At Teranet, we have a set of core values that we encourage our employees to exemplify each and every day. We have fostered a culture of collaboration, innovation, and inspiration so that we may thrive together as a company and a community.
In today’s ‘a Day in the Life of’ series, we’ll get to know David Hendry, Manager of Ontario Parcel, a little bit better.
Q. How did you decide that land information was the area you wanted to pursue a career in?
A. My career began at the University of Toronto’s Land Surveying program. It was actually the combination of mathematics and engineering that initially attracted me to this role.
At that time, I had developed an interest in development and property law. I spent several years working in Professional Land Surveying before I leveraged my experiences to transition into more of a Land Information role with Teranet.
Q. What is the importance of GIS and mapping solutions in today’s ever-changing world?
A. GIS used to only be relevant to technical individuals and performed an administrative role for organizations. Today, it drives business decisions through locational intelligence. Whether you are looking for the best place to live, start a business, build a logistics hub, or track COVID-19 outbreaks, GIS data is key to providing important information about locations.
Q. What are the key responsibilities in your role?
A. I manage the operational relationship with the Ontario Parcel Alliance along with the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF).
I lead a team of GIS technicians to edit and update the map data. I also support Teranet’s Commercial Solutions through the management of Data Delivery, Customer Service, Project Management, and Business Development.
Q. How does a typical day look like for you?
A. I always check-in with my team and re-assign any work as needed. I address escalated customer inquiries that come in through Customer Service. Throughout the day, I also have meetings with IT and Sales regarding new business, my direct and project teams, and the management team to discuss touchpoints.
Q. What keeps you motivated to go to work (virtually that is) every day?
A. What keeps me motivated every day is generating value for our customers and sharing my expertise and knowledge about our data and processes.
Q. What made you join Teranet?
A. My initial role as a Mapping Technician presented an opportunity to apply my experiences while keeping a consistent routine. One great thing about working at Teranet, is being able to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Q. What do you enjoy the most about working at Teranet?
A. I enjoy the dynamic nature of my current role. I can balance operational and project-based work while being the liaison between statutory government services and commercial services.
Q. What do you see as a major trend in this field in the next five years?
A. We currently build and manage GIS data. One trend that I think is gaining popularity is the adoption of additional data sets for analytics, which is becoming commonplace for Business Intelligence. The data is leaving the hands of the technical individuals and will be increasingly adopted by business processes over the coming years.
Q. What advice would you give someone considering a career in land registry, specifically data modeling?
A. The advice I would give is to not lose sight of how and why your data was generated. It’s important to know that applying assumptions to data will often yield false results.
Q. What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
A. I love spending time outdoors with Charlie, my Husky-Great Pyrenees mixed dog.
Q. Who is the one person, living or dead, you would love to have dinner with?
A. I am a big fan of cooking and enjoy Jaime Oliver’s cooking style and laid-back personality. I would love to share a meal with him.
At Teranet, we take pride in our family of talented employees who are very passionate about what they do. To become a part of our growing community, keep an eye out for new roles here: https://www.teranet.ca/career-opportunities/.
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