Being a connector who ensures our next generation of leaders get their shot
Age: 39
Job Title: Partner at Humanis Executive Search
In August 2012, Raj Bhatti was sharing a meal with a friend on the Next Act patio when he made a confession: He hated his job.
At the time, Bhatti was working as an accountant for a large firm, but he felt neither engaged nor driven by the work. Bhatti’s friend, who worked for a global recruitment firm, knew Bhatti to be highly personable, so he suggested he give recruitment a try. Bhatti took the advice and hasn’t looked back since.
He’s now a partner at Humanis, the executive search firm that he helped build. Bhatti places leading executives in senior roles at companies across sectors in Canada. It’s a job that sounds corporate on paper, but in practise is very human. “It’s about fostering meaningful, deep connections.”
The key to recruitment is getting to know people — what their skills are, what they need, what they aspire to be — and then helping put them in the position that will realize their best potential. He approaches it from a place of empathy, recognizing that he’s “dealing with people and their emotions and their challenges on a day-to-day basis.”
Bhatti is what popular science writer Malcolm Gladwell might call a “connector” — someone who has their feet in many different worlds and helps bring those worlds together. At a time of major growth for Edmonton, connectors play an essential role in shaping the city’s future. Though Bhatti shies away from the spotlight himself, he knows that he can help put new leaders at the helm of the right organizations. “There are a lot of great leaders or emerging leaders that just need a shot, and our job is to get them a shot.”
As a seasoned member of his sector, Bhatti is now able to mentor younger generations as they enter the field, guided by his personal mantra: “Be the leader you needed when you were younger.”
This article appears in the November/December 2025 issue of Edify
