Rob Steed’s journey west

Learn how Rob Steed from WCD found a career, settled in Calgary, and started a family.

By Jarom Moriyama-Bondar

Rob Steed moved to Calgary on a whim, and found a life-long career with WCD, a leader in digital on-demand solution for print and information. We sat down with Rob to discuss how a job search evolved into a career, WCD’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, and how to support young entrepreneurs.

PIB: How long have you worked at WCD?

Rob Steed: I've been with WCD for 21 years. It's been a terrific journey with a tremendous amount of career growth and learning opportunities.

PIB: Can you tell me a little about what you do at WCD?

RS: Last year, I was promoted to Vice President of Partnerships & Customer Engagement. I work closely with our largest clients in Calgary and around the world helping to ensure that our contract obligations are met, that we are providing a quality product, and bring innovative ideas and solutions forward to help build our collective business.

Rob Steed
*VP, Partnerships & Client Engagement at WCD*

PIB: What inspired you to do this type of work?

RS: I started with WCD a few years after moving to Calgary from the Maritimes. When I started, I was just looking for a job however, over time, I had great opportunities for career advancement, fell in love with what I was doing and discovered I was extremely good at providing a high degree of customer service while building some of our most successful business units. To be honest, I've never looked back, and I look forward to our continued growth with our partners around the world.

PIB: What is WCD's history in short?

RS: The company was founded in 1952. In 1984, the company was acquired by George Brookman, who grew it into a modern document management company with a focus on digital. After 35 years, George officially passed over the leadership of the company to his daughter, Karen Brookman. In 2021, the company rebranded to WCD and is now known as a leader in digital on-demand solutions for print and information. WCD believes in creative, personalized, and integrated services that help our customers transform their businesses, empower their people and share their stories.

PIB: How long has WCD been in Calgary?

RS: WCD celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. Our head office is in Calgary, and we have offices in Edmonton and Toronto.

PIB: Are you from Calgary, and if not, what brought you here?

RS: I'm originally from Nova Scotia. After going to college in PEI, a good friend and I decided to move here on a whim one Monday afternoon, and we arrived that same week. We're both still here and loving the Alberta lifestyle.

PIB: What's your impression of the LGBTQ2S+ community in the city?

RS: Honestly, I don't know much. I was not comfortable with myself until I was 40, so never got involved in any organizations, went out to any local bars or events for the first 20 years I was here. Now that I'm not so self-conscious and very open about my sexuality, I look forward to meeting new people. I'm really looking to get involved and give back however I can.

PIB: How do you feel WCD contributes and will contribute to the LGBTQ2S+ community? What do you do personally, or what do you feel others can contribute on an individual level?

RS: I try to be my authentic self each day and support our employees whenever possible. Not every person is comfortable being open, and I like to think that I'm helping to pave the way in my small way.

At WCD, we promote diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We have LGBTQ2S+ representation on our executive leadership team and throughout the organization. We are working towards a workplace that always uses inclusive language – we are rewriting our HR policies and procedures to include gender-neutral and inclusive language.

We’re also working on creating employee focus groups, educational and professional development opportunities, and forming a DI committee, all with the goal to support diversity and inclusion in the company. In addition, we are investing in the LGTBQ2S+ business community in 2022 by becoming an official sponsor of Pride in Business. WCD is not 100% there yet but we have started our journey in the right direction.

PIB: What is it like to be in business in Calgary, be a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community, and have a husband and child?

RS: It's refreshingly amazing! I'm very open about my family. Many of my clients and coworkers know my family well and supported us with words of encouragement and work flexibility as I was going through a difficult adoption process. I've met many successful people who are LGBTQ2S+ over the past number of years, and I don't see any hurdles standing in our communities' way.

PIB: What advice would you have for anyone looking to get into your industry?

RS: Be hard working and have passion. I've worked hard to personally develop my skillset and communication skills to build the best career I possibly could. My passion for great customer service – either internally with coworkers or externally with clients has truly helped me advance my career.

PIB: What impact has COVID had on your business?

RS: The pandemic was both good and bad for WCD. We experienced a significant drop in revenue within the first few months and were forced to lay off one-third of our employees, which was incredibly stressful. It also forced us to expedite making some difficult decisions on what lines of business we wanted to provide. However, throughout the process, we were able to get focused on who we are as an organization.

Today, I would say we're stronger than ever. We're clear on our strengths and what we bring well to our customers, and the team that remained with us throughout these past two years is stronger and closer than ever.

PIB: We have heard about your son's new business – can you tell us more about that?

RS: It's very exciting. Charlie has a few learning disabilities, but he's very creative. To ease the pressure of finding a job while going to post-secondary, we created Rocky Mountain Creators and purchased high-powered laser and dye sublimation equipment. Charlie works at creating standard personalized or wooden puzzles and other fun home goods like cutting boards and wall decor.

He's gaining valuable experience while working to create a future profitable business. We have a big idea but need some help, so we'll be looking to talk to some marketing experts as soon as we find one who really knows the e-commerce world.

Charlie's website is rockymountaincreators.com

A special thank you to Tyler Brown and TD Bank who helped us on our journey.

PIB: How do you and your husband support a young entrepreneur? How can the LGBTQ2S+ support young entrepreneurs?

RS: Both Tyler and I work full-time careers that keep us very busy. We are continually helping Charlie look for new product ideas, equipment maintenance, managing his taxes, etc. It's a lot of extra work but very rewarding. It would be so amazing to see a group of industry experts in the e-commerce, business, and marketing fields help our LGBTQ2S+ youth develop their ideas into reality.

When we started, we were naïve about the amount of work and costs involved in launching a new business. Maybe offering guidance to entrepreneurs is how I can be more involved in the future.

PIB: Are you open to being approached by members of our community would who like to connect on topics we discussed in this article? How do you prefer to be contacted?

RS: Yes, please. I love to talk about my personal experiences, our adoption process, business in Calgary, or any other topic. I love making new connections in our community. Contact me via email – rsteed@wcdconnect.com, or you can connect with me via LinkedIn.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

**Jarom Moriyama-Bondar**
*PIB — Content Writer*

Pride In Business article in partnership with TD.
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