OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 28
Cover
JOHN
BIANCHINI,
P.Eng.
I finished my education at the University of Toronto, I was
chomping at the bit to go and create new chemical processes
and build equipment that makes oil and gas and iron and steel.
I don't think I had an "a-ha!" moment, but certainly over time
as I started working on processes in different regions, and I
began to experience the world and work in different industries,
I started to realize that engineers were really at the centre of
it all.
OSPE: Can you expand on that idea of engineers being the hub
CEO and President
of Hatch
The world is rapidly
urbanizing. The challenges
are awesome. Engineers
are at the vital centre of
progress globally.
of progress?
JOHN: A problem or challenge would present itself, and the
first questions would always be "what do the engineers say? Is
this possible? Can we actually do this?" People had dreams of
new businesses or new processes and they would always ask
the engineer. So not only are we in the middle, but we're the
ones that bridge the gap between ideas, concepts, aspirations,
dreams, and reality.
OSPE: How has your work changed the world, in both small and
large ways?
JOHN: That's a big question. I think in small ways, engineers in
John Bianchini, P.Eng.,
is one of us.
As President and CEO of Hatch, he's leading the change that
his organization is championing globally. Passionate about
the engineering profession, John's career is a celebration of
processes and technology that have changed the world in both
small and large ways.
OSPE: Why did you choose engineering as a career?
JOHN: Like a lot of students who pursue engineering, I was
always interested in technology even as a young kid. I was
always doing chemistry experiments, always in the science fair.
I grew up in the era of rocketry, when we first went into space
and walked on the moon. That fascinated me. How do you get
something to go that far away and land? As far back as I can
remember, I knew I wanted to work in science and technology.
Then when I got to high school, I discovered that it's really
engineers behind all this stuff. I didn't know what an engineer
was - but then I realized it was engineers that actually made
things happen!
OSPE: What do you find rewarding about your career; have
there been surprises along the way?
JOHN: Well, what we do is actually world-altering - it's been
a slow gradual realization for me, and it became fully formed
really around mid-career. I'm a chemical engineer, and when
28
The VOICe
September 2017
general add to new businesses, new ways to advance society.
Early in my career I was part of a team that created brand new
processes for pigments that made them much lower cost and
more environmentally friendly, which helped move away from
the lead-based pigment industry. And then later in my career
I realized that what I did as an individual could go well beyond
simply helping my clients improve their businesses. I spent a
lot of time in South Africa during the apartheid and I had a lot
of trepidation about working in a society where I didn't align
with the views of the political party at the time. But I started
to realize that by working there and advancing our clients'
businesses, we were helping - at least in a small way - to build
prosperity so that people had a means to actually affect change.
As Canadians, we bring a more progressive, open point of
view. Engineers, because we work around the world in different
cultures and societies, help bring a broader worldview, which
helps affect social change, beyond science and technology.
OSPE: You speak very passionately about your work and the
profession of engineering.
JOHN: You're right - I'm very passionate about this. It's a
great time to be an engineer. I tell young people I wish I could
turn back the clock 25 years and be 25 again, because this
generation has even bigger challenges than my generation.
Things like climate change and the way communities are
interfacing with industry - the rural world and the urban world
are clashing, and engineers have to resolve this. The digital era
provides us with lots of advantages but also challenges. There
are mass amounts of data. How do we use it to make the world
better? These are issues that didn't exist when I was a kid. So
right now, to be at the head of a global firm like Hatch, now is a
great time to be an engineer and be part of a company that can
do big things to change the world.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - September 2017
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - Cover1
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - Cover2
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 3
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 4
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 5
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 6
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 7
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 8
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 9
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 10
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 11
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 12
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 13
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 14
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 15
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 16
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 17
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 18
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 19
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 20
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 21
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 22
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 23
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 24
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 25
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 26
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 27
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 28
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 29
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 30
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 31
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 32
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 33
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 34
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 35
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 36
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 37
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - 38
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - Cover3
OSPE - The Voice - September 2017 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2021winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2021summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2020Winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/covid_19_Provincial
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/covid_19_Federal
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2020Fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2020summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2020spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2019winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2019fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2019May
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2019March
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2018dec
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2018Sept
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2018june
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_March2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_december2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_September2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_June2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_March2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2016winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_september2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_june2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_march2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_december2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2015fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2015summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2015winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2014fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2014spring
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2013fall
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2013summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/ospe/thevoice_2012fall
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com