"Seek out as diverse a range of experiences as possible."
Ty Diamond '11
Acquisition Manager, Diamond Corp.

HBA, Ivey Business School

After graduating from Greenwood, Ty headed off to Western University and then to the Ivey Business School - but it was his summers that piqued his interest in investment banking. “I had a range of summer jobs, including working as an investment analyst at a hedge fund,” Ty says. Combined with his time at Ivey, that experience encouraged him to pursue investment banking. “I felt it would give me the best exposure to high-level corporate decision making and financial analysis.”

Ty spent the first two years of his career as an investment banking analyst, the majority of which were in the real estate group at TD Securities. There, he got tremendous exposure to capital markets and an in-depth knowledge of the Canadian real estate industry, which led him to change career tracks.

“I’ve always been interested in real estate,” Ty says. “Both my father and grandfather are heavily immersed in real estate development.” Today, he works in acquisitions and finance at Diamond Corp., a private equity fund focused on rezoning and redeveloping properties in the GTA.

Real estate is a relationship-driven industry, which can be a challenge - but Ty views it as an opportunity. “Real estate is a people business, and development in particular is intensely local,” Ty says. “It’s both qualitatively and quantitatively rewarding, which is what I wanted in a career.” Investment banking has its own challenges - long hours and unpredictable workflow, to name two major ones - but Ty is grateful for the experience his time at TD gave him. “It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about the key players in the industry,” he says.

Ty feels that Greenwood’s many leadership opportunities were key in getting him to where he is today. “Greenwood allowed me to build an extremely diverse resume that set me up for both university admissions and job interviews,” he says. Leadership experience is critical when applying to business schools like Ivey, and Greenwood’s academic and extracurricular options are well-suited to helping students step into leadership roles. “For me, being Head Boy was my biggest leadership opportunity, but similar experiences exist through everything from athletics to the arts,” Ty says.

What advice would Ty give someone looking to work in his field? “Seek out as diverse a range of experiences as possible,” he says. “While in high school, it’s hard to know what you want to do with your life (at 25, it’s not much easier). The best thing you can do is try a wide range of extracurricular and professional experiences to understand what suits you best.”

Ty suggests trying to find summer jobs that line up with potential career goals. “Summer jobs are fantastic opportunities to really understand the day-to-day of a particular industry,” he says. “Your summer experiences will allow you to start building your own personal network within an industry, and that is tremendously valuable in the early stages of your career.”

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