Staying in touch with Christian Wray

Staying in touch with
Christian Wray
What does JCM Capital do?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
We develop clean power projects in developing
countries, and that’s with a focus on solar
power in emerging markets.
Hopefully right here at a more mature JCM
Capital that owns and operates several large
solar power projects across the world.
What’s the most interesting thing happening
in your industry right now?
Where did you think you’d be five years ago?
The cost of solar energy has fallen so rapidly
over the past five years that it has become
competitive with fossil fuel-based electricity.
That is a game-changer for our industry, the
point where we can compete on an economic
level. Not just appeal to the environmental
movement but to actually be cost-competitive.
We started our company five years ago with a
focus on developing projects in Ontario. We
changed course along the way and have a
larger emphasis to emerging markets.
What do you most value in your coworkers?
What’s your dream job?
Their commitment to seeing through the
vision of our company and just how hard they
work and how committed they are to seeing
our company become a success.
Current job:
CEO at JCM Capital
I would say that I’m in it. What I do now is
what I’ve always wanted to do. It’s being in a
leadership role at an entrepreneurial startup.
What’s the biggest lesson you took away from
your time at PwC?
My time at PwC:
2002-2007, Toronto office,
Assurance
Most unusual place you’ve traveled to with
work?
Name:
Christian Wray
To maintain a skeptical eye when dealing with
problems and challenges.
There have been many, but what stands out
would probably be traveling to rural Vietnam
and trekking through the rice paddies to get
information from one of our local weather
stations. That’s probably the strangest
experience that I can think of.
“In today’s job market, I think it’s pretty
critical that people form the right connections.
For me personally, it’s one of the reasons I
was able to set up a business and find great
business partners.”
Staying touch with
Christian Wray
Who in the PwC network inspires you?
Laurie Woodruff and Serge Gattesco
– both Laurie and Serge led the audit
practice while I was at PwC and made
great leaders. In particular, they both
spent the time to get to know me when
I was a very junior member of staff. I
thought they both demonstrated the
qualities of leadership that I aspire to
develop and master over the course of
my career.
Who or what has shaped your career?
What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Thoughts on networking?
The two greatest influencers on my
career have been my parents who taught
me about work ethic and integrity. Also,
the investors in my company who have
spent countless hours with me to share
their knowledge and experience from
building and leading major companies
over their own careers.
Finding the right balance between a
successful family life and work life – and
being able to contribute to the world in a
meaningful way.
In today’s job market, I think it’s pretty
critical that people form the right
connections. For me personally, it’s
one of the reasons I was able to set
up a business and find great business
partners. Looking back, it was chance
encounters that have led me having two
great co-founders and a great team of
people. I think most of the success that
we’ve had has been through one form of
networking or another.
What do you think is the most
underrated characteristic?
What do you consider your greatest
achievement?
Starting a family. I have a wife and two
amazing young daughters. I would say
that’s my greatest achievement so far.
Resourcefulness. Spending time to think
through something and coming up with
the best solution versus just hammering
away on something. I find that the best
people we’ve ever either hired or worked
with are people that are very resourceful.
It’s a trait that I don’t think a lot of people
think about or talk about.
If you could eat anything forever what
would it be?
Email or voicemail?
Two things have shocked me recently.
One would be the drop in oil prices
that have gone down so fast, and that’s
related to my business, so that was quite
shocking. And two was just walking
outside in the morning, yesterday in
particular, -20 and strong winds. I find
that shocking every year, but yesterday in
particular, that was a rude awakening.
Email.
Who would you have dinner with (dead
or alive)?
I would like to have dinner with Elon
Musk, and preferably alive.
It would have to be some kind of a
Mexican or Italian food. I love both of
them. I could probably be happy with
just one of those forever.
What has shocked you in the last
month?
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When do you want to retire?
Eventually, what I think of myself doing
when I hit 60 or 65 years of age would
be to be an investor and an advisor to
a new generation of entrepreneurs,
just as I described those are the kind of
people that have supported us in our
business. I would love to eventually
have that kind of role, not in the dayto-day management of a company but
on supporting a new generation of
entrepreneurs.