When Saher Fazilat joined McMaster five years ago as vice-president, Operations and Finance, she was drawn to the university because its strategic plan identified operational excellence as a core institutional priority.
To Fazilat, who is trained as a civil engineer and has a background in construction, this was recognition that McMaster sees the many employees behind the scenes — in hospitality, facilities, finance, human resources, information technology, or countless other roles — as essential and appreciated partners in advancing its mission.
Fazilat has since embraced operational excellence as both a guiding principle and a personal commitment, encouraging the nearly 2,000 staff across her portfolio to find better ways of working and create greater value for the university community.
Let’s start with leadership: What has shaped your leadership philosophy over the course of your career and what is it today?
When I started working at the City of Toronto in construction over 20 years ago after immigrating from India, I don’t think I ever expected to eventually be working in higher education. But I truly believe in lifelong learning and staying open to new ideas, opportunities and perspectives, which is part of why I was so drawn to working in academia.
Curiosity and continuous learning are now key parts of my leadership philosophy that I espouse to all my staff that work with me. You should never be too set in your ways.
Part of my learning is reading extensively and making a point of staying informed because the world is constantly changing — especially these days — and leaders need to keep adapting.
I’ve also learned that leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about empowering people, trusting their expertise and creating the conditions for teams to succeed. In my experience, the best ideas and outcomes come from collaboration and a willingness to keep learning together — I’m very lucky to have a great team at McMaster.
Your portfolio touches nearly every part of the university experience. What is a typical day for you and what do you think people often underestimate about the role Operations and Finance plays at McMaster?
Much of our work happens behind the scenes, so when things are working well, people don’t always see it. But our division helps create the conditions that allow teaching, research and student life to thrive. Whether it’s constructing or cleaning buildings, infrastructure, supporting technology, planning for financial sustainability or creating safe and welcoming spaces, our work helps ensure the university can deliver on its mission today and into the future.
Because the division is so broad, there’s no “typical day” — which is part of why I love this role. On any given day, I might review the progress of a major capital project like a residence or lab renovation, meet with the provost about budget planning, and then shift to conversations about student housing or campus safety. The topics are endless. I truly do not always know what a day will entail and that’s what keeps it exciting.
Operational excellence has become an important focus across the university and the annual forum you established has seen huge participation. What does operational excellence mean to you in practice?
For me, operational excellence is about creating a culture of continuous improvement that helps us better serve our community. It’s about ensuring that students, faculty and staff receive the best possible experience by making our services, processes and systems more effective, responsive and connected.
Really, at the end of the day, the bigger goal is to empower employees to find ways to create efficiencies, reduce duplications and strengthen collaboration so they can focus on higher-value, more strategic work.
It also means creating opportunities for people with different perspectives, experiences and expertise to contribute to problem-solving and decision-making. When we bring diverse voices to the table, we gain a deeper understanding of challenges and are better positioned to develop solutions that meet the needs of our entire community.
The people closest to the work often have the best ideas for improving it, and my leadership team’s role is to create the conditions for those ideas to thrive.
What’s exciting is that universities across the sector are increasingly recognizing the importance of operational excellence and McMaster has been ahead of the curve. So a huge THANK YOU to everyone across the university who has been engaging in conversations, participating in projects, attending the forum and generally getting on board with the principles of operational excellence.
Your recent appointment as chair of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce reflects McMaster’s growing role in shaping the city’s economic and social future. How do you see McMaster contributing to the broader Hamilton community?
This opportunity is truly meaningful to me. The chamber brings together leaders from business, government, education, health care and the non-profit sector to help address important challenges facing Hamilton, from housing and workforce development to infrastructure and economic growth.
Universities can no longer operate in silos. The future depends on how well we connect research, operations, industry and community impact.
The more Hamilton succeeds, the more McMaster benefits — and vice versa. McMaster contributes talent, research, innovation and community infrastructure, while initiatives like McMaster Innovation Park demonstrate what’s possible when academia, industry and entrepreneurs work toward shared goals.
Universities are navigating significant change — financially, technologically and socially. What do you see as some of the biggest opportunities for McMaster moving forward?
We’re in a period of significant change across the post-secondary sector, and while there are real challenges, there are also meaningful opportunities to rethink how we work and how we support our community.
I think one of the biggest opportunities ahead is continuing to be thoughtful and strategic about how we use our resources. McMaster is in a good financial position, but we can’t take that for granted — we really don’t know what the future looks like. We need to keep looking for ways to work smarter, collaborate more effectively, and make decisions that support the university’s long-term success, including finding opportunities for alternative revenue generation.
I’m also paying close attention to developments in areas like artificial intelligence. I’m certainly still learning — my husband is a computer engineer and reminds me all the time — but I think it’s important for all of us to stay informed and curious about how these tools might help us improve the way we work and serve our community.
What excites me most is that McMaster has a strong foundation to build on: talented people, a collaborative culture and a real willingness to innovate.
As we launch university’s next strategic plan, we have an opportunity to be intentional about where we focus and how we continue evolving to meet changing needs.
Rapid-Fire questions
Coffee or tea? Coffee.
Early bird or night owl? Night Owl
A book you’d recommend? Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell
Go-to comfort food? The yogurt parfaits in La Piazza
Favourite way to recharge after a busy week? Host family and friends.
Perfect day? A perfect balance of work life and family life. No minute wasted.