Farewell, Alex Akselrod

May 8^th was Alex’s last day with us at the Brain, after a decade with us. As Alex put it, “I have spent most of my adult working life at CB!”. I cannot imagine the last decade without Alex. I am having trouble imagining CB without Alex moving forward.

Alex joined us in May 2010. He had been an entrepreneur, running his own company focusing on computer infrastructure installs and setups. Prior to that, he had worked at the YMCA in Toronto since he was a teenager.

At CB, he did just about everything. He joined us as half IT specialist and half higher-level technical support specialist. Over the years, he managed our online registration setups, started our implementations department and grew it, managed our client success team and grew it and was involved in all aspects of our operations team.

Those are factual details but they don’t tell you much about who Alex is. I would like to share that now.

Alex Cares

Alex cares very deeply about everything he touches and everyone he meets. He cared about our features and our product, often fighting hard for more and more. He cared about his teammates, constantly demonstrating a real fondness and interest in everyone and often wanting better and more for them. He cared about his clients, wanting nothing but the best for them…even if that meant it was not CB. Alex wanted success for our clients and if that meant something other than CB, then so be it. I loved that about him. Alex cared about our environment where we worked, always lobbying for nicer, better, more appealing.

Alex is Committed

Once Alex took something on, his level of commitment to seeing that thing to completion is unparalleled. I can assure you it is getting done….and I suggest you get out of the way. ?

Alex is Detailed

I know you think you have met somebody that is detailed. But, I can almost guarantee you that Alex is more detailed that your “somebody”. In the office, we would all comment that having Alex in a meeting was a blessing and a curse. He would identify the most minute detail…and you would curse him…but, then when that thing did not bite you later, you would bless him. This level of detail lead Alex to strive for a level of competence and perfection that was quite astounding. Doing something halfway is not an option for Alex. From hanging a picture on a wall to preparing a document for a client, that will be done with the same level of care and detail as a surgeon provides to their patient.

Alex is Forthcoming and Transparent

He does not like for things to be hidden or not discussed. He wants everything out in the open, available for discussion. Alex told me it was time to move on from CB more than a year ago. He was ready for the next stage in his career and CB could not provide it. He opens that conversation and proceeds to spend the next year completing important projects, tidying things up and organizing everyone for his departure.

Care. Commitment. Detail. Transparency. That’s what you need to know about Alex.

I hope you had the opportunity to work with Alex over the years and you benefited from these traits. He is one of a kind. When I spoke about Alex to our company, I highlighted a long list of accomplishments over a decade of time and that was a long, lovely list. Suffice to say that he leaves CB in a lot better place than he found it and his hands are on much of that improvement.

Alex leaves CB, having made his mark, having made an enormous impact on the company, the people, our values, our clients. It’s a lovely way to have spent a decade and we are incredibly appreciative of that impact. We are truly grateful and lucky to have worked with Alex for so long.

With some sadness, with much respect and gratitude, and with excitement to see what Alex conquers next, we said goodbye to a good friend.