Sean Washchuk: The Value of Showing Up

Sean Washchuk joined CCL in 2011 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CCL Industries Inc. Throughout his career, Mr. Washchuk has served in a variety of financial roles with increasing responsibility, including 11 years at Vitran Corporation Inc. as Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Controller. Prior to Vitran, Mr. Washchuk was Controller for Nexcycle Plastics and acquired auditing experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. An accomplished CFO, Mr. Washchuk has extensive experience in corporate financial reporting, tax, treasury, international financing structures, and acquisitions. Mr. Washchuk is a Chartered Accountant and graduated from Brock University with an Honours Bachelor of Accounting degree.

Sean Washchuk at the 2025 Alumni Networking Night at RSM.

What led you to choose Brock and the Goodman School of Business?

In high school, I attended a basketball tournament held at Brock University. As I walked through Brock’s newly built athletic complex, I thought, “This athletic complex is incredible. If they’re investing this kind of money into the university, I need to go here.” That experience initially put Brock on my radar and encouraged me to apply.

I grew up in Sudbury and always knew I wanted to move away from home for university. I wanted to experience something different. 

During high school, I completed an accounting co-op, so I was naturally heading down that path. When I was accepted into Brock’s accounting co-op program, I knew it was a great fit. I wanted to gain practical experience while I studied, and working throughout university would also help me afford school.

In my first semester, I struggled academically. Even though I had done well in high school and had a full tuition scholarship, by the end of my first four months at Brock, I was placed on academic probation. I was told that my scholarship would be withheld unless I improved my grades. Around that time, I met a fourth-year accounting student. I remember looking at him and thinking he was so put together, confident, and smart. Seeing someone like him who was succeeding made me believe that I could do it too. 

That moment was a wake-up call, and I realized I had to pull up my socks and take my studies more seriously. Spending time with classmates and recent graduates who were doing well motivated me to keep pushing myself. 

By the second summer, I had turned my academics around. By the time I graduated, I had gone from being a struggling student to an A student.

What experiences, courses, people, or programs at Brock had the greatest influence on your development?

Four professors come to mind when I think about the people who had the greatest influence on my development at Brock. 

Prof. Allister Young was one of them. He was the head of the program at the time, and I owe him a lot for giving me the opportunity to be part of it and supporting me along the way. 

Another was Prof. Donald Brown, who carried himself with such grace, dignity, and thoughtfulness. Those qualities really stayed with me, and I admired the way he conducted himself. 

Prof. Linda Stillabower was my tax professor. She brought a lot of energy to teaching tax, and I really enjoyed her approach. She also brought a strong sense of community and showed me what a school and its alumni community could be.

Finally, there was my audit professor, Louis Culumovic. I challenged him on almost everything because he taught practical accounting, and I often questioned how what we were learning from a textbook applied to the real world of auditing. I probably gave him a hard time about it, but those discussions gave me a different perspective.

Are there any moments in your career where you felt underestimated? How did you become undeniable?

When I first graduated, I always felt underestimated because I was younger than the peer group I surrounded myself with. With two years of co-op experience, I saw my peers as university graduates who were already three years into their full-time careers. 

I remember a fellow being promoted to manager before I’d even written the Uniform Evaluation (UFE). I remember thinking, “That’s frustrating. I know I can do this.” That experience pushed me to work even harder to prove what I was capable of.  

Six months after passing my UFE, I was promoted to manager. I was 23 years old and an accounting manager at a Big Four accounting firm. That was pivotal for me.

There was also the perception that Brock was somewhat underestimated compared to other universities. I felt as though I had something to prove, and I just believed I had to outwork everyone. 

My theory was that if you worked hard and surrounded yourself with successful people, including mentors, peers, and those ahead of you, opportunities would start to come.  You have to be “hanging around the hoop,” and there’s no better way to do that than by being present.

Can you share a moment at Brock or in your career when you overcame self-doubt, challenge, or external expectations?

There was a pivotal moment in my development as a manager when I handled a difficult conversation with a young staff accountant poorly. I addressed their work in front of their peers, and looking back, I recognize that it wasn’t the right way to lead.

One of the partners later sent me a long email outlining some things I needed to think about. At the time, I was frustrated and questioned why he wasn’t supporting me. But upon reflection, I knew he was right.

That memo changed the way I thought about managing people.

I learned the importance of recognizing the attributes each person brings to the table, handling difficult situations appropriately, and trying to understand the other person’s perspective.

Years later, that same partner and I became friends, and we now golf together regularly. I still tell him, “You changed my career.”

What milestones or achievements best represent your career journey or impact since graduating?

Becoming an audit manager was an important milestone for me, as was becoming the CFO of a publicly traded micro-cap company in my mid-30s. 

I’m now the CFO of a large-cap Canadian company, where I’ve spent the past 15 years. During that time, the company has returned 1,700% and grown into a leader in its industry, with 220 manufacturing plants across 44 countries around the world.

Along the way, I also had the opportunity to work with three outstanding CEOs who had a significant influence on me: Keith Harradence, Rick Gaetz, and Jeffrey Martin. Each taught me lessons that I didn’t always appreciate at the time. Similar to the lessons your father tells you, you don’t always realize how valuable they were until later, when those lessons become instinctual.

Rick Gaetz, in particular, taught me to be like a duck when you’re young: calm and composed above the water, while working incredibly hard underneath. You might feel like you’re drowning, but you keep swimming, keep working, and keep learning along the way.

Looking back, those are milestones, but they didn’t necessarily feel like milestones while I was living them. I was simply doing the work every day: trying to learn, achieve, mentor people, and become a better leader.

What advice would you offer current Goodman students who want to become undeniable?

Develop strong relationships with ambitious classmates, colleagues, and mentors. Work hard and be present. Being present means putting yourself around people you can learn from and showing that you’re willing to contribute.

Once you get into those rooms, pay attention to the people around you. Figure out who has substance. Hardworking, genuine people will often take you under their wing and show you the ropes.

Be willing to make mistakes, but learn from them. Don’t make the same mistake over and over again. And when you’re taking on something complex, ask for help. Good people will always help other good people.

Why is supporting the Goodman Legacy important to you, and what does legacy mean in the context of your journey?

Brock contributed to where I am today. The people I met at Brock certainly contributed to where I am, and I think we have an obligation as successful graduates to give back.

That desire is also personal for me. During COVID, I received the Goodman School of Business Distinguished Graduate Award. I was proud of it, and the chairman of the company I work for recognized the achievement in front of our board. Someone responded, essentially, “Really? It’s just Brock.”

That moment stayed with me because I think it reflects a perception that still exists, and I’d like to see us change that.

There are so many successful alumni who have come through Brock and Goodman, and I think we have an opportunity to come together and challenge ourselves to make the reputation of the school even stronger.

Whether that means contributing our time, giving financially, enhancing Brock’s reputation through word of mouth, recruiting great professors, creating more international co-op opportunities, or finding other ways to differentiate the program, there are many ways we can contribute.

I’d like to see more alumni reconnect with Brock and Goodman and take pride in what we’ve built. We should be able to say, “Hey, we graduated from Brock, and we can do it anyway.”

How do you hope your story inspires the next generation of Brock and Goodman graduates?

I hope current students at Brock can see that it doesn’t necessarily matter where you come from. I’ve never considered myself the smartest person in the room, but I’ve always been willing to work hard, get results, and create opportunities for myself.

I’ve achieved a lot, and I feel fortunate to be where I am today, but I also believe hard work created a lot of that luck.

If you work hard, surround yourself with good people, and make the most of the opportunities in front of you, you can accomplish a lot.

Now we need more Brock graduates telling those stories, coming back, contributing, and building that reputation together. We should be able to say, “Hey, we graduated from Brock, and we can do it anyway.”

Sean Washchuk, BAcc ’96, 2020 Goodman School of Business Distinguished Graduate.