BCBusiness

8 BCBUSINESS MARCH 2016 PORTRAIT: ADAM BLASBERG As magazine editors, we here at BCBusiness are sensitive to overused business jargon. (Hence the new back-of-magazine column we introduced in February called Jargon Watch. This month: Granular!) But we couldn't avoid a particular piece of jargon to frame this year's survey of B.C.'s most influential women. The frame: Disruption. In reprising the popular feature, we decided the 2016 edition needed a bit of an edge. Rather than simply acknowledge women who are inf luential because they've reached the top, we decided to spotlight women who are using their power to shape popular opinion, change the way things are done in their role/organization or make meaningful societal change. Some of that influence may seem obvious. Jill Krop is news director for Global BC—the dominant TV news operation in the prov- ince. Global (and its predecessor, BCTV) have long had an outsized influence over the news agenda in B.C.—in particular, shaping how poli- tics is reported and indeed practised here. While Global, like all mainstream media, is fighting for its life in this new world of bloggers and YouTubers, the station remains the go-to source for many British Columbians (and indeed, for the many bloggers and YouTubers who piggyback on its newsgathering). Krop is the woman who chooses what stories get told and what don't, and how those stories are told. That's dis- ruptive influence. Similarly, the premier of the prov- ince: her presence on such a list should be a given, right? Well, being a female officeholder doesn't necessarily equate to being an agent of change, as Rita Johnston, Kim Campbell, Pauline Marois and other examples attest. But Christy Clark, who came to power five years ago with virtually no caucus sup- port, has always governed as a bit of an outsider—with a fearlessness (some say delight) in challenging conventions. "Sta- tus quo lives and breathes more heartily inside big institutions than anywhere else in society," Clark tells BCBusiness associate editor Marcie Good. "I think you always have to be question- ing the relevance of everything you're doing all the time and be prepared to change it." And then there are the lesser-known names on our list: Nanon de Gaspé Beaubien-Mattrick, who's upending conventions in finance; Janet Landucci, who shook things up at the Vancouver Aquarium; and even the mayor of tiny Hudson's Hope (pop. 970), Gwen Johansson, who both literally and figuratively stands in the way of development at Site C—the largest public infra- structure project in B.C.'s history. Boldface names or not, the 35 women pro- filed here ("Women of Influence: The Power to Disrupt," p.43) will have a significant impact on how business is conducted in B.C. in 2016. Will the disruption be for good? Only time will tell. C O N T R I B U T O R S Matt O'Grady, Editor-in-Chief mogrady@canadawide.com / @BCBusiness Since she started writing "quite fervently" in elementary school, new BCBusiness associate editor (and long-time BCB contributor) Marcie Good has focused on people trying to solve very big problems. For Women of Influence (p.43), she says that the definition of "disrupter" that stayed in her mind was someone who is working for "meaningful change": "What really united them was an enthusiasm and belief in that purpose." Photographer Tanya Goehring is based in Vancouver but has worked with clients and subjects from around the globe. For this issue of BCBusiness, she had just half an hour to shoot Global TV news director Jill Krop for the Women of Influence feature—plus the cover. "It was a little bit crazy, but she's such a professional that I barely even needed to direct her because she's so used to being in front of the camera." Movers and Shakers editor's desk IN APRIL Who are the best and brightest millennials in B.C.? Read our third annual 30 Under 30 to find out!

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