With a mission to inform, empower, celebrate and advocate for British Columbia's current and aspiring business leaders, BCBusiness go behind the headlines and bring readers face to face with the key issues and people driving business in B.C.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1222419
F I N A L I S T SUSANNAH PIERCE D I R E C T O R , C O R P O R A T E A F F A I R S , L N G C A N A D A D E V E L O P M E N T SINCE 2013, SUSANNAH PIERCE has led corporate affairs for LNG Canada, a $40-billion liquefied natural gas joint venture with five global participants. Vancouver-based Pierce and her team of 12 work on the social engineering side of the Kitimat-based project, she explains, "helping to develop projects that can have the support and participa- tion of Indigenous communities as well as governments and communities." The Calgary native, who has a master's degree in interna- tional studies from Johns Hopkins University, has held senior energy sector positions in Canada, the U.S. and The Hague, where she was VP of international and external affairs for Royal Dutch Shell. Pierce says her role gives her the opportu- nity to find a way to build major infrastructure projects while keeping societal interests in mind. "How do you ensure the right level of engagement, consultation and partnership with Indigenous communities and First Nations?" —J.N.W. F I N A L I S T ANITA HUBERMAN C E O , S U R R E Y B O A R D O F T R A D E IN 14 YEARS, ANITA Huberman leapfrogged to the top of the Surrey Board of Trade (SBOT), going from summer student while complet- ing her communications degree at SFU to executive assistant to manager, and finally to chief executive in 2006, at 32. She was the "first South Asian woman to be CEO of any board of trade or cham- ber of commerce in the country at the time," says Huberman, who moved to Surrey from Prince George in high school. With her at the helm, SBOT's membership has risen from 1,000 businesses to 3,000. Huberman has reposi- tioned the organization, expanding its capacity as a go-to place for global business connections and increasing its gov- ernment advocacy work so "Surrey is the place to invest for both the provincial and federal government." —J.N.W. F I N A L I S T JUGGY SIHOTA V I C E - P R E S I D E N T , T E L U S C O N S U M E R H E A L T H F I N A L I S T VIVIAN SMITH E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R , L A N G L E Y M E M O R I A L H O S P I T A L F O U N D A T I O N AFTER SECURING A MULTILMILLION-DOLLAR donation for the Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation (LMHF) in 2018, Vivian Smith told the Fraser Health Authority: "This gift is restricted to building a new emergency department. If you don't approve it, I will send the donation back." The emergency department was built. • Since taking over as executive director in 2013, Smith has moved the foundation into a leadership role. Instead of reacting to funding requests from the hospital, LMHF identifies community needs and works to bring those projects to fruition. • Smith, who was born in Ontario, worked as a copywriter for radio and TV before spending a decade as executive director of the Maple Ridge Hospital Foundation and consulting to the charitable sector for 17 years. • Under her leadership, LMHF has grown its staff from 3.5 to 10 and quadrupled its revenue. "Just like investors in a corporation, donors want to know…where are you going next?" she says. "When I ask people for a gift, I ask them to walk alongside me and invest in what we're doing in our community." —J.N.W. HER MOTHER'S heart attack prompted Juggy Sihota to re- evaluate her career. She was VP of customer experience at Telus Corp., hav- ing worked for the telecom giant in several roles since joining the sales team while studying politi- cal science at SFU. Sihota consid- ered becoming a doctor or changing policy as a public servant; her third option was to move into Telus's health division, working on technology like Babylon, which lets people see a doctor on their smartphone, and services like Health for Good, mobile health clinics for the homeless. Born in the Lower Mainland, Sihota, who has an MBA from Queen's University, believed she could have the most influence by staying at company HQ in Vancouver. Landing a vice- president position with Telus Health in 2013, she focused on strategy and customer experi- ence; in 2017, she moved into her current role as VP of consumer health, leading a team of 50. "I'm excited about the opportunity and privilege I have to change health care for Canadi- ans and make it better and more accessible for all of us, " Sihota says. –J.N.W. APRIL 2020 BCBUSINESS 33