By Lysia Filotas

Tony Bailetti doesn’t believe his accomplishments can be measured by the things he’s done, the number of books he’s read or the stacks of articles he’s.

“My success is solely dependent on my students’ success,” said the Carleton veteran of 36 years and director of Carleton’s Technology Innovation Management (TIM) master’s program, which teaches students how to grow a successful technology company. “I don’t succeed because I have done things. It’s because my students have been successful.”

Humility is still very much a part of Bailetti’s character, despite the growing recognition he’s received for his work.

In 2015, Bailetti’s brainchild Lead To Win (LTW) earned Carleton a coveted spot in seventh place on UBI Global’s list of the top 10 university business incubators in North America – the first time Ottawa made the list.

LTW is a Carleton-led ecosystem which guides aspiring entrepreneurs through the process of launching and growing a company. Bailetti likens his role in the program to supervising a city with eight neighbourhoods.

“I’m kind of the mayor of that city,” he said. “My job is to leverage students through the LTW program and make them stronger.”

Bailetti’s goal is to teach students the necessary entrepreneurial skills, such as leadership, adaptability and resilience, so they can shape their own future.

“Without these skills, you’re going to be worried about keeping up your CV and hoping for the best,” he said. “I certainly don’t think that’s good enough for my students.”

Bailetti also received the International Talent Acquisition award in 2013 for his work in forging connections between new organizations and international professionals. In 2011, he earned the Ottawa Innovation Community award from the Ottawa Centre for Research and Innovation for his involvement in developing hundreds of startups in the nation’s capital.

The LTW founder is grateful for the experiences Carleton has given him. He said he doesn’t think any other profession could provide him with the same level of reward.

“I still get kids I taught in 1979 who send me emails and birthday wishes,” he said with a laugh. “Not too long ago, I even had this kid call me from Pakistan asking me to yell at him because he missed it. So students graduate, but they never go away.

“It’s been a privilege to take these young kids and help them to be whatever they want to be and can be,” Bailetti said. “Carleton students are second to none.”

Ewan Reid, a TIM graduate student and LTW member who is president and CEO of Mission Control Spaces Services, signed a contract last November with the Canadian Space Agency. His company will be working to bridge the gap between Earth-bound and space-based technologies to ensure any advancements made in these areas will be compatible with one another.

Looking to the future, Bailetti said he wants to globalize the work that has been done at Carleton. He plans to expand both the TIM and LTW programs beyond Canada’s borders.

“One of our goals is to make (UBI Global’s) top 25 global incubators,” Bailetti said. “So it’s the globalization of everything that we’ve done here in Ottawa. That’s my next frontier.”