Vijay Thomas – CEO, Tangentia
Being Indo-Canadian – Pursuing my dreams: Vijay Thomas
I moved to Canada in 2001 from India with dreams and aspirations of a better life for myself and my would be family. As much as I loved Canada for its diversity, I also wanted to ensure I maintained my culture because it makes me who I am. It also means that I needed to adapt to Canadian culture. It’s a fine balancing act… and one that I have inculcated in my children.
As a person of South Asian heritage, Asian Heritage Month 2021 and its theme of “Recognition, Resilience, and Resolve” resonates strongly with me. Canadians of Asian heritage are slowly but surely becoming an economic powerhouse. Their strong work ethic and immigrant values have stood them in good stead across all industry sectors.
As Canada evolves, Canadians of Asian heritage will also evolve and assimilate into Canadian society, but annual Asian Heritage month will continue to be a reminder to all that Canada celebrates people of diversity.
My company Tangentia Inc. has been in existence since 2003 and only recently did we join CAMSC to get certified as a diversity supplier.
As someone that uprooted their entire life from a foreign country to move and set up business in Canada, our challenges related to access to the connections and networks that are necessary to start doing business with some of the larger Canadian corporations.
CAMSC has been able to help us with these connections. Our certification enables us to showcase our capabilities to CAMSC’s corporate partners. The recent Procurement Fair was a huge success in terms of the connections we were able to make.
Being in the digital transformation business, I see that Automation and Artificial Intelligence is going to be a big part of the future of work . As the pandemic hit, we were able to leverage our expertise and experience in the industry to s to help restore some of the broken supply chains
As I connect and develop relationships with new clients, I try to share a bit of who I am. I share Indian cuisine and there is a wide assortment to choose from be it the mellow flavours of coconut curries from the south, the spicy rich creamy food from North India or one of my favorites spicy Hakka Chinese from our shared Indochinese borders.
I am proud to call myself Canadian. I love the diversity not just its cultural diversity but its environmental diversity – from North to South and East to West, Canada’s diverse landscape is amazingly awe-inspiring and one that I enjoy.
Visit website – www.tangentia.com