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
18 BCBUSINESS JULY/AUGUST 2021 PORTRAIT: ADAM BLASBERG I 'm hoping that with any luck—well, OK, thanks to science—B.C.'s COVID-19 case- load is still falling when you read this. My wife and I were fortunate to get our second jabs in mid-June, just before the in-province travel ban lifted. By summer's end, millions of British Columbians should be fully vacci- nated so everyone can get out and get on with better days. Those aren't the only numbers we've been keeping track of lately. In fact, this double issue features two lists where digits play a pivotal role. The Top 100 (p.85), our ranking of the province's biggest companies by rev- enue, is an annual tradition ably upheld by gatekeeper Peter Mitham. This time around, COVID's uneven fallout resulted in some reshuff ling and a few new names. But total revenue gained slightly over the previous year—a vote of confi- dence in our diverse economy and the steps that governments took to help control the damage. Then there's the 30 Under 30 (p.43), back for the eighth year. Because it was originally scheduled for earlier publication, this tribute to B.C.'s brightest young business talents might include the odd overachiever who's reached a ripe old 3-0 by now. Either way, the winners have accom- plished more than anyone has a right to at their age. And judging from my interviews with many of them, I can tell you that they're good people. You'll find plenty more in this issue, whose page count is our high- est since pre-pandemic times. On page 35, Frances Bula and Chen Zhou explore the hidden world of daigou, in which shoppers send luxury items, food and other goods to China. Ryan Stuart's "Gold Standards" (p.74) asks if B.C. has what it takes to become a leader in responsible mining. Dee Hon pursues a similar line of ques- tioning with "Into the Blue" (p.114), his survey of our burgeoning marine tech sec- tor, which has several domestic and interna- tional rivals. And in "What's at Stake" (p.106), Matt O'Grady speaks with three current and former directors about the challenges that cor- porate boards face in 2021. Speaking of challenges, I wish you good health and a happy summer as B.C. finds its way forward from a year where the num- bers often looked grim. On behalf of the BCBusiness team, my heartfelt thanks to our readers, advertisers and contributors for stick- ing with us through the pandemic. As always, we're counting on you. Nick Rockel, Editor-in-Chief bcb@canadawide.com / @BCBusiness ( editor's desk ) Meet the Pacific Region finalists for the 2021 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards I N S E P T E M B E R /O C T OB E R A Numbers Game C ON T R I B U T OR S Former BCBusiness editor- in-chief Matt O'Grady is now a freelancer and teaches journalism at SFU and Langara College. An experienced corporate writer, O'Grady explores how companies are prioritizing environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues in "What's at Stake" (p.106). "A lot of it is driven by the public," says the Toronto native, who also writes our It's a Good Thing column. "Frankly, it's not in the nature of corporations to be better people; they don't think that way." Photographer Kari Medig has one word for COVID's effect on his work life: "Brutal." Medig, who's used to globetrotting for assignments, captured outdoor gear designer Cam Shute in their hometown of Nelson for "Adventureland" (p.23). "It's slowly picking up, but I've only done stuff in B.C. and parts of Alberta," says the contributor to National Geographic and Outside magazine. "It's more quiet than normal, for sure."