Excitement for the future, passion for innovation and a big ambition drive Matt Cavalieri.
The 2009 mechanical and management grad is frank about his ultimate career goal: to serve as CEO for a Fortune 500 company.
“Establishing a concrete long-term aspirational career goal and working my way backwards to identify the requisite skills and experiences to obtain that position has been an effective way to shape my development plan and guide my career decisions,” he says.
The first decision he made after graduation was to add an MBA to his resume, with a focus on management of innovation and new technology.
Cavalieri then joined an engineering leadership development program at Eaton, a global power management technology company.
He’s moved through a series of increasingly senior positions with the company, including serving as the youngest-ever plant manager at Eaton’s Milton facility.
Cavalieri was recently appointed Ontario Sales Vice-President, a role that gives him responsibility for all sales activities and over 50 highly technical sales professionals in Eaton’s largest Canadian sales district.
“I love the pace and variety of technical challenges inherent in the manufacture of custom, critical, engineered-to-order electrical power distribution and control assemblies,” he says. “With energy transition and digitalization poised to completely transform our industry, I’m incredibly excited about what the future holds.”
He credits a 16-month co-op placement working on new product development at CAMI Automotive for much of his early career success.
“My CAMI internship and experience at Eaton have helped me connect with an incredible set of leaders and mentors who have coached and sponsored me over the years,” he says. “One of them I still meet with regularly and have for the last 11 years.”
“Networking is key,” Cavalieri advises students.
“Don’t be shy to reach out via LinkedIn, the McMaster alumni portal or other avenues to people working in a field of interest. You’d be shocked by how many people would be thrilled to carve out time to offer advice and share their experiences.”
