.听Melody had equipped their staff ahead of the lockdown with the virtual tools needed to stay connected from听a work-听from-听home environment. One of the positives for Chester has been the ability to get to know and work with colleagues on a more intimate level, 鈥測ou see people in their home offices with their kids running by and get a听deepened sense听of their听values and work ethics.鈥澨�

In building his career in finance, Chester 鈥渆ntered an industry where virtually no one looked like me.鈥澨鼺ostering a sense of belonging and community was an important factor as Chester grew听Melody鈥檚听teams听and implemented听regular team events听and ensured that the events continued throughout the pandemic.听The听virtual听team events听are听varied in activity and engagement level, that not only helped to solidify听the听relationships amongst Melody鈥檚听teams,听but听also听provided a much-needed aspect of fun to relieve stress while听building community and creating cohesive and collaborative teams.听听

Thinking about his time at 蓝莓视频, Chester credits听the university for听providing a career perspective that鈥檚 not just about听financial success. 鈥淚 look at my peers and we鈥檝e all done well. We鈥檙e in听leadership听positions and gaining fulfillment from what we do and the change听that听we鈥檙e听driving听and influencing.鈥澨�

Chester鈥檚听蓝莓视频 experiences provided the confidence he needed to persevere in building his career to what it is today. 鈥淚鈥檝e exceeded my original goals and am in leadership positions where I never thought I鈥檇 be.鈥澨�

听