Andrew Schuster graduated from the Sauder School of Business with an MBA in 2003. Prior to doing his Master's degree, he worked as an organizational change leadership specialist in the Canadian telecom and IT industries. After graduation, he moved to London to work as an internal consultant leading strategic change initiatives within the Civil Service.

Today, as Assistant Director, Cancer Programme, King's Health Partners, Andrew is working to transform cancer services in south London. He is responsible for integrating the cancer services of three autonomous organisations and shares responsibility with the Director for overall programme strategy and leadership. Individually, he is responsible for the development of R&D capabilities, IT enabled change, sustainable philanthropy, and the oversight of the estimated £272 million budget of the programme.

Originally from Edmonton, Andrew became interested in the idea of living in Britain while studying at Oxford for a summer, enjoying what he describes as a "different approach to life and thinking."  When the opportunity presented itself 15 years later, he and his partner moved without hesitation.  

"I really love London and call it home," says Andrew. "After living here for 8 years, I know the city very well; I own a home and investment property, and have developed many friends. There is always something new around the corner to explore both figuratively and literally. London has a huge theatre, art, and music scene drawing upon international talent. I can say that since moving here I have even started to like opera. It is easier to enjoy when you are watching the best of the best. Most recently, my interests are working on a doctorate at Cranfield School of Management. Sadly, since I work fulltime, most of my spare time now is consumed by research."

Andrew offers the following advice to Sauder graduates interested in working in London:

"Since London is a very large, world-class city, attracting people from around the globe"

1. Be clear on your expertise and then position yourself in the market, focusing on an industry, then a speciality, and then a niche within that specialty. To compete in the workplace, you need to focus. Nobody wants a jack of all trades when they can recruit an expert.
   
   
2. Be prepared to keep renewing your personal and professional networks. To put this in perspective, networks turn over in Vancouver about every 2 years; in Edmonton, 18 months; in Toronto, 12 months. In London, it is more like 6 months. People change jobs, leave the country, get fired or promoted, shift careers, etc.,  much more quickly here."