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/796032
I know I sound like someone's dad here, but it isn't getting any easier to succeed in busi- ness. That reality makes the achievements of our latest 30 Under 30 winners (p.27) all the more impressive. The annual ranking turns four this year, and the range and calibre of the young British Columbians who make the -nal cut keeps surprising us. While we were putting the list together, I had the pleasure of interviewing several winners. Humble wasn't always a word that leapt to mind during those conversations, but they're -ne people who deserve their success. I came away with the sense that for the leaders we recognize in this issue, busi- ness doesn't mean winning at all costs or at someone else's expense. If anything, it means doing right by your employees and suppliers, treating the world around you with respect and o…ering a product or service that improves people's lives. Thank you and congratulations to every- one. Props to photographer Evaan Kheraj, creative director Cathy Mullaly and deputy art director Stesha Ho for the beau- tiful portraits, and to the Rocky Mountaineer for hosting the shoot at its Vancouver station. We couldn't have done this without Oliver Lam, manager of custom content and stra- tegic partnerships, who played a key role in gathering information from and communicating with the -nalists. I'm also grateful to associate editors Marcie Good and Felicity Stone, along with contributors Dee Hon and Jacob Parry, for putting so much care into their pro-les of the 30 Under 30. We're fortunate that these extraor- dinary young people call B.C. home. I hope my son and daughter, aged 18 and 15, follow their example by thinking creatively, working hard and showing compassion for others. I also hope they can build a life here—a tall order given the high cost of housing, one issue I raised in a pre-election Q&A with Premier Christy Clark, Opposition leader John Horgan and BC Green Party head Andrew Weaver (p.20). My son, a freshman at the University of Waterloo, may never move back to Vancouver. The 30 Under 30 are proof of B.C.'s rich tal- ent pool, but this is no time for complacency. With so many opportunities in Ontario and other parts of the world, what can govern- ment and business do to make our province a friendlier and more a…ordable place to start a career? Lower home prices, higher wages and more head o¡ces would go a long way. Of course that's easier said than done, but if I were in my 20s today and contemplating my future, I'd want to see some action on all three fronts. We all need to do more to stop the next generation from taking their skills and ener¢y elsewhere. Our future depends on it. 14 BCBUSINESS APRIL 2017 PORTRAIT: ADAM BLASBERG C O N T R I B U T O R S Nick Rockel, Editor-in-Chief bcb@canadawide.com / @BCBusiness editor's desk For our 45th anniversary issue, we look at companies that will keep B.C. innovative IN MAY A New Age After graduating from McGill University, Jacob Parry ("30 Under 30," p.27) interned at BCBusiness, becoming staff writer in 2013. Now freelancing for publications that include Vancouver and the Globe and Mail, Parry has contributed to every 30 Under 30 feature since 2014. "I was skeptical in the first year that we would be able to find a new crop each year," he says. "It's safe to say that we're still finding accomplished 20-somethings." Evaan Kheraj was born in Ontario, moved to Burnaby in his teens and is now based in New York, but he photographs still life, portrait and travel images all over the world— including in Vancouver, where he shot this year's 30 Under 30 winners (p.27). Kheraj works for magazine clients, among them Elle Canada and Vanity Fair, and corporate ones, such as Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. and Lululemon Athletica Inc.