A wealth of experience and a scientist's fervour toward pursuing the answers to intangible questions. That's what Rajesh Jaiswal brings to his new role as the executive director at the Northern Alberta Business Incubator (NABI).
A cross-country search ended up with the winning candidate already being right there on NABI's board for the last five years.
"That put me in a very good position because I saw NABI very closely. NABI's board members are professionals. They're lawyers. They're people who have experience in investment, attraction, banking ... they're experts in their respective fields," he said, holding the banner high at every turn.
Jaiswal comes with all the right credentials with more than a decade in various roles in the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation's knowledge management division and most recently as the manager at the Edmonton Research Park. There, he became involved with Alberta Innovates and TEC Edmonton to further facilitate research and foster a community of innovation and entrepreneurship.
His background does include being the owner of a small business while he was undergoing his doctoral studies. He holds an MSc and PhD from the University of Saskatchewan, a post-doctoral fellowship with the University of Calgary's Faculty of Medicine, and an MBA from the University of Alberta.
He confirmed that he intends to bring the full weight of his intellectual curiosity and practical know-how to his role.
"I'm a scientist by training. I got the opportunity to see different trials conducted by previous executive directors. Some were successful; some were not. Even some (that) were not at that time, maybe those might be successful now, because sometimes it's a matter of timing," he continued.
"I got an opportunity to look very closely, to observe closely, and that's what I'm doing now."
In one week in the position, he has already met with three dozen companies. Not one to waste any time, he talked about how to lead the business incubator that already has a thick portfolio of success stories.
"Every organization has a vision. It's the 'how' which makes a difference to achieve that vision. I'll be focusing on 'how' but in order to help me get to that 'how' ... I will have to learn what our tenants need. This is just like a business: in a business, the more closely you are connected with your customers or clients, the more appropriate product you will be able to offer them," he continued, noting that that alignment equates business success.
"We deal with tenants just to know what they need, what will help them grow, what will help them to succeed. It's a very simple recipe."
He explained that relationships will be one of the keys to his work over the next weeks, as he focuses on strengthening NABI’s relationship within St. Albert, meaning with the St. Albert and District Chamber of Commerce, the city's economic development department as well as other branches of the City and with the wider business community.
It's basically an extension of what NABI does in-house where peers share their knowledge freely and on a real-time basis. That's where the real strength in business incubation lies.
"Together, we have a lot more to offer to our entrepreneur community," he said. "I think good opportunities are already here. I just have to work to bring it out, to make it shine."
