CEO Amanda Hawkins: The benefits of a family business ‘MBA’

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It can be a unique path for women in Canada’s enterprising families. We profile some of their stories in our Women and Canadian Business Families series.

While some family firms believe family members should first get outside experience, others see benefit in having potential successors learn the ropes by getting experience throughout the family business.

This was the case with Amanda Hawkins, CEO of Toronto-based family-run Canerector Inc., a group of more than 50 companies that manufacture products across a range of industries, including aerospace, agriculture and mining, and which is in its third generation.

Hawkins is also a Columbia University alumna who recently conducted a talk for the university about women finding their voices in family enterprise.

“In dynamic systems like families, and businesses, ‘stewards’ or ‘elders’ are able to provide an important prospective, based on the experience, wisdom, and knowledge gained over time,” says Susan St. Amand, chair of Family Enterprise Canada and the executive in residence of the Family Enterprise Legacy Institute at the University of Ottawa, Telfer Business School, and a third-generation entrepreneur.

“The reminder of historical journeys, their patience and their support can help future leaders avoid unintended consequences. Education is an integral part of every dynamic system. Continuous learning includes the historical context and experiences integrating with innovations of the future, to bring support for the decisions of the day.”

Here, Hawkins shares how her desire to explore all areas of the manufacturing industry was an asset throughout her experience as a woman in a male-dominated industry, and how her father’s passion for history gave her fierce female examples to look up to.

Please tell us about your company and your role.

“I am CEO and owner of Canerector Inc. The company was started more than 75 years ago by my grandfather and two partners who were his colleagues in a field crew assembling boilers.

My father joined the company in his early 20s, while completing his law degree. With my grandfather nearing retirement and both of his partners looking to exit the business, my father elected to commit himself to the business and, together with my grandfather, bought out the other two partners.

My father was ambitious and passionate about growing the business and saw an opportunity to acquire a large, bankrupt competitor. With this major acquisition in 1983, Canerector became a national company, and thereafter operated with the philosophy of growing through acquisition.

Canerector consists of over 50 independent companies and 3.8 million square feet of owned manufacturing facilities across North America. Our companies specialize in design, engineering, fabrication, machining, casting, and construction of industrial products. We supply to customers all over the world in a diverse range of end industries: aerospace, agriculture, energy, forestry, infrastructure, mining, nuclear, and transportation, to name a few.

Canerector believes in growing, acquiring, and strengthening our businesses over the long term through reinvestment. In maintaining the autonomy of each business, we value their unique histories, cultures, teams and knowledge. Taking a simple and practical approach, we empower each business to be entrepreneurial. Our people are the most important driver of our success, and our large organization provides opportunities to learn, benchmark, generate ideas, build a network, and take on new challenges.”

What was your experience growing up in a multigenerational family business?

“I began working at Canerector in high school, filling in one summer when the receptionist was on maternity leave. Following that, I worked during summers in accounting, in the shop, in shipping and receiving, and, as I completed my mechanical engineering degree, in drafting and quality assurance.

After graduation, I moved to Alberta and worked as a project manager and junior engineer for one of the Canerector businesses, where I had the opportunity to work on large-scale, custom-designed boilers installed on our customers’ sites.

Following that, I assisted with two acquisitions in Alberta before returning to the east coast to complete my MBA at Columbia University.

Before joining our corporate office, I worked with seven Canerector businesses in five cities, as well as at customer job sites in roles spanning the operations of our companies. This gave me a valuable opportunity to see the business from many vantage points. This independence gave me many bosses, mentors, colleagues, and experiences throughout the organization.

Family business has advantages in ways you wouldn’t expect. If you are interested and willing, you can be exposed to a lot of roles, places, and experiences that you might not consider if you’re searching for a resume-building or fun summer job.

For example, without the family exposure, I’m not sure I would have ended up working in shops or on remote job sites. Hands down, these experiences deliver a fantastic lesson on how the business works. This early exposure also allows you to take on challenges at a relatively young age, when you have energy to learn, the ability to travel, and time to correct and adapt. This early start and broad experience can put you miles ahead.

Family business also has its downsides, where it is possible that family members are promoted beyond their ability. My father took family involvement at the company very seriously, and each of my roles with Canerector both tested and expanded my capabilities.

Before I joined our corporate office, when I was 26, he found a struggling business and felt it would be a ‘real MBA’ to turn the business around. While this was an unbelievable challenge, it was an exceptional formative experience. The team accomplished a great deal, and the business has been a success. Gaining that experience of leading through difficult changes was formative, and showed my father’s desire to prepare me, test me, and challenge me. He didn’t believe that family should move straight to plum assignments, instead that leadership requires great skill and experience, requiring family to work harder and know more.”

What did you observe to be the role of women within your industry and family enterprise?

“My father is a student of history, and often pointed out that the strongest monarchs of England were female, despite being fewer in number. He never felt that being female made any difference in terms of business or leadership success. He was always constructively supportive, ensuring that any family member wishing to join was also willing to learn hard business lessons on their own.

He also felt there may be some advantages to the father-daughter relationship in terms of communication and collaboration, though this may be particular to each family.

My industry is predominantly male. Growing up in the business, I had great experiences working at the facilities. I believe if you’re willing to work hard and try your best, people will support and help you, and that’s been the case for me.”

When and how did your role become more prominent in the family business?

“Some people believe family members should spend time outside the business to learn ‘the real world.’ I believe some family businesses with lots of extended family members use this time outside of the business as a bit of a test of employability for family members before allowing them into their company.

For us, the logic is that generations are quite far apart, so if a potential successor wants to be prepared by the time the previous generation nears retirement, they better get moving. We believed that the time spent in the business provides much needed texture, experience, and relationships that will be invaluable, particularly in the lucky event that the business leadership has successfully transitioned to a new, young leader.

This ended up being the case with us. I became CEO of Canerector in 2015 at the age of 29 and I credit the experience I gained with our businesses for making this successful transition possible.”

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How has your experience been more recently as a leading woman in your industry?

“I don’t think there’s much difference in being a leading woman than in being any person in leadership, other than you get asked to speak about being a woman while men probably don’t.”

What would your advice be for young, female next gens who might be trying to find their voices as future leaders in family enterprise?

“My advice would always be to work hard, gain as much broad and deep experience as you can, build relationships, and figure out how to deliver results in the way that works for you.”

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

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