BCBusiness

10 P o r t r ai t : A l ai n a M i c h e ll e B C B U S I N E S S . C A M A R C H 2 0 2 5 MEMORY BLOCKS Several years ago—it was before COVID, so that's how I know it's OK to use "several"—then-premier John Horgan scheduled a meet-and-greet with the winners of this magazine's 30 Under 30 competition. There was no real agenda; Horgan had just expressed a desire to meet each of the young entrepreneurs and executives and ask them what his govern- ment could do to help them pave their respective paths. In subsequent years, when the pandemic hit, he gathered the winners via video call. I know that the honourees of our competition in those years—whatever their political affiliation—were impressed that Horgan was willing to take the time to meet with them. And no, I'm not calling on current premier David Eby to make the same move (though he should maybe think about it), but I admired Horgan for taking the time out of his day to meet the people who were set to be a big part of B.C.'s future. Horgan, of course, passed away in November of last year, and I couldn't help but think about him when putting together this year's list, our 12th annual. I think he'd enjoy the diverse crop we've put together, which includes numerous companies that make beverages (something in the water, I guess), along with, among many others, a cybersecurity expert, an accounting whiz, two siblings who make cookies and even a former BC Liberal candidate. With not-so-great news seeming to show up everywhere one turns these days, it's my absolute pleasure to highlight these fantastic young minds (p.26). You'll also find an excellent feature on how such young minds are being educated nowadays, from longtime BCBusiness contributor Dee Hon. "Does That Compute?" (p.49) digs into how post-secondary institutions are preparing students for the vast capabilities that AI can bring to different industries. If you asked veteran real estate columnist Frances Bula, she'd probably tell you that AI could have done at least as good a job at masterminding Vancouver's controversial Broadway Plan as the city's planners did. In "Show Time" (p.20), Bula makes the case that Vancouver bungled its major housing push. Also on the topic of bungling things, outdoor enthusiast Steven Threndyle tells the tale of how the founders of beloved B.C. bike brand Kona Bikes recently bought their company back from the U.S. parent company they sold it to just after the pandemic in "Taking Back Their Bikes" (p.13). It's the kind of story that we love telling in this magazine: hard-working local founders taking matters into their own hands as only they can. Which brings me back to John Horgan. He knew the importance of founders like that, and he sought to give them time and attention. Recently, I interviewed new forests minister and Horgan mentee Ravi Parmar for a piece that ran on our website. Horgan was famous for his quips and Parmar recalled a classic Horganism that has stuck with me since he related it to me: "You wouldn't care what people thought of you if you knew how seldom they did." DESK DITOR'S e Our 11th annual Most Resilient Cities for Work ranking NEXT NATHAN CADDELL Editor-in-Chief bcb@canadawide.com | @bcbusiness | Follow BCBusiness on

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