It is estimated that the average person faces around thirty major changes over the course of their life. The key to success is preparation, building a strong foundation of transferable skills that allows you to pivot, seize the opportunity, and shine.
For Rob Teleske, a complete alteration of his career trajectory meant a shift from aspiring to be a professional hockey player, which evolved into scholarship aspirations during his junior hockey years, to ultimately becoming the Global Tax Director for one of Canada’s largest independent tire dealers and one of North America’s largest commercial tire dealers.
In this exclusive Q&A, Rob shares insights into his career journey and Kal Tire's corporate social responsibilities. His transition from public accounting to addressing strategic challenges within a multinational organization provides a unique perspective on the evolving international business landscape.
Q: Tell us about your career journey. How did you get into accounting at BDO and Kal Tire?
RT (Rob Teleske): While at the University of British Columbia (UBC), I was a member of the Men’s Ice Hockey team. My goal had been to compete at the junior and varsity levels, as hockey was a great passion of mine, with an education to fall back on. After graduation, I decided to lean into my education and pursued a retail finance career; however, after a couple of years and being encouraged by my father, a retiring partner at BDO, I decided to try my hand at accounting and completed the UBC DAP program. My career trajectory changed at this moment when I successfully made it into an articleship in EY’s assurance and advisory group.
At the time, I got the opportunity to work in a seasonal tax pool and found an interest in particularly cross-border tax. I then decided to transition to BDO, joining their international tax group, where I worked for over seven years. Throughout my tenure in public practice, I specialized in diverse sectors, including retail, real estate, technology, and mining. I had always been curious about contributing to a company from an internal perspective, so when the opportunity came up at Kal Tire, moving there felt like a natural progression.
Q: What experiences did you bring from BDO that have made the transition into the industry seamless?
RT: While at BDO, I developed many soft skills that I still practice today, including leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills. I was mentored by several leaders who invested their time in my growth and provided many opportunities that extended beyond my technical skills. Their guidance has been beneficial, particularly in effectively serving and engaging with various stakeholders I work with daily in my current role.
Q: What are your current priorities as a Global Tax Director?
RT: At Kal Tire, we are guided by our AIMS, which consists of seven principles to help ensure team members do what’s right for the team, the business, our customers, and our communities. In keeping with our AIMS, we have a global tax strategy that outlines key intentions for having professional and trusted relationships with tax authorities, adhering to the tax laws of all countries where we conduct business, and acting responsibly and respectfully regarding tax legislation.
Several critical areas are key to the success and efficiency of our global tax operations. Strategic tax planning sits at the forefront of my priorities as I aim to streamline our international structure, find opportunities to manage taxes more efficiently, and help reduce tax the business pays. We aim to strategically leverage tax deductions and available incentives and manage our effective tax rate to ensure the business pays the appropriate amount of tax in each jurisdiction, yet avoid unnecessary overpayment. By optimizing our tax positions globally, we can add value to our business.
Another primary focus is technology and tax modernization, a common theme for many global tax departments today. We are committed to enhancing our operational efficiency through digital transformation. This includes leveraging technology to gain deeper insights into our tax data and processes, supporting better decision-making.
The technical needs of our tax department are also paramount. We are concentrating on bolstering our capabilities within Canada, across our regional offices, and globally. Despite being a family-owned enterprise, our size requires us to stay on top of and comply with evolving tax regulations. Being proactive allows us to navigate the complex global tax landscape effectively and manage risks related to tax compliance while optimizing our tax strategy.
Q: Can you tell us about Kal Tire’s tire recycling initiatives and why they are important to you?
RT: One of my areas of interest within the business involves working closely with Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group, which serve more than 150 mining operations across five continents. As trusted partners, a central aspect of our commitment is to support our customers with their environmental sustainability journey. This aligns with the increasing importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles in today’s business landscape.
Our Mining Tire Group addresses this need in several ways. In Canada, we have a shredding solution for scrap tires that turns them into crumbs for use in rubber mats, hoses, roofing tiles, and asphalt. In Chile, we successfully operate a thermal conversion recycling solution that breaks down tires into their original components, fuel oil, steel wire, and carbon ash, promoting a circular economy that would do more for mine communities than traditional shredding. This is a significant step away from the conventional practice of discarding end-of-life tires, which can be anything from burying, stockpiling on the mine site, or creating berms. This closed-loop solution can recycle 20 tonnes a day, is scalable, and is being presented to customers in various countries.
As an international organization, it is our responsibility to leverage our expertise to make tire usage as safe as possible while helping customers improve productivity. In the past several years, ESG has been top of mind at Kal Tire, and our investment in helping businesses achieve their sustainability goals has created value for our customers.
Q: How does Kal Tire give back to the community?
RT: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has always been part of the Kal Tire AIMS and our culture. We recognize our responsibility to our customers, each other, our communities, and the environment. Over the years, our commitment to supporting the community has remained strong and continues to grow.
Our Replay Fund is one of the key initiatives at Kal Tire that demonstrates the importance of giving back to our community. We provide grants to enhance community infrastructure utilizing recycled rubber products to build inclusive playgrounds and other accessible public spaces. Having young kids myself, I understand the importance of making sure they have a safe place to play. By repurposing old tires into playground equipment and other community amenities, I have peace of mind that our communities get to enjoy safer, more inclusive spaces.
Q: Looking back, can you share a memorable experience about your time in BDO?
RT: The firm fosters a ‘work hard, play hard’ culture, making it an engaging workplace. The intramural hockey and soccer tournaments promoted camaraderie and offered opportunities for me to forge professional and personal connections with colleagues across the firm. Numerous tax courses and conferences also played a role in growing my network both nationally and globally. Experiences like these have helped shape me into the leader I am today.
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