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/813780
A t the BCTech Summit in March, I strolled through an exhibition hall brimming with ingenuity. The tech- nology companies that gathered at the Vancouver Convention Centre represent British Columbia's future. OK, but how many of them will still be around in 45 years? By any standard, staying in the game that long is an impressive achievement. I'm proud to helm the magazine that began its life in 1972 as Business in B.C., under founding editor and publisher Joe Martin. What's now called BCBusiness changed owners twice during the 1980s, getting picked up by Jim Pattison before Peter Legge and Neil Soper bought it in 1990. As part of Canada Wide Media Ltd., it's become an indispensable resource for anyone who cares about business in this province. When Martin kicked things off 45 years ago, B.C. was home to just 2.3 million people, less than half its current population. The average Vancouver-area home went for about $31,500, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, less than three times typical family income. Back then, no one could have foreseen the events that would transform the prov- ince and how it does business, from Expo 86 to the rise of the Internet. The future has a funny way of not turning out as expected. (Remember peak oil, the Segway—and a Hillary Clinton presidency?) That didn't stop us from look- ing ahead in "Edge of Tomorrow." Besides breaking new ground in fields like mixed reality and artificial intel- ligence, the 10 companies highlighted starting on page 31 are tackling cli- mate change and environmental deg- radation. A special thank you to one of them, Finger Food Studios Inc., for providing the location and Microsoft HoloLens glasses for the cover shoot. To mark our anniversary, this story includes a time- line—contributed by my predecessor, Matt O'Grady—that follows B.C. business through five decades. We also look forward in Andrew Findlay's "Clean Break" (p.44), which profiles six local alternative energy plays. Fossil fuels remain crucial to the Canadian economy, but watch for renewables to keep gaining market share. That trend will be good for B.C., home to hun- dreds of cleantech outfits, especially if talents like hydrogen power champion and recent 30 Under 30 winner Simon Pickup can export their products and services. On that note, I'm optimistic about tomor- row. I couldn't ask for a better team, or a bet- ter place to edit a business magazine. Bring on the next 45 years. 16 BCBUSINESS MAY 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 Why so many British Columbians are wealthier—and poorer—than they think IN JUNE Happy Anniversary You may recognize Matt O'Grady as the former editor-in- chief of BCBusiness. After two stints in that role (2008-11 and 2014-16), O'Grady has turned to freelance writing, teaching and consulting. When putting together the timeline (p.32) for our 45th anniversary feature, he was struck by how much B.C.'s economy has evolved since the 1970s. "Resource companies are still huge," he says, "but the rise of e-commerce and these tech players is noteworthy." Adam Blasberg enjoyed shooting this month's cover and "Industrial Strength" (p.32), about mixed reality innovator Finger Food Studios, at the company's massive Holodeck in Port Coquitlam. Blasberg thinks Finger Food CEO Ryan Peterson is leading B.C. into the future with class. "He clearly has a passion for tech, creativity and people," the photographer notes. "He's a perfect steward for the 45th anniversary cover."