Engineering Impact: How Leigh Christie is Building the Future Through Radical Culture and Deep Tech

In this episode, Shane Jeremy James sits down with Leigh Christie, co-founder of MistyWest, a Vancouver-based engineering firm that designs intelligent and connected devices, ranging from rugged IoT sensors to AI-powered vision systems, for companies like Meta, Google, and Intel. With a background in fuel cells and electric vehicles, Leigh shares how his passion for invention and systems thinking evolved into building a purpose-driven engineering studio. He opens up about the early challenges of convincing companies to work with outside consultants, the painful transition from startup vibes to structured leadership, and how distributed authority, values-driven culture, and constant feedback have become the foundation of MistyWest’s growth.

This conversation delves into the realities of leadership, the emotional challenges of scaling a team, and the future of entrepreneurship in a city like Vancouver. Leigh also reflects on mental health, meditation, and the mindset shifts that help him lead through chaos with clarity.