Within the coronary heart of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, a younger Shilo Sazwan grew up surrounded by the hum of equipment and the fixed buzz of logistics in his household’s firm, Tiger Industries. Working in each a part of the fertilizer, calcium, and transportation companies, Sazwan developed a deep understanding of what it takes to run a profitable enterprise.
His household, well-known for main the event of the sulfur fertilizer business in North America, didn’t simply concentrate on staying aggressive. As an alternative, they pioneered cost-effective, cutting-edge applied sciences that made their merchandise business leaders.
That early expertise not solely taught Shilo Sazwan the right way to run a enterprise, however instilled in him a philosophy of effectivity and innovation that may later change into his guiding rules. This dedication to innovation and operational excellence would ultimately outline his management type, not solely in enterprise but additionally in his efforts to assist communities in instances of want.
From reworking Tiger into an business chief to founding a charitable basis for wildfire reduction, Sazwan now leads Sage Potash, persevering with to point out how management constructed on outcomes and duty results in long-term success.
Increasing Tiger Industries with Customized Innovation
Because the Chief Working Officer at Tiger Calcium, Sazwan oversaw 500 workers and led initiatives to push boundaries by growing customized in-house applied sciences. These improvements optimized manufacturing and stored prices down, a mirrored image of his solutions-oriented method.
Sazwan didn’t simply handle from an workplace desk. He might usually be discovered on the manufacturing facility flooring, listening to the sounds of the machines for hours, declaring flaws and inefficiencies, and developing with new methods to drive productiveness.
His eye for element helped Tiger obtain 200% progress in its plant capability, all whereas sustaining high-quality requirements. This helped place the corporate as an business chief in fertilizer and calcium manufacturing.
Nonetheless, Sazwan’s contributions prolonged past the manufacturing line. He created a logistics division and oversaw a fleet of greater than 100 railcars and vehicles, guaranteeing the corporate’s operations ran nicely all the best way to supply. These behind-the-scenes improvements allowed the corporate to develop in worth, finally resulting in its sale for 9 instances its EBITDA.
Connecting with Workers and the Better Group
Sazwan’s time at Tiger Industries wasn’t consumed by income and growth. He additionally made positive the corporate maintained deep connections with the neighborhood by in search of methods to provide again.
Below his management, the corporate grew to become the biggest donor to the native meals financial institution, serving to quite a few people locally. Whether or not an individual or a enterprise, Sazwan believes that reputations aren’t constructed by achievements alone, but additionally by the constructive affect made in different individuals’s lives.
On the similar time, Sazwan created an surroundings the place suggestions was all the time welcomed and valued. He approached these conversations with persistence, encouraging workers, prospects, and folks locally to share their ideas. Each suggestion or concern was seen as a studying alternative and an opportunity to develop, no matter who it got here from.
Sazwan’s dedication to listening, rooted in consistency and openness, helped him construct robust relationships with individuals each inside and out of doors the corporate. This worth, instilled throughout his early years within the household enterprise, continues to information him in his present position.
Main with Excellence at Sage Potash
In June of 2024, Sazwan grew to become Strategic Operations Companion of Sage Potash, an organization with a sole curiosity in rising the U.S. provide of potash, a key ingredient in fertilizers utilized in agriculture. He brings greater than 30 years of mining business expertise to the corporate, utilizing an method that mixes technique with hands-on problem-solving.
Earlier than his transition, he held govt roles at Canadian agricultural firms like Pacific Rim Sulphur and Apex AG, the place he utilized the identical rules of effectivity and progress as he does in the present day. At Sage Potash, Sazwan works intently together with his workforce to optimize manufacturing, guaranteeing the corporate can meet the growing demand for potash whereas sustaining its high-quality requirements.
He focuses on monitoring key monetary metrics like CAPEX, Gross sales, and EBITDA whereas additionally prioritizing innovation and workforce growth. Sazwan’s management method permits the corporate to meet its mission of offering a dependable potash provide to U.S. farmers with out slicing corners.
Constructing Belief By way of Constant Management
Throughout his time at Tiger Industries, a number of generations of households labored with the corporate, chatting with the belief Sazwan and his workforce nurtured by upholding excessive moral requirements and delivering on guarantees. Creating this robust basis of belief is one thing he continues to prioritize at Sage Potash.
Sazwan believes that belief is constructed by way of consistency and transparency. In his present position, he ensures his prospects and colleagues perceive the corporate’s capabilities, creating robust connections by way of open communication.
Whereas Sazwan could also be expert in relationship-building, he additionally understands the significance of balancing openness with skilled boundaries. He values actual conversations about enterprise technique and connects with individuals by way of shared pursuits, forming real connections whereas sustaining professionalism.
Devoted to staying knowledgeable, Sazwan additionally stays energetic in business associations and retains up with the most recent developments and authorities rules. Whether or not reviewing new research or studying concerning the newest developments in expertise, he believes in staying forward of the curve, embodying a accountable, forward-thinking position mannequin who leads by instance.
The Sazwan Basis: Serving to Communities Rebuild After Wildfires
If there was ever a time to point out that management means stepping up in a disaster, it was through the Slave Lake wildfires in Alberta. When the flames began spreading, Shilo Sazwan didn’t stand by and hope that another person would assist.
With two years of volunteer firefighter coaching from a neighborhood Fireplace Division, he jumped into motion, not solely preventing the fires but additionally securing sources like meals, housing, and different essential provides for these displaced by the catastrophe. His decisive considering made a distinction within the lives of numerous individuals, and he even earned a medal of honor for his management efforts.
After seeing the injury the wildfires induced in Slave Lake, Sazwan determined he wished to do extra to assist. So, he began the Sazwan Basis, meant to assist individuals in Western Canada impacted by wildfires, together with first responders.
The necessity for such efforts is evident. In 2021 alone, greater than 4,300 wildfires burned throughout 3.42 million hectares in Western Canada. This drawback has solely been intensified by local weather change, which has doubled the world of wildfires within the area for the reason that Eighties. With annual hearth safety prices exceeding $1.5 billion, communities are discovering it more and more difficult to bounce again and rebuild their lives.
The Sazwan Basis raises cash for each rapid reduction, like shelter and meals, in addition to long-term restoration for rebuilding properties and communities. It additionally focuses on defending Western Canada’s ecological areas, that are necessary to protect for future generations.
A Legacy of Management By way of Motion
Sazwan’s lifestyle and management comes down to at least one precept: following by way of. He persistently backs up his guarantees, convictions, and passions with motion, whether or not in his private life or skilled pursuits. His profession is proof that management can transcend enterprise success when there’s a real want to make a distinction.
Whether or not driving innovation at Sage Potash or serving to communities get better from wildfires, Sazwan focuses on getting issues carried out. His actions, grounded in integrity and dedication, replicate his dedication to taking duty and making an affect the place it really counts.
For Shilo Sazwan, success comes from residing by your beliefs and turning concepts into effort. He has proven that outcomes converse louder than phrases, leaving an enduring mark each within the enterprise world and the communities he serves.
