Q&A with Kevin Heyries, Forty Under 40 Winner 2020; Co-Founder and head of business development, AbCellera, Age 38
Who is responsible for your work ethic?
My parents, who taught me that hard work pays off in the long run.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Being from France and having a father who was a chef, the French trifecta: good bread, good cheese and good wine.
What is the best book you would recommend?
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho.
Now that you’re entering your 40s, what goals have you set for yourself?
Continue to learn as much as possible, while passing on things I now know to others, including my kids.
Choose one of these five childhood career dreams: Rock star, star athlete, prime minister, astronaut, detective.
Astronaut.
Name your happiest place.
Up in some of the nicest mountains of the French Alps, close to where I was born and grew up.
What was your toughest business or professional decision?
Fully committing early on to the startup we had just founded with others, choosing a life in Vancouver with my wife and our two very young daughters over going back to France.
Advice you would give your 20-year-old self?
Dream big, don’t get turned down by things or ideas that look much bigger than yourself.
What is your best habit?
Read the news/books early in the morning, everyday. It gives perspective.
Tell us one improbable fact about yourself.
I love woodworking.
Best piece of advice ever received?
Trust your guts.
What career highlight are you most proud of?
Having initiated and brought up deals that nobody thought there was room for initially, which led to significant business opportunities down the road.
