SYDNEY, N.S. — A pause is how former Amazon executive Harpreet Singh describes the present status of a career journey that has taken him from India to Seattle and now Cape Breton.
Singh spent seven years with the worldwide online marketplace, helping to launch initiatives in India and the United States before his wife’s career path led him here.
“Frankly, I really didn’t know Sydney existed beyond Australia,” the 40-year-old said with a laugh.
“My wife also started working for Amazon but started in an entry-level role and she was hitting the wall because she was not doing the right kind of work she is capable of doing. We thought the best way to replace that is with an education.”
Applications were sent to universities across Canada and the United States, including Cape Breton University. After looking over images and information on the university and the island, they immediately planned their move here so that she could study business management.
“I said ‘OK, if this is what you want to do, then do it,’” he recalled.
“We did a road trip from Seattle to Sydney in a car. That was a lifetime road trip for us I would say. We took 10 days to come here from Seattle. We enjoyed that a lot.”
TecSocial
- Speaker: Harpreet Singh, former senior business manager at Amazon
- Age: 40
- When: Thursday from 5:15-7:15 p.m.
- Where: Holiday Inn, Sydney
Initially, it was just his wife and two children that moved to Sydney but long commutes and a four-hour time difference between Sydney and Seattle led to Singh joining his family several weeks ago.
“It’s a nice place,” he said of Cape Breton. “I would say it is not known. It is not sold properly to the world. It’s a very nice, quiet place and very beautiful.”
Amidst the quiet and peaceful surroundings of his new home is something he refers to as a pause from a lifetime of work driven by calendars.
“Today, week, four weeks from now — it was driven by that and driven by time,” he said of his busy former work life.
“The day is fixed much in advance and plans made much in advance.”
The pause he’s experiencing now is allowing him time to contemplate where his career path could take him next.
“It’s a good pause I’m taking,” he said.
“At the same time while I’m understanding work I can do next, I think I’m here for the community. If the community thinks that I could add any value back to the community I would be very happy with that.”
Singh will share his experiences working with Amazon, one of the world’s largest companies, when Innovacorp kicks of its 2020 TecSocial season Thursday at 5:15 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, Sydney.
Product launches, company values, and how to build businesses are some of the topics he plans to discuss with those in attendance. He’s also worked with large companies like Sony and Nestle.
“There’s a lot of good work going on there,” he said when asked about Amazon.
“I feel, yes, there is an interest because of the fact that it is run by the richest man on Earth and the company is doing well, so I think I would just say ‘thank God’ to say I was fortunate to be part of the journey and grow myself.”
It’s a bit early in his move to Cape Breton to think about potential business opportunities here but he’s been networking and trying to get a feel for the local business community in case something of interest presents itself.
“The thing is that I’ve gone with the flow. Whenever opportunity came my way I gave the best of my abilities. That kind of has taken me places.”
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