The importance of relationships: Adam Felesky shares advice and lessons learned

Adam Felesky will receive an honorary doctorate from McMaster University this spring in recognition of his leadership in financial innovation and entrepreneurship.

As Co-Founder and CEO of Portage and a Managing Partner at Sagard, Felesky has played a key role in the growth of the global fintech sector, building and investing in companies across financial services. Prior to founding Portage, he was Founder and Former CEO of Horizons Exchange Traded Funds and a founding investor of BetaShares Exchange Traded Funds in Australia.

A 1999 McMaster graduate with both a Bachelor of Engineering and Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Felesky has maintained a strong connection to the University community. He supports the Felesky MBA Scholarship and the annual Insight Lecture series at the DeGroote School of Business, both of which engage members of the DeGroote community in conversations about leadership, innovation and the future of business. This spring, he returns to McMaster to be honoured for both his professional accomplishments and his ongoing commitment to supporting emerging leaders.

Felesky shared reflections on leadership, career growth and the advice he hopes graduates will carry with them.

What advice do you have for students that are graduating and just beginning their careers?

The world has definitely changed. The advice I’m giving these days is that the way to differentiate yourself today is to really show up, build relationships and show passion.

Of course, you need rigour and high IQ, but in today’s world, it’s really about that passion, showing initiative and building relationships. That will lead you a lot further than just hardcore grinding.

What opportunities and challenges do you see emerging for young professionals entering the business sector today?

AI is potentially a huge headwind, but I think it’s a great tailwind, too. The biggest risk we see from AI disruption is actually for people midway through their career. I think the opportunity for graduates today is to be AI native as they go into the workforce. AI is not going to replace workers. It’s going to replace workers who are not AI native.

Working on your own to be up to speed on all the tools and points of leverage to develop your own skill set is critical, but it’s such an opportunity to differentiate yourself quickly in the workforce because people that have been in the workforce for a decade or so are really struggling to adapt.

Looking back at your journey from being a McMaster student to becoming an honorary doctorate recipient in 2026, what pivotal moments shaped your career?

I had a mentor at JP Morgan. He was based in New York, and he took me under his wing for whatever reason and gave me the opportunity to work for him. And I think competing and being successful in New York gave me the confidence that I could do anything.

What do you feel has been your secret to success?

I think being very open to new opportunities and embracing the insecurity of not knowing things and learning on the fly.

And then paying it forward in terms of relationships. If I look at my calendar, every week I probably spend 10 per cent of my time meeting people and trying to help them. I think it’s really important to find opportunities for mentorship but also building that network in a structured way is really important.

Always ask people, what are they trying to solve? What are their priorities? What are the issues they’re struggling with?

So many times you’ll be able to say, ‘oh, I know a person that you should meet that might help you in that area’. And it can be completely outside your field, but you have someone in your network that could be of use.

That kind of relationship building is so important.