Dr. Justin Bull

The diversity of thought and experience within the Master of Engineering Leadership (MEL) and Master of Health Leadership and Policy (MHLP) student cohort makes for an extremely engaging learning environment. Over the past several years I’ve taught several of the business platform courses to MEL and MHLP students. I’m a generalist by nature, and it’s been fascinating for me to hear the perspectives of engineering and health-care professionals from diverse industry sectors as they create connections across their multifaceted experiences and backgrounds.

Students come to the program with at least three years of professional experience and are eager to support each other in deepening their technical and business skills to achieve professional goals and work for sustainable change within their industries.

It is rewarding to connect with students over the course of their studies and to see them thrive professionally after graduation. Employers recognize that our graduates have the sector-specific knowledge needed to thrive professionally and the robust business education to apply that insight to achieve results. The degrees also confer legitimacy, demonstrating that the student has taken on a significant challenge – often moving across the country or continent – to invest in their professional development.

That willingness to take a risk and embrace an entrepreneurial mindset is one that I share. I have been relentlessly curious and entrepreneurial throughout my life. I’ve worked a lot of jobs, including as a horse logger, start-up mentor, board member, Indigenous-relations advisor, executive educator and even a stint living in my VW van running a leather goods firm. I read as much as I can based on different perspectives and angles, both fiction and non-fiction alike. And I want to bring that energy and curiosity to these programs, and the courses within them. I am committed to creating a classroom environment where all students understand that they have something valuable to contribute to the broader whole.

In my role as academic director, I am excited to be overseeing the continued evolution of the MEL and MHLP degrees. Students in our program benefit from an incredible opportunity to gain the latest knowledge in their fields, move beyond their niche to understand broader industry perspectives, and gain the business and leadership skills needed to make a difference. We will continue to provide the multidisciplinary learning environments and flexible student support to make it an exceptional and transformative student experience.

Experience

Dr. Justin Bull is academic director of the MEL and MHLP programs, and full-time lecturer at the Sauder School of Business. He teaches extensively on sustainability, innovation and strategy, with a focus on graduate and executive learners. He earned a BA in International Relations (2005) and a PhD in Wood Science (2015) from the University of British Columbia. His doctoral work focused on measuring and comparing the environmental performance of paper and digital value chains in global media markets.

In addition to his academic commitments, Justin is a mentor-scientist at the Creative Destruction Lab Climate stream. With a focus on companies that are developing solutions to the climate crisis, he helps early-stage founders identify market opportunities and position themselves for future fundraising rounds. He is also a board member with the Tla’amin Nation, assisting a modern treaty nation with their economic development strategy, including sitting on the Nation’s finance, audit and risk management committee.

Prior to his faculty appointment at Sauder, Justin worked extensively as a management consultant. Key projects included: advising Lyft on a sustainability strategy for their Canadian operations; advising industry groups in BC and Alberta on how to strengthen their relationships with First Nations; and advising IKEA’s central procurement team (located in the Netherlands) on how to develop and execute a sustainable procurement strategy. Before beginning his doctoral studies, Justin worked with a coalition of non-profits located in Washington, DC, that advocated globally to secure the legal rights of Indigenous communities seeking to manage and control their traditional forest lands.