Not being daunted by difficult or controversial projects
Guest: Gavin Dew (chief strategy officer at an agricultural technology hub)
What does Gavin Dew do for a living? He jokes that even his wife doesn’t know. But to him, his work is to get complicated major projects built in difficult situations. Those situations may be politically difficult or controversial, but that does not scare him. To him, anything worth doing is hard – to him, that is “interesting and fun.”
How do you deal with over 15,000 restaurants and their issues? That is Ian Tostenson’s job at the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association. Most of British Columbia’s restaurants are small businesses, which might not have the resources and connections to solve their many issues – Ian and his team help that. As he puts it: “When I hear the industry’s not doing well, I take it personally.”
Is Diana MacKay a thinker? A change maker? Or an advisor? To her, there might never be a way to classify her career with a single role. Currently, she is working as a health journalist – something that was unplanned, initially to help her father but the role morphed into something more. Unlike her father, she is not a doctor, which forces her to pivot her role into more of a health advisor instead of medical expert. This allows her to topic issues such as the impact of housing on health, which may not neatly or formally fit into the world of medicine.
Vicky Yehl lives for mining. In her job at the British Columbia Securities Commission, she helps mining companies include information that they are required to share with the public, ensuring maximum transparency. She knows what she’s talking about as well – her background as a geologist gives her a wealth of knowledge to draw from. “It’s a bit of a dream job,” as she says. “I get to read geology all day [and] every day and someone pays me to do it.”
As former President of Shell Canada, Susannah Pierce worked to make sure all of Shell’s Canadian business initiatives could actually get into the country – and it was more than just the gas stations that people saw. Her goal was to make sure all the Canadian businesses associated with Shell were set up for success, as well as make sure other stakeholders such as indigenous groups were clear on what the company is, and how their goals can align for mutual benefit.