Matt Imrie '15

Matt Imrie ‘15 graduated from the co-op business administration program at Wilfrid Laurier in 2019. While he knew he wanted to study business, Matt didn’t have a specific idea of what he wanted to do with his business studies until his third year of university. “I always wanted to add value to the community and make an impact,” Matt says. His extracurricular involvement with Enactus showed him it was possible to have a solid business idea while also providing social support. And when the opportunity opened up for a healthcare consultant role at KPMG’s Toronto office, Matt saw it as a perfect combination of his interests.

The last time we caught up with Matt, he was on secondment to KPMG’s division in the Bahamas and consulting the Bahamian government on how they can implement universal healthcare. We checked in with him about a few more projects that were on his docket at KPMG Bahamas.  

With a smaller KPMG team in the Bahamas, many members of the team may end up on a few different projects. For Matt, having a few projects on the go is exciting for him. One involves outlining a five-year strategy for a few public hospitals; the hospitals are looking to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic and from 2019’s Hurricane Dorian, the strongest hurricane to ever hit the Bahamas. Another involves building a business case and financial model for a private hospital group on creating another medical site. Matt also will submit an assessment on the feasibility of constructing a new airport on the Cayman Islands.  The last project he is currently working on is helping Bermuda redesign the country’s approach to providing care and screening for certain cancers.

Even though he has no prior experience in infrastructure consulting or airports, Matt has the transferable skills needed to succeed. He recalls that when he first told his family that he would be consulting on healthcare in the Bahamas, they pointed out that he had no prior healthcare experience. “You’re right, I don’t know the finer nitty gritty details,” he replied. “But what I do know is how to approach a problem and think strategically.”

Matt’s typical day involves chatting with many doctors and providers to get feedback on elements that his team proposed for healthcare projects. He also sets up team meetings to ensure that projects are on track and crunches spreadsheets of data. “I’m a numbers nerd, but I do love talking to people,” Matt says. He credits his involvement with the drama program at Greenwood for giving him the confidence for public speaking. 

His other experiences at Greenwood also taught him to continue persevering through challenges. There was one moment during the Grade 11 British Columbia sea kayaking expedition where Matt needed to paddle through massive ocean waves. “Once we were through, I definitely felt my confidence grow,” Matt says. The bonding that happens during outdoor education also taught Matt to trust his network, which he still carries forward in his day-to-day work. “Working on a small team, you have to rely on each other,” says Matt. “It’s a two-way street. I give value to people and I get value back.”

One of the latest victories his team has achieved is finally publishing the five-year strategy for public hospitals. In the strategy, they address how hospitals can work to resolve the nursing shortage, overhaul their infrastructure and expand older buildings. The research was a very lengthy process. “We interviewed 60 members of management, held eight focus groups and hosted three workshops,” Matt says. “It looks good and I’m excited to present it.”

For current students, Matt highly recommends that they explore beyond their academics and see what impact service outreach, extracurriculars and outdoor education can have. “Trying out new experiences can really help to round you out as a person,” Matt advises. “The earlier you can tap into that, the better.”