The ties that bind: The power of the Ted Rogers School network

Thanks to the connections students make at the Ted Rogers School of Management and the relevant skills they gain, three graduates from different programs and years have found themselves working together at the same company.

Kevin Callahan (Entrepreneurship & Strategy, 2006), Razib Ahmed (Marketing Management, 2010) and Abdullah Memon (Business Technology Management, 2019) all currently work on the same team at MedChart, a company which digitizes and simplifies the request and release of health information for healthcare providers, lawyers, insurance providers and patients. One of the underlying threads that brought these three alumni together was Ted Rogers School’s Product Management Bootcamp.  

Product Management Prep Program

In 2019, Callahan, who was working as the Head of Global Business Development Strategy and Operations at Twitter at the time, pitched the idea of a Product Management course to the Ted Rogers School. This eventually launched into the Product Management Prep Program (PMPP) for Bootcamps – where students acquire the skills most sought-after by employers. He brought in his friend Ahmed, who was working in the field, to help develop the program.

According to Callahan, tech jobs are increasing at a fast rate in Toronto specifically, and Canada more broadly, so in theory a wider distribution of people should have access to well-paying and impactful jobs in tech. Unfortunately, in practice, these jobs are becoming more difficult for many people to land, which is causing a great divide between tech workers, and everyone else.

“Our goal was to create a program that helped level this playing field because we believe that education shouldn't simply be for the rich, or force people to take on huge sums of debt in order to land a job in tech,” explains Callahan.

He notes that Product Management specifically is a relatively new discipline, and there is generally a lack of formal education options. For the most part, there were no university-level options in Canada, and private programs can cost upwards of $10,000. Meanwhile, companies are struggling to hire top product talent. 

“We had the opportunity to launch the first Product Management program at the university level in Canada, and we could make it free and accessible,” says Callahan.  “We believe this program will help to strengthen Canada’s place as a hub of tech and innovation.” Callahan has been a Lead Facilitator for this Bootcamp since it launched nearly three years ago. 

Inaugural Bootcamp 

Memon, who was a BTM Co-op student at the time, enrolled in Ted Rogers School’s very first Product Management Bootcamp. This is where his path first crossed with Callahan and Ahmed. 

“During my final year, I took part in the Product Management Bootcamp because this was an area that really fascinated me,” says Memon. “I was lucky to work on Product teams during my co-ops placements, but never had a chance to really get any formal training in it.” Ahmed says that it was refreshing to see someone like Memon invest their time to learn these skills before starting new roles. 

“This Bootcamp was a perfect opportunity to formalize my learnings and meet a lot of smart, talented people in Product roles at some of the most admired companies in the world,” Memon explains. “The facilitators really helped us understand Product Management, not just theoretically, but practically within the context of the companies they've worked at.” 

Memon says that meeting Razib and Callahan, and learning more about their experiences got him even more excited to kick off his career in Product Management. Since graduating, he has worked in both Product Management and Design roles, and says the skills he acquired from this Bootcamp have been foundational to his career. Coincidentally, he landed his first job after his undergraduate degree at PureFacts Financial Solutions working on the same Product team with Ahmed. 

Working together at MedChart

In March 2021, Ahmed left PureFacts to join MedChart as a Product Manager. When he was in the process of building his team, he ended up hiring Memon in June to work as a Product Designer. And coincidently, just a few months after that, Callahan joined the company’s San Francisco office as their Head of Product & Design. 

Memon says that it was incredible meeting Ahmed and Callahan through the Product Management Bootcamp and learning from their knowledge and experiences, and now he has the opportunity to work with them day to day. 

“I'm extremely fortunate to be in a position where I have the chance to give back, to help people progress in their careers,” says Callahan, who received a 2021 G. Raymond Chang Outstanding Volunteer Award which recognizes the exemplary generosity and contribution of alumni and friends to Ryerson University. “It wasn't that long ago I was in their shoes, and I get a lot of satisfaction in helping others,” he notes. 

Ahmed agrees, saying that growing up, he was taught to build a strong community, you have to give back. “I genuinely believe we have some tremendous talent coming out of the Ted Rogers School,” he points out.  “I take pride in sharing my experiences and the knowledge that I have acquired to help someone find their path because it strengthens our community.”

Memon says that it feels quite comfortable working with Callahan and Ahmed at MedChart. “The familiarity of all three of us being from the Ted Rogers School led to an easy transition,” he points out. 

“Although we all come from different backgrounds in many ways, a very important chunk of our lives was spent at the same school, albeit at different times,” he explains. “This helps me feel a sense of confidence and encouragement as I look ahead in my career working with them.”