John Di Bert
John Di Bert's father worked as a technician and draftsman at Pratt & Whitney Canada for 32 years. Almost a decade after his retirement, his son was headhunted while working at another firm. "You'll never believe where I'm going for a job interview," he told his father. "Pratt & Whitney."
Mr. Di Bert practically grew up at the airplane engine maker and knew it well. The chartered accountant was hired in 2001 and rose in the organization to eventually become CFO. His father is proud, but he lets him know that the 32 years he amassed trumps the impressive title his son has attained. "He still claims to know the company better than I do."
At P&WC, Mr. Di Bert leads a team of 300 finance specialists and helps chart the 80-year-old company's financial course.
Before P&WC, Mr. Di Bert worked for three years in the '90s as a senior auditor at KPMG, while at the same time earning a graduate diploma in accountancy at Concordia and earning his CA designation in 1999.
His fundamentals were taken to the next level at Rolls-Royce Canada, where he put together some major financial restructuring.
Early in his career at P&WC, he got to help bring into line a formerly state-owned Polish aerospace manufacturer, an acquisition of P&WC's parent company. He spent five months leading its financial integration.
He says it's not until a company can rely on all its financial reporting that it can properly plan and expand. When he goes into a boardroom, he says, he needs to know that he can completely rely on all the financial work of his team so that there are no surprises.
He likes being part of a worldwide complex industry and, despite the rigour and the intensity of the work, he keeps his weekends free for his wife and three children, and, of course, for his father to give him lessons on how to run the operation.
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