Vancouver Foundation

Volunteer Profile p a g e 1 0 I V a n c o u v e r F o u n d a t i o n l F a l l 2 0 1 5 Making Time for Philanthropy Jason McLean, Vancouver Foundation's board chair and one of Vancouver's most in-demand professionals, knows the value of giving back By Lena Sin | Photos CLaudette CarraCedo It's not every day a former prime minister shows up unan- nounced, but for Jason McLean, it's just another day at the office. When former prime minister Jean Chrétien recently arrived at the entrepreneur's Gastown office, no doubt it raised a few eyebrows, but McLean, who once worked for the prime minis- ter, knows better than to be surprised. "He initially asked for my dad and – even though I worked for him for a couple years and spent a lot of time with him around the world – when he found out my dad wasn't here, he said, 'Well, I'll talk to the young guy,'" laughs McLean. "He never uses my name." McLean worked closely with Chrétien as a special assistant for two years, scouting out places in advance of the prime minister's arrival. While it was a job to remember (in fact, one of McLean's television production companies is now developing a show based loosely on his experience), the call of home eventually trumped the glamour of travelling the globe and meeting politicians like former U.S. president Bill Clinton. In 2002, McLean returned to Vancouver to join the family business his father, David, started in 1972. e younger McLean is now president and CEO of e McLean Group, a large con- glomerate with its reach extending to real estate, film and televi- sion production, telecommunications and aviation. Needless to say, McLean, 42, married and father of a two- year-old girl, is a busy man. Yet he added one more title to his already-crammed resumé this year when he became chair of Vancouver Foundation's board of directors. For McLean, the decision to step in was easy.

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