b'LESSONS INLEADERSHIPThe executive director of the CSTA sits down for a candid talk about his early life, being an effective leader, and why hes willing to risk his own job for the greater good.Marc ZienkiewiczSINCE 2017, Dave Carey has been executive director of the Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA). He originally started at CSTA in 2012 as stakeholder relations coordina-tor. Prior to his career with CSTA, he worked as a legislative assistant for Members of Parliament from Calgary, Alta. and Oakville, Ont.As the CSTA gets ready to vote in 2020 about whether or not to merge with Canadas other four seed asso-ciations, we thought it a good time to sit down with him and find out who he really is, get some insights into his leadership style, and how he feels about this whole Seed Synergy initiative.Germination: You live in Ottawa now, based at the CSTA head office. Where are you originally from? DAVE CAREY: I grew up just outside of Toronto in Oakville, Ont., the oldest of three siblings. Both my parents were bankers. We were very comfort-able. I spent my summers playing golf and soccer and fall and winter playing hockey. My parents stressed the importance of doing well in school and that anything was pos-sible if I put my mind to it. I always figured Id be a lawyer, but politics came calling at a young age and the 12GERMINATION.CA NOVEMBER 2019'