Poshak Sachdeva arrived in Canada at 18 with little say in the decision—and even less certainty about where he fit. His first job was in a butcher shop, a jarring landing for a vegetarian who had never handled meat. The culture shock ran deeper than the work itself. One moment in particular stuck in his memory: being told his clothes weren’t appropriate for his employer’s family home, even when invited in for tea. The episode sharpened a resolve that would shape Sachdeva’s leadership philosophy for years to come—“status is temporary, character is not, and the only judgment worth accepting is one earned through contribution.”
The same grit followed him through roles at Vancouver Community College and University Canada West, where he steadily moved from administration into senior management. In 2022, at just 25, Sachdeva was appointed executive director of the Irrigation Industry Association of British Columbia (IIABC), a 46-year-old organization representing a sector often overlooked but increasingly urgent.
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As ED, Sachdeva’s focus is reframing irrigation from technical trade to essential climate infrastructure. Only 18 percent of B.C.’s farmland is irrigated, yet that land produces more than 65 percent of the province’s food value—a statistic the 28-year-old uses to pull irrigation into conversations about food security, drought and water governance. Under his leadership, IIABC has rebuilt member relationships, modernized certification programs, reduced barrier to training access and expanded its presence at provincial policy tables—quiet work with long-term stakes.
With 72 percent of B.C. producers lacking a qualified successor, IIABC is training the next generation of irrigation stewards—as Sachdeva puts it: “Civilizations don’t collapse when infrastructure breaks. They collapse when the people who know how to sustain it disappear.
Your role model
“Zohran Mamdani, mayor-elect of New York City.”
See the full list of our 2026 30 Under 30 winners here.
