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Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1484213
64 BCBUSINESS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 L E A D E R S H I P I t's possible that, by the time you're reading this, Anjali Appadurai's name has already drifted away from the public consciousness, like so many other names of politicians that held our collective attention for one reason or another and then faded as quickly as they came. Appadurai was the 32-year-old BC NDP leadership contestant—the only person to challenge Vancouver- Point Grey MLA and former attorney general and hous- ing minister David Eby for the right to replace outgoing premier John Horgan. Born in India, Appadurai moved with her family to Coquitlam when she was six. She earned a bachelor's degree at Maine-based liberal arts institution College of the Atlantic before building a career in advancing environmental issues, including time spent at orga- nizations like West Coast Environmental Law, the Sierra Club and the Climate Emergency Unit. She also ran for the federal NDP in the 2021 election, losing to Liberal candidate Taleeb Noormohamed by less than 500 votes. Clearly, she wasn't de- terred from entering poli- tics. "I think it was the first opportunity I had to put into practice these values I have around social move- ments being an essential part of democracy," she says when asked what she learned in her first electoral bout. "I was the social movement candidate then, and [I was] the social move- ment candidate in this race, too. That first election experience was a great exploration of how social move- ments fit into the overall system; it was an experiment in a lot of ways. Not that I was the first one to do it— I'm part of a wave of insurgent candidacies across the continent." The BCLC never published odds for the race (wouldn't that be something, given Eby's skirmishes with the organization), but all accounts early on were that Eby—who had the support of an overwhelming Tough Climate ANJALI APPADURAI MAY HAVE LOST THE BATTLE FOR THE BC NDP LEADERSHIP, BUT SHE'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE "One thing that I absolutely learned from Jim and continue to bring forward into this role is the focus on our people," Davis insists. The new CEO is now in charge of 1,100 staff. Total revenues in 2021-22 clocked in at around $2 billion, with over $1 billion turned over to the province in net income. The pandemic offered an opportu- nity for people to reevaluate bar- riers to digital platforms, and the BCLC adjusted accordingly, but it's been a big shift for the Crown corporation's senior team. "As a leader, you need to re- ally focus on the outcomes and you have to be less focused on some of the day-to-day specifics of how work gets done," Davis says. "Luckily, we've had some great technology to support us." Keeping his promise of pre- serving the people-centric and "family oriented" legacy laid out by Lightbody, Davis led his team to develop a new lottery system that places the player's experience above all. It's set to launch next year. "Part of my role as CEO is to continue some of the work that's already been started and then evolve that," Davis says of the BCLC's drive to become a social purpose company. The organi- zation has sharpened its focus on ESG initiatives, including new EDI policies, climate efforts and player health strategies (which involves a voluntary self- exclusion program for players who need help). "Everything we do, our social purpose asks us to consider how we can create ad- ditional value," he notes. The BCLC was rated highly in a social purpose report by media and research firm Cor- porate Knights this past March and recognized as a 5-Star di- versity and inclusion employer by HR Director Canada in June, so the odds already seem to be in Davis's favour. —R.R.