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Jason Hsiung was sipping tea in a food court in Toronto’s financial district, recalling his formative years and how admittedly nerdy it sounds telling people he developed a sense of duty and self-sacrifice from watching Star Trek as a kid. Far less nerdy was his decision during his final year of high school to present himself at a military recruitment centre with the stated ambition of becoming a fighter pilot. It was a lofty goal, one the military recruiter dashed to earth by informing the aspiring pilot his eyesight wasn’t up to snuff, and then suggesting he consider joining the infantry instead. “I’d never even been camping,” Hsiung says. “But I said, ‘Sure, why not.’”
That reply ultimately led Hsiung to the battlefields of Afghanistan and, indirectly, to his current post-army career as a hard-working, tell-it-like-it-is boss; a 33-year-old associate vice-president at TD Canada Trust tasked with enhancing the bank’s “operational” excellence.