Global alumni

On top of the world

Alumni chart fulfilling global careers

ALIYYAH AHAD (HBA ’12 Innis)

Bonjour from Brussels! Brussels, Belgium, may be better known for its waffles and chocolate, but what truly makes this city special is its incredible diversity. As the capital of the European Union, Brussels is home to some 150 nationalities. And with about 60 per cent of residents being foreign-born, it is one of the most diverse cities on the planet. Consequently, Brussels is where I found the perfect place to combine my passions for international affairs, public policy, and public service—working in my dream role as the Brussels representative for the Government of Bermuda.

Nearly two years into my current role, and after almost six years here, it is nice to reflect on the many stops along the way. I have worked and studied in Bermuda (my home country), Toronto, Paris, Rabat, Washington DC, and London. I also studied at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

My interests in foreign affairs pre-date my time at Innis, but being part of such a vibrant and international college definitely expanded my curiosity about other cultures, and gave me the confidence to meet new challenges—wherever in the world they arise.

MEENAZ KASSAM (BA ’84 Innis, MA ’86, PhD ’96)

I am a retired associate professor of sociology, as well as a certified life coach based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where I taught at the American University of Sharjah for the last 10 years. Teaching in Dubai has been an interesting experience— generally I found the female students were brighter and more progressive than their male counterparts—contradicting the stereotypical image of the timid female in the Middle East.

My journey began at Innis after my husband and I immigrated from India to Toronto. I graduated from Innis, going on to do my master’s and PhD, also at U of T. I taught at the University of Waterloo and at OISE for the next six years.

We moved to Dubai about 12 years ago, and I went with mixed emotions as I love Canada. However, I looked forward to the challenges of teaching at a leading university where one must try to open minds while being aware of cultural and government restrictions. These were fertile grounds for research and publishing, and I wrote many books. I reflect in retirement now that Innis played a formative role in helping me prepare for my academic life and all that was to follow.

I am the senior curator at The Dowse Art Museum in Wellington, New Zealand, where I curate exhibitions of national and international art with a distinctively quirky edge. In my spare time I write The Museum of Ridiculously Interesting Things—an online project exploring art and curiosities.

My appetite for the strange and interesting really took hold during my Innis years, studying art and art history, and exploring the creative riches of Toronto. Coming from small-town Nova Scotia, my time at Innis gave me a tantalizing taste of the wider world, and urged me to follow my weird interests down a more unconventional life path.

After Innis, I headed to Scotland to study museology at the University of St. Andrews, then landed an internship researching nineteenth-century mug shots at a teeny police museum in New Zealand. Love made me linger there awhile, then I dragged my Kiwi husband back to the University of Oxford in the UK to write my doctorate on human curiosities in art. We returned to New Zealand for a job at the national museum, but the itch to write and explore continued, so we packed up our young daughter and moved to China … before COVID-19 disrupted our grand travel plans.

RICHARD SAMUEL (BCom ’89 Innis)

After graduating with a BCom degree from Innis in the late 80s, career opportunities led me to London, England, where I still live today. For 25 years, I held senior corporate roles in some of the world’s leading global financial institutions: first in leverage finance for the likes of Deutsche Bank, and later in asset management at Bank of New York Mellon.

The multi-faceted and open-minded education I experienced at Innis came to the fore when my career evolved into angel investing. I now have an active involvement in shaping long-range vision and strategy for companies such as DynamiX Energy—a US-based renewable energy and electric mobility company, and Samba Investment Holdings—a global infrastructure investment company focusing on investment in renewable energy and humanitarian projects. I am also a partner in SCG Wines, a French-based luxury fine-wine producer known for its disruptive approach to wine production that challenges the traditional methods of the established chateaux of Bordeaux.

I found a real sense of community and positivity while at Innis. And my eldest daughter hopes to follow in my footsteps and attend Innis in 2023. Fingers crossed.

BRYAN WONG (HBSc ’12 Innis)

I am a vice president at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, where I am part of the trading team covering all Asian markets.

The experience I had in Toronto and at Innis was life-changing. I came from Hong Kong to pursue a degree in architectural studies, and graduated with a degree in actuarial science. I also met a girlfriend who eventually became my wife! After graduating, we decided to move back to Hong Kong to be closer to our families.

Asia’s financial hub has turned out to be a perfect place for me to build my career and global insights. After spending time studying in North America and working in Asia, I hope Europe will be the next stop to explore and navigate. Needless to say, the diversity of Innis alumni has amazed me as I have come across so many Innisians in such a small city like Hong Kong, and I believe I am going to meet more of them in the future, no matter where I next set foot!