James Hea, A Strong Team Player

James Hea, Customer Success and Project Manager at our Toronto office, has been instrumental to Direct Impact Solutions’ push into English Canada and the United States. He’ll be taking his well-deserved retirement in August—our first retiree!—as he steps down from the position he’s held since 2016. We want to take this opportunity to introduce you to this passionate worker and his infectious energy.

James handles customer relations, making sure that projects run smoothly and meet clients’ expectations. At the height of his career, he managed up to a hundred accounts at a time. To achieve this, he developed a custom tool in FileMaker Pro which is now used by his team.

James is a true customer management veteran. Originally a car salesman, he changed course when he got his first computer in 1991. “I thought this was more interesting than what I was doing in the car business,” he recalls. He quickly became an expert in FileMaker Pro and got a job as a project manager for an international banking group in Bermuda, where he lived for seven years. When Direct Impact Solutions offered him a position back in his birthplace of Montréal, he felt like he was coming home.  “I fell in love with the team,” he says.

The human aspect of his work is what he will miss the most after he’s gone. Still, James will be keeping busy with another big project, as he’s running for the Green Party of Ontario in the riding of Mississauga East—Cookville. After building a solid career and providing for his family, he wanted to contribute to something bigger.  “This is the time to put up my hand and make a change.”

To young people just starting out in their careers, James offers two pieces of advice: “Always be a student of your industry, and make sure to connect with your peers.” He’s learned a lot from colleagues he met in associations and at conferences. A man of heart, James will leave a big hole in our team, but also a legacy of passion to all of his colleagues who’ll be taking up the torch. We wish him every success in his future endeavours!