Defence: Mohamed Hendy - Dec 9, 2024 | 12:30 PM | Room 200: Graduate Student Centre

Before McKinsey, you worked at Mustang Survival on some cool products. Tell us about it!

After I graduated I worked for six years in a very traditional engineering role in product development for Mustang Survival, which engineers high-performance marine gear for a range of users from military, rescue personnel and law enforcement, to competitive sailors, professional fishers, and your average ferry-takers and ocean enthusiasts.

While I started out in manufacturing at the company, I realized a few months in that I wanted to be part of the upstream processes. I wanted to be in product development and working on lifesaving gear.

Over my time at Mustang, I was product development engineer and project manager for a large array of products, ranging from dry suits used by FEMA and fighter pilots to kids’ life jackets!

They all demanded various level of engineering vigour and care, along with a need for empathy for different user groups. One of my products, the Khimera life jacket, was nominated for a global marine industry award, and I developed the first woman-fitted dry suit line within the company and my name is on a patent for a submarine escape suit!

I had a real sense of pride that I was working on products that save people’s lives. That’s something that engineering instills in you: that your job is to protect the public.

Any other highlights from your time at Mustang Survival?

Definitely. We were working with the US Air Force on next-generation air combat equipment, and as a field engineer I got to travel to seven different air force bases across the US to validate the equipment.

As a person in her early 20s, this was both intimidating and exciting. It was definitely a character-building experience as I learned to tackle issues on the fly and develop resilience against perceived emergencies.

Another highlight was during COVID-19 when I worked with our engineering director to pivot the company and make certified medical gowns for health care workers. Within months, we had a product available to protect workers in health care. That experience of overseeing the entire operation – from conception to launch – was extremely rewarding.

It also led to my realization that I could have an even bigger positive impact on others by pursuing some additional education. I went back to school to do an MBA, thinking I might eventually end up leading engineering teams, but then realized that I could also use my skills in management-level problem solving, which goes back to my original craving to always go upstream to the source of every problem.

Let’s go way back: what got you interested in engineering in the first place?

I think I was a menace at home!

I loved taking things apart to see how they worked, from furniture to electronics, and wondered not just how something works, but why it’s made that way. As I got older, I realized that this aligned with engineering.

Funnily enough, my family was really pushing me to medicine, or accounting if you’d believe it, so in some ways choosing engineering was my act of rebellion!

Any highlights from your time at UBC Engineering?

I was briefly involved in the UBC Solar design team, and this was one of the first times I was told to figure something out with very, very vague requirements. That sense of possibility and the excitement that comes from doing something without a recipe can be daunting, but it is what makes engineering such a wonderful field for possibilities.

I also loved our capstone project on the pilot seat design for the Prosthesis mech suit, which was such a passion project and an amazing experience that I cherish to this day.

Anything else you want to share?

Engineering can be very difficult, and it can be demotivating to feel that you are struggling academically. I had a hard time in first and second year as someone who underestimated the workload and commitment needed to succeed. I had my (often lopsided) interests, but also some amazing classmates and faculty along the way to support me through the worst self-doubting moments.

Stay true to your interests and passion, seek help and support, and persevere: you have no idea how much impact you could have and the doors that engineering can open for you.