Avneet Sandhu, BEng ’07 (Electrical Engineering)

Avneet Sandhu wears her iron ring as a badge of pride – a tangible reminder of her success as a woman, a visible minority and a computer engineer.

And despite moving away from hands-on technical work shortly after her 2006 graduation, she’s still very much immersed in the technologies that attracted her to the field.

She currently works for Western Union as head of digital growth for Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The role requires her to market the money transfer company to today’s customers while simultaneously scoping out the trends to keep Western Union offerings aligned with future technologies.

“It’s a really interesting combination,” says Sandhu. “Part of it is defining a product roadmap for my countries, taking into consideration customer preferences in terms of paying and receiving money.

“The other part of my job is about acquiring more customers and using marketing budget effectively.”

Early in her career, she fell into a product marketing role and decided it was the right fit for her interests.

I wanted a more strategic role with a broader scope,” she explains. “For me, I’m always about solving the bigger problem. Product marketing has turned out to be the perfect balance.”

Over the last 15 years, Sandhu has worked in product marketing roles across several technology-based industries.

In 2013, a lifelong desire to live in London drew her to the UK, where she worked on payment processing with a leading fintech company.

“It was very exciting – the technology was new, and we were the ones everyone wanted to catch up to,” she says. “And I loved London, it was so much fun.”

She urges students to seek out overseas study or work opportunities.

“It will just open your mind and enrich your experience and your education.”