Shaan Pruden for the Ladder. credit AppleApple
Shaan Pruden of Ladysmith, B.C., joined Apple Canada in 1989 and is now located in Cupertino, Calif., as the company’s senior director of partnership management and worldwide developer relations.
My mom and dad were from North Battleford, Sask. They’d had enough of Prairies winters so my dad went on a speculative trip, found a job in Ladysmith, B.C., and we moved.
I got my love of gardening from my mom. She was an avid gardener right into her 80s. We were that yard where people would bring visitors for a drive-by.
There was an expectation, an environment created not only by mom and dad, and by Mr. Tasaka in Grade 6, my most influential teacher: You could and would do whatever you put your mind to. In the seventies, girls weren’t expected to do things like [math] but if you had a mind for something, absolutely you’re going to do that.
It never occurred to me I wouldn’t. I wanted to pursue a career in math and that practical, pragmatic part of my brain [thought] perhaps that computer thing might be a good idea, too. So I did a double major in math and computer science. That’s one of my missions – to turn that around, inspire more girls and women to pursue and stay in a science career, particularly computer science.
I wanted to be a co-op student and went to the University of Victoria. That seemed like the natural choice; coming from a small town the idea of going to a huge university seemed daunting. The program was really good. They had amazing employers from all over Western Canada and I had great experiences.
A friend from a work term told me of an opening in the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology’s IT department. I went to Calgary for Stampede so while there interviewed for a system analyst job. I worked there four years, ending up supporting the campus Macs.
Everybody comes to Apple for a different reason – technology, products, brand. For me, it was the first Macintosh, 1984. I took one look and, knowing what it took to make it, was completely blown out of the water. I thought, “I need to work at that company one day.” I was looking at the future. I knew in my bones the products were so far beyond everything else in the industry.
In 1989, a contact who’d been approached for an Edmonton job didn’t want to move so put the recruiter – for Apple Canada – on to me. I almost didn’t go because, as a Calgarian, moving to Edmonton didn’t thrill me. I started as a systems engineer, the technical person answering questions [from IT managers] before they purchased.
All my friends, IT professionals, thought I was nuts – Macs weren’t a favourite desktop. It was considered a renegade, resonating with creative people, so we mostly sold to forward-thinking IT people who saw the value of a WYSIWYG [what-you-see-is-what-you-get] interface. Eight months later, I got transferred to Vancouver.
What we’re building obviously is very different, but that philosophy with the user in mind has remained the same. I get excited when kids – or any age, you’re never too old – find a passion for coding, the tool to reach that community around the world or others with a similar challenge.
When I learned to drive a car, dad wanted me to understand how the motor worked. What’s under the hood? Software is that engine for everything. To understand how the world works, know what software is, how it’s built – it’s like learning a second language. It may end up being something you love and become your career.
My favourite product of all time is the original click-wheel iPod; it changed the way to listen to music, a thousand songs in your pocket, otherwise you’d have a sleeve of CDs. I’m obsessed with AirPods now.
The reason I stayed so long at Apple and plan on being here a while is because people are amazing and we’re working on cool stuff. I’m always struck how diverse their backgrounds are, the conversations we have. The thought of retiring and not seeing them any more breaks my heart. We’re on this mission, which sounds hokey, but people feel that. I still have things to accomplish so I’m not planning a party.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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