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/1388249
A crisis has a way of pushing certain issues—stuck in the footnotes of an annual report—into the Letter From the CEO. Such was 2020, our annus horribilis. In addition to managing the fallout of an epochal pandemic, organizations everywhere had to respond to social upheaval and questions around diver- sity and representation in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests. And the planet's climate emergency—given lip service by many pre-pan- demic—raced into the white-hot Klieg light of corporate governance. More than just a health emergency, COVID exposed many of our world's frailties—all at the same time. Some organizations f linched in the face of adversity, while others faced the cascad- ing issues head-on. On March 29, 2020—as the broad-reaching impact of COVID was becoming apparent—Larry Fink, chair and CEO of Black- Rock, the world's largest money management firm, laid out the challenge in his letter to share- holders. "I have always believed in a long-term view. I have advocated for it in letter after letter," Fink wrote. "And I believe long-term thinking has never been more critical than it is today. Companies and investors with a strong sense of purpose and a long-term approach will be bet- ter able to navigate this crisis and its aftermath." Boards are constantly forced to wrestle with IN 20 21, CORP OR AT E BOA RDS A RE BEING FORCED TO RECKON – IN A ME ANINGF UL AND F UL L-T HROAT ED WAY– W IT H T HE IMPAC T T HEIR BUSINESS H AS ON A VA RIE T Y OF STAK EHOLDERS 106 BCBUSINESS JULY/AUGUST 2021 b y M A T T O ' G R A D Y i l l u s t r a t i o n b y B Y R O N E G G E N S C H W I L E R