Meet Emerging Leaders Reinventing How Canada Does Business

FIGHTING ANTI-BLACK MAKING PUBLIC TRANSIT BUILDING A GENERATION CREATING A ONE-PERSON RACISM IN THE COURTS AS CONVENIENT AS OF INDIGENOUS ELECTRIC FLYING CAR —AND ON BAY STREET CALLING AN UBER ENTREPRENEURS (YES, REALLY)

50MEET EMERGING LEADERS REINVENTING HOW CANADA DOES BUSINESS

ATRISHA LEWIS PARTNER, MCCARTHY TÉTRAULT

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2 EDITOR’S NOTE

4 SEVEN THINGS The big surge in CHANGE MAKERS streaming services, Meet 50 emerging leaders working to find pragmatic increasing your sales solutions to the world’s most daunting problems, including by growing a beard climate change, racial injustice, gender inequity, Indigenous and the search for reconciliation and gaps in the education system. Because more complete ways of we could all use some signs of hope in these grim times. measuring workforce /By Rosemary Counter and Katie Underwood diversity

7 NEED TO KNOW Pantonium’s If employers really want Remi Desa is to increase women’s transforming public transit representation, the faster for the Uber they do it, the better age. Page 18

9 BIG IDEA 36 ESG investing is now OIL CHANGE all the rage, but does it Why a pandemic that actually pay off? The clobbered global oil answers aren’t clear yet prices is actually a good thing for Canada’s 11 ASK AN EXPERT Most people aren’t as oil sands producers bad at giving Zoom (or at least it could be). GG presentations as they /By Max Fawcett DA

S think, but we could all use some pointers THOMA 12 THE EXCHANGE

(RIGHT) Cynthia Garneau took 42 O; over as CEO of VIA Rail WORST YEAR EVER

PINT only to see ridership Okay, maybe it’s not

DE plunge by 95% because

JA the worst ever, but

A- of blockades and here’s what 10 leaders COVID-19. But she’s still KENY learned during the

BY pushing hard for a high- frequency future chaos of the pandemic, from the personal GAZINE to the professional.

MA 52 WEALTH B The price of silver RO

R rocketed up in 2020 and FO

Y Maria Smirnova runs the only silver equity fund

USIVEL in North America. That 46 CL rewarded her for years EX THINK DIFFERENT of work—and then some In the global hunt for

APHED tech-savvy workers, GR 56 TURNING POINT

TO those diagnosed with Kevin Krausert quit oil

PHO drilling to become a autism and other matchmaker for clean- neurological disorders

RIGHT) energy innovators and can be a huge asset— ND deep-pocketed investors just ask Microsoft (A who are desperately and TD. /By Jennifer VER seeking projects Lewington CO

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 1 Editor’s Note March 2021, Volume 37, No. 3 Editorial Editor JAMES COWAN Assistant Editor DAWN CALLEJA Senior Editor JOHN DALY Copy Editors LISA FIELDING, SUSAN NERBERG Research CATHERINE DOWLING, ANNA-KAISA WALKER Art Art Director DOMENIC MACRI Associate Art Director BRENNAN HIGGINBOTHAM Director of Photography CLARE VANDER MEERSCH Contributors DEBORAH AARTS, LIZA AGRBA, JOE CASTALDO, TREVOR COLE, ROSEMARY COUNTER, TIM KILADZE, JASON KIRBY, ALEX MLYNEK, JOANNA PACHNER, JUDITH PEREIRA, KATIE UNDERWOOD Advertising Chief Revenue Officer ANDREW SAUNDERS Managing Director, Creative Studios and Ad Innovation TRACY DAY Senior Manager, Special Products ANDREA D’ANDRADE Product Manager Amateurs vs. professionals RYAN HYSTEAD Production Robert Barrow was a U.S. Marine for 41 years, serving in the Second World War Vice President, Print Operations and the Korean and Vietnam wars. While he received awards for heroism in SALLY PIRRI Production Co-ordinator combat, his most significant achievements came later, when he overhauled the ISABELLE CABRAL service’s often brutal training regimen. Appointed to lead the Marines in 1979, Publisher he was an individual with vast experience in not only accomplishing difficult PHILLIP CRAWLEY tasks but also teaching others to do the same. Late in his career, Barrow gave an Editor-in-Chief, The Globe and Mail DAVID WALMSLEY interview on the merits of a pending arms treaty. “A mateurs talk about strategy Managing Director, Business and tactics,” he observed. “Professionals talk about logistics and sustainability.” and Financial Products Barrow had led troops into deadly confrontations and reformed a sprawling GARTH THOMAS Editor, Report on Business organization that was resistant to change. Those experiences led to this insight: GARY SALEWICZ It’s easy to craft a brilliant-sounding plan. Real leadership is demonstrated through the execution. Report on Business magazine is published 7 times a year by The Globe Barrow’s observation—often truncated or misattributed—has been reprinted and Mail Inc., 351 King Street E., Toronto many times on motivational posters and repeated by management consultants. M5A 0N1. Telephone 416-585-5000. It came to mind recently when, skimming through LinkedIn, I noticed the large Letters to the Editor: [email protected]. number of my connections who describe themselves as a “strategist” of some The next issue will be on March 27. sort (logisticians were much harder to find). Strategic plans, reviews and pivots Copyright 2021, The Globe and Mail. are all very beguiling. The tricky task of implementation rarely is. Indexed in the Canadian Periodical Index. Advertising Offices This was a top consideration in assembling our inaugural list of changemak- Head Office, The Globe and Mail, ers, which you’ll find in this issue. Given the unrelenting bad news of the past 351 King Street E., Toronto M5A 0N1 year, it felt valuable to honour emerging leaders who are working to create an Telephone 416-585-5111 or toll-free 1-866-999-9237 economy that’s more sustainable, inclusive and innovative. Our call for nomi- Branch Offices nations yielded hundreds of names. Each nominee was evaluated on not just Montreal 514-982-3050 their ambitions but also their accomplishments and, perhaps most importantly, Vancouver 604-685-0308 Calgary 403-245-4987 their impact within their industries and communities. Our research team inter- Email: [email protected] viewed each candidate and contacted mentors, colleagues or other references. United States and countries outside of The result is a list of 50 individuals who are in the early stages of their careers North America: AJR Media Group, but already making a real difference in the world. 212-426-5932, ajrmediagroup@ globeandmail.com There is a fable about a group of mice terrorized by a cat. After years of hard- Publications mail registration No. 7418. ship, the rodents gather together to find a solution. Following considerable The publisher accepts no responsibility debate, a young mouse declares: “A ll we have to do is hang a bell from around for unsolicited manuscripts, SHIRI KE

the cat’s neck!” The animals erupt in celebration, until an old mouse poses a transparencies or other material. H Printed in Canada by Transcontinental OS

question: “Who will put the bell on the cat?” The moral of that story, according Printing Inc. UR to a century-old children’s book: “It is one thing to say that something should be Report on Business magazine is electronically KO available through subscription to Factiva.com done, but quite a different matter to do it.” from Factiva, at factiva.com/factiva APH Send feedback to GR Our changemakers haven’t just said something needs to be done about cli- or 416-306-2003. robmagletters@ TO globeandmail.com mate change, gender equity or reconcilliation. They’re doing it. /James Cowan tgam.ca/r PHO

2 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS Advisory Board

Forever changed THE MOST events, including CES, have In our last issue, we celebrated Canada’s best chief SIGNIFICANT had to pivot, allowing millions executives and their ability to find opportunities CHANGE of people anywhere in the amid a pandemic. Now we’ve invited executives WE’VE MADE IS world to attend a virtual DOUBLING DOWN conference. In-person events from the Report on Business list of Canada’s Top ON CREATING AND will be back, but now people Growing Companies to share how the pandemic DISTRIBUTING will have a choice. has permanently changed their businesses THOUGHT LEADERSHIP RAJ SINGH MORGAN BROWNE online and digital information CONTENT FOR PRESIDENT AND CEO, FUELLED PRESIDENT, OAKWYN REALTY is a permanent outcome of OUR INDUSTRY. BY Runs an online marketplace Brokers real estate for PROVIDING OUR for buying and selling the past year and will only oil and gas equipment homebuyers and investors continue to grow as we’re CUSTOMERS WITH In the past year, the real moving forward. INFORMATION In the past year, we have estate industry has seen the AND DATA TO found that customers who emergence of virtual methods EREZ ZEVULUNOV MAKE BETTER were hesitant about change to reach buyers. From live- PRESIDENT, M.I.T. CONSULTING DECISIONS, are now comfortable buying streaming open houses to Provides managed IT and WE HAVE technical and high-dollar-value cybersecurity services ramping up our social media BEEN ABLE TO items from across the world. At presence, we’re adapting Today, I could never imagine STRENGTHEN OUR home, these consumers were regularly to new forms of driving across town for a RELATIONSHIPS. forced to use Amazon and technology. These services 30-minute meeting. Now, I JASON LEONARD other online shopping services. PRESIDENT, RENTSYNC help to showcase a home can also attend conferences Provides marketing So they are now comfortable virtually and reach a new that I missed due to time software and services buying B2B products and group of buyers. Reliance on restrictions. The biggest for rental properties services online, as well. TL;DR 3 Women mentoring men could help address gender bias “By mentoring men, women may be able to reduce gender bias, normalize interactions between the genders, and create a new generation of allies. Women mentors will also receive the same benefits that all mentors traditionally receive from the mentoring relationship, including the 03//2121 opportunity to gain from the success of the mentees and shape culture in their respective institutions.” TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ 7 IDEAS YOU NEED TO HEAR —Cindy Schipani et al., University of Pennsylvania Journal of Business Law

CONSUMERS ARE 4 People WILLING TO PAY WANT TO enjoy online FOR ON-DEMAND 2 INCREASE5learning Playing YOUR One-third of consumers ENTERTAINMENT used an educational app video SALES? during the pandemic, and Average monthly spending on streaming services reached most were satisfied with $47 at the end of 2020, up from $38 in April. J.D. Power games is GROW A the experience, according to found more than half of consumers use four—or more. a great a Deloitte consumer survey. NUMBER OF STREAMING SERVICES YOU USE BEARD team- 60% “Sales ADEQUATE APRIL 2020 building SUBSTITUTE DECEMBER 2020 activity personnel with a beard are 34% 20% The SUPERIOR increase in perceived as ALTERNATIVE productivity for co-workers after having more spending 45 6% expertise DISAPPOINTED minutes playing video games across various 1 2 3 4 5 6 7+ together. industries; furthermore, It’s a good Companies are looking increased time to be at the diversity of their perceptions a personal of expertise shopper 7 6 whole staff predict higher Nearly two-thirds of employers intend to measure The pandemic caused a diversity by looking at the makeup of their workforce ratings of year-over-year spike in the as a whole, according to West Monroe’s quarterly trustworthiness number of people holding executive poll. certain jobs, according and, sub- to PayScale, a salary sequently, comparison website. The HOW ARE YOU MEASURING DIVERSITY IN 2021? “hottest” roles identified: increase •HEALTH-CARE SCREENER consumers’ 65% 33% 27% 19% 13% •PERSONAL SHOPPER purchase •RV SERVICE TECHNICIAN MAKEUP MAKEUP MAKEUP OF PARTNERS WE WON’T likelihood.” •NON-DESTRUCTIVE OF ENTIRE OF JOB BOARD OR OWNED BY MEASURE —Sarah Mittal et al., TESTING TECHNICIAN WORKFORCE APPLICANTS COMPANY WOMEN AND DIVERSITY Journal of Business •AREA OPERATIONS LEADERSHIP MINORITIES Research MANAGER

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Full speed ahead Why “slow and steady” is the wrong approach for increasing women’s representation in an organization

Hire more women—and do it quickly. That’s the upshot of new research underscoring the importance of overcoming barriers to women’s participation in the workforce. Increasing representation of women within an organization swiftly and substantively decreases the overall rate of employee turnover, according to Cara Maurer, assistant professor, general management and strategy at Ivey Business School at Western University. Maurer and co-author Israr Qureshi, of Australian National University, recently published a study in the journal Organizational Studies offering insight into how companies should RIJN

N proceed when seeking to broaden diversity.

VA The researchers examined data from annual ON employment equity reports for 499 Canadian private and public organizations, spanning 14 years. MADIS “We wanted to understand what was actually hap- IONS pening in Canada, over a larger time frame, with rep- AT

TR resentation of women,” Maurer says. The research US was finished before the pandemic; Maurer expects ILL

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 7 Need to know

UNEMPLOYMENT PERCENTAGE RATE FOR more opportunities for women to form WOMEN 15 YEARS AND OLDER relationships,” Maurer says. While the 9.4 research doesn’t outline a specific recom- mended time frame, the researchers advise 7.3 7.1 6.9 recruiters to go “as fast as seems reason- 6.6 6.4 6.3 6.3 able, given your specific context and your 5.9 5.6 5.3 specific situation.” The pandemic has knocked women’s participation in the labour force down from a historic high to its lowest level in 30 years, says Vandana Juneja, executive director of Catalyst Canada, a non-profit organization working to accelerate prog- 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 ress for women in the workplace, citing recent research from RBC. the results would be even more heightened now. She agrees with the importance of While the data shows firms are hiring women, they’re not, bringing women into the workplace, but on average, retaining them. “It’s not enough to say ‘let’s hire’ adds it’s also important to consider other but then not pay attention to what happens after,” Maurer aspects of a diverse workforce. “If we have says. To explore how retaining female employees can be ben- a homogenous group of women who are eficial to a firm, the researchers focused on the relationship being brought into an organization, there between the representation of women on the payroll and the may be unintended consequences with employee turnover rate. respect to inclusion,” she says. “We want “A s the representation of women goes up in companies, to ensure that there is a diverse mix of you see a drop in what happens to overall employee turn- individuals, and whether that be diver- over,” Maurer says. The researchers theorize increasing the sity through race or ethnicity or age, for nunumbermber of women in a workforce leads to more relationship- example, or ability. In whatever way that building throughout the company. This, in turn, boosts “job diversity shows up, it’s important to have a embeddedness,” or specific factors influencing employee mix of diversity.” retention, including links to the others in the organization, The study did not focus on whether sense of fit and perception of costs of quitting. women were joining the organization at “This relationship aspect of it hasn’t been studied as a particular level. Similar studies have much. We often think about new job security or good pay, looked more specifically at women on and not necessarily about how people are relating socially boards or in executive positions, Maurer in the organization,” Maurer says. “The more you add these says, but this research considered women meaningful relationships inside, there is more ability to feel throughout the entire organization. embedded at work.” The research highlights the need for The researchers found that the pace of hiring also mat- employers to give employees opportu- ters. A rapid and substantive change in the representation nities for social relationships to form in of women has more positive effects for organizations than both physical and virtual spaces, Maurer a slow and incremental change, the study states. Speedy says. What’s key is creating a possibil- increases bring more and better relationships. ity for relationships to be built, which is “If you’re going quickly, you really are bringing so many particularly important during the pandemic. Employers should be checking in and ensuring people feel linked to the organization, not isolated and like they THE LOW PRICE OF A STERLING REPUTATION are fending for themselves, she says. “It’s such a stressful time for everyone, and I Companies with a strong reputation can afford to charge a premium think the relational piece is probably one of the most helpful aspects to get all of us for their products (cases in point: Apple, Peloton, Brooks Brothers). through it,” Maurer says. But a business can also hurt its good name by charging high prices, Amid a pandemic that’s dispropor- according to a working paper published by the National Bureau of tionately affecting women’s workforce Economic Research. The study focused on Yelp reviews of restau- participation, Juneja agrees that leaders rants, finding for every 1% increase in prices, there was a 3% to 5% should be reaching out to employees, drop in the establishment’s average rating. Moreover, the lower rat- especially those who they may not be ings seemed to be left by new customers and not returning ones hearing from regularly. “There’s the pos- angered by a new price tag. “This finding also supports the notion sibility for people to get a bit lost in this that prices are, to some extent, used as a reference point or a signal environment right now where we’re vir- to set users’ expectations for quality,” the researchers conclude. tual,” she says. /Cailynn Klingbeil

8 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS ots seems right. A climate change denier recently departed from the White House, and the pandemic has disrupted supply chains, exposed unsafe working conditions and threatened to turn office buildings into stranded assets. But these high-profile developments also shine an extra bright beam on the old question of whether it pays to invest ethically. It is (still) not clear what kind of bounce ESG investing delivers, even as it becomes an increasingly crowded space. In the past four years, investment funds that use ESG principles expanded from a third of the global market to two-thirds, says Sean Cleary, BMO professor of finance at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business and the executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Finance. ESG, he BIG IDEA adds, “has been gaining traction.” Several organizations, including Bloom- berg and Morgan Stanley (with its MSCI Thriving in a Index), now rank companies based on ESG criteria, ranging from environmental competitive environment policies to good governance strategies. After the 2008 credit meltdown, capital Socially responsible policies are good for corporate image, markets scholars showed that companies but are they a benefit to shareholders as well? with higher ESG ratings outperformed their peers. As University of Waterloo professor of accounting and finance Eliza- hen BlackRock chair and CEO Larry Fink beth Demers notes, that performance sent his annual letter to CEOs and clients could relate to those companies taking a in January, he used the opportunity to prudent approach to risk management in effectively put the entire investing uni- volatile conditions. verse on notice. He said the giant asset However, the COVID-19 pandemic— management firm, with US$9 trillion which had nothing to do with obscure invested mainly in index funds, would be financial instruments or overheated mar- getting very serious about climate change. kets—ignited a global economic crisis that The issue would be “a defining feature” in posed a different sort of stress test for ESG companies’ long-term prospects, as Fink stocks and funds, one that has drawn the put it. “I believe we are on the edge of a critical scrutiny of analysts who follow fundamental reshaping of finance.” this kind of investing. His pronouncement came only a few University of Calgary finance profes- months after Brookfield Asset Manage- sor Yrjö Koskinen and three collabora- ment revealed its hiring of former cen- tors recently published research showing tral banker Mark Carney to spearhead that the stocks of U.S. firms with high ES the $575-billion firm’s environmental, rankings (the researchers excluded gov- social and governance (ESG) strategy and ernance) dropped less dramatically dur- merely days before General Motors dis- ing the precipitous March 2020 market closed it would end the production of gas- plunge than markets overall. The result powered vehicles as of 2035. held even when Koskinen and his col- The timing of these companies’ piv- leagues focused on specific industries or

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 9 % INVESTORS WHO THINK ESG PORTFOLIOS WILL OUTPERFORM OTHERS 68 63 2018 firms with certain financial man- 2019 imbalance. “It’s not because ESG agement policies, such as keep- 55 is driving value per se,” she says. 2020 ing cash reserves on hand. “It’s because there’s excess inves- 46 In a 2018 study, Koskinen’s 44 44 tor demand for ESG-oriented group also found that invest- 41 firms or indices.” In the medium ments in corporate social re- term, however, those imbalances 34 sponsibility initiatives tended may level out, at which point to “decrease systemic risk” and 28 companies or fund families tout- increase firm value, especially 24 25 25 ing these kinds of performance for companies that offer special- metrics won’t stand out quite as ized products. obviously. That’s the good news, from an It’s also interesting to observe ESG perspective. The less prom- which of the letters in this now ising finding is that these same ubiquitous acronym are gener- firms rebounded less vigorously ating the most traction these than the markets overall as equi- U.S. CANADAEUROPE ASIA days. Professor Cleary points ties climbed back in the second out that many companies, espe- quarter of 2020. Drawing the fund companies were actively cially larger ones, started adopt- conclusion that high ES scores buying shares in highly ranked ing good governance practices are always better from a valua- ES companies. The rationale, about 15 years ago. He adds that tion perspective, Koskinen adds, presumably, was that these firms the devastating impact COVID- “is way too optimistic.” may be better positioned to with- 19 has had on many workplaces Demers’s research muddies stand the economic shocks cre- has also brought the S issues to the ESG waters even further. ated by the pandemic. the forefront. An August 2020 New York Uni- Good PR is also a factor. With But both Demers and Koski- versity Stern School of Business more and more investors look- nen say the E is the marker that paper she co-authored found ing for funds with some kind of is attracting the most attention that high ESG scores didn’t sustainability or social burnish, from both executives and inves- “immunize” stocks during the issuers have a more traditional tors who are thinking about market crash. “We conclude that financial motive to depict them- future crises. celebrations of ESG as an impor- selves as being on the side of the The motivation isn’t just the tant resilience factor in times of angels—as, in fact, do the various deluge of scientific evidence crisis are, at best, premature,” the ranking outfits, whose business about climate change, plus the report stated. it is to measure goodness. MSCI, daunting material risks facing, Besides these seemingly con- Demers points out, “has a com- for example, property insurance tradictory results, Koskinen and mercial interest” in promoting companies. “It’s fundamentally Demers agree that the relation- these kinds of indices. a long-term reality that with ship between high ESG rankings Demers further notes that changes in the climate and regu- and valuations or returns is com- the immutable laws of supply lation, firms are going to have to plex—not quite causal, but not and demand seem to be at work change their behaviour or they’ll immaterial, either. “There are a here. The “massive” appetite for have to completely abandon lot of other things going on in the shares in companies with high their businesses,” says Demers. world,” Demers says. ESG rankings far outstrips sup- Adds Koskinen: “When Fink For example, both point to ply, which means increased valu- writes these letters, everyone research showing that investors ations may be an artifact of this pays attention.” /John Lorinc who seek out stocks or funds with high ESG scores tend to be more loyal and less likely to Big Idea is produced with the support of our advisory panel unload their holdings in volatile markets. Some of that loyalty, moreover, is imposed by large institutional funds that have woven ESG principles into their Yrjo Koskinen, Associate Dean, Research; Yolande Chan, Associate Dean, Haskayne School of Business Research at Smith School of Business investment strategies. Stephane Massinon, Director, Public Nancy Evans, Executive Director, Koskinen says there was also Relations; Haskayne School of Business Marketing and Communications, evidence during the spring pan- Smith School of Business. demic market free fall that some

10 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS Need to know

aggression, lateness to meetings, missed deadlines—but better bosses should assume burnout’s already happening and address it. Think top-down first: “Set up a forum where employees are encouraged to talk and vent so they don’t feel alone,” suggests Giffin. You can participate too, and you should, in order to cultivate a safe space where it’s okay to share stresses and talk about mental health. Any and all resources you have on offer, such as oft-underused employee assistance program providers, ASK AN EXPERT should be widely promoted and accessible. Next, think Screen fright bottom-up: “Whenever you can, connect with employees I’ve always been a lousy presenter, and it’s worse on Zoom. on a personal level. People How can I keep my team’s attention on video calls? forget you can just pick up the phone,” she says. But the single most important thing a boss Presentation expert Dave Paradi they would from the back of can do to fight virtual burnout? often finds himself talking to a boardroom,” notes Paradi. “Remember, leaders set a grid of black squares. He More importantly, he says, “in boundaries in any organization. could assume he’s bad and a boardroom, your slides are If you tell everyone you turn boring, and nobody is listening. always competing with you.” off your email at 7 p.m. and to But he doesn’t—and neither Zoom lets you choose video please respect that, they will,” should you. “Most people think when you’re feeling engaging she says. Moreover, you’ve made they’re far worse at presenting and cut to a slide when you need it okay for them to do the same. than they really are,” says the a break. As tempting as it is to founder of Think Outside the hide your own distracting image, My employees are hoarding Slide. For this widespread don’t. “Be aware of the camera vacation days until the pandemic misconception, blame curated to make sure not just your face ends. What should I do? TED Talks, tech wunderkinds but your hand gestures are in the “Employers have an obligation and standing ovations in rom- frame,” says Paradi. to make sure employees take com denouements. “You’re doing vacation,” explains Cissy Pau, a regular update of results for It’s about to be a long, cold, lonely principal consultant at Clear your team; nobody expects you work-from-home winter. How can HR. This will solve a larger to be Steve Jobs,” says Paradi. I fight employee burnout virtually? problem—a mass staff exodus Success is when necessary info Even before COVID-19, when travel’s allowed—but that’s is delivered and retained. You employee burnout was rampant not why you should force breaks. can achieve this goal by working and rising: People work longer “Even if they can’t go anywhere, backwards: “What do you want hours, skip vacations and people need to unplug, rest and your team to do or know? This check email all night. Then relax,” says Pau (see burnout, is your focus, and if you and add in a pandemic. “Now it’s so above). And although you your audience both understand much worse,” says Brea Giffin, have the right to change your where you’re going, people are director at Sprout Wellness. policy, don’t. “Now’s the time Y more likely to stay with you.” “We’re working from home, so for empathy, compassion and

KENDR Now ditch the bad attitude about disconnecting is even harder, flexibility,” says Pau. The best M C Zoom. Thanks to this technology, and yet we’re more isolated too. vacation policy—pandemic or JOE online presentations can actually There are no long lunches or not—is to explain the rationale, ION be more effective than those after-work beers.” Good bosses send out the vacation calendar, AT

TR done in person. “People can should, of course, watch for encourage bookings and repeat US see your face much better than burnout signs—agitation or as necessary. /Rosemary Counter ILL

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 11 Need to know

THE EXCHANGE Making tracks Cynthia Garneau has had a bumpy ride since taking over VIA Rail, first with the blockades and then the pandemic, which cut ridership by as much as 95%. But she is still chugging toward her ultimate goal: growth

BY TREVOR COLE

It seems Cynthia Garneau has always thrived on unlikely challenges. On her way to becoming a special education teacher, she found herself drawn to law. As a newly minted member of the Quebec bar, she joined Bombardier, negotiating sourcing con- tracts and selling business jets. That led her to the Mirabel office of Texas-based Bell Helicopter and, after eight years, to the position of president at Bell Helicopter Textron Canada. When Bell planned to shift production from Mirabel to a new plant in Louisiana, Garneau used her jet-fuelled negotiating skills to pull the federal and provincial govern- ments to her cause. Six weeks later, Bell announced it would move full production of its 505 helicopter to Mirabel. After such high-flying achievements in aerospace, what could be more unlikely than landing in the earthbound struggles of passenger rail in a country that puts cargo first? And what could be more challenging than transforming money-losing VIA Rail (1) in the midst of a pandemic that has crushed ridership? Yet that’s the task Garneau is facing. At this point, the only thing more improb- able might be her failure to succeed.

How often do you get asked if 1. In 2019, you’re related to Marc Garneau? VIA’s operating I had it a lot when I started. It expenses totalled $691.8 will be less now that he’s moved million, while on to a different portfolio. (2) its passenger Your background is in aerospace. revenue totalled $387.5 million. What’s that industry like for an The government ambitious woman? provided $280.7 It’s filled with opportunities. million in funding. It’s an industry that relies on 2. The former lots of expertise, technically, astronaut was administratively, financially, Minister of legally. I’m seeing more and Transport for more women accessing very six years, before being bumped up senior roles in aerospace. to Foreign Affairs And now I’m doing it in rail. early in 2021. (He What’s your strength as a leader? was replaced by I’m very big on teamwork— Omar Alghabra.) creating teams and giving them

12 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS O RELL ZA MAZ ALEXA APHS GR TO PHO

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 13 PASSENGER RAIL KILOMETRES TRAVELLED (MILLIONS) CHINA JAPAN 446,711 RUSSIA 133,589 GERMANY 100,015 more, we add frequencies for KOREA 93,887 were projects that certain city pairs. UNITED KINGDOM 80,526 had left the station, Through these two crises, what UNITED STATES 32,483 if you wish. But did you learn about VIA? AUSTRALIA 17,586 coming into the role, we did a Well, it’s a great way to learn DENMARK 6,560 strategic review, and there was a about a company, to learn NORWAY 3,715 strong sense that these projects about the talent of its people, CANADA 1,685 to address capacity challenges the expertise. To see if their were very important to carry on. processes are resilient. I learned the vision, objectives and targets, Eight months after you began, the that you need to stay calm and and empowering them. I’d say rail blockades happened. What communicate relentlessly. this comes from growing up in were the initial challenges of that? Shifting now, it seems to me a small town, where everybody On Feb. 13, I was sitting with the that rail travel in this country is knows each other. chair of our board when CN, the just stuck, never changing. Why Where was that? owner of a major portion of our haven’t we seen more innovation? That was in Princeville, Que. network (3), notified us that they We’re certainly looking at My parents divorced when I were closing the network for changing that. I mean, having a was eight, so I lived in blended passenger rail, and that we had to new fleet of trains doesn’t come families for a good while. That’s cease and repatriate passengers very often. So that is going to why I’m very big on teams, and employees as quickly as move the needle quite a bit in because it’s kind of an extension possible. And 24 hours later, terms of customer experience of a family. almost all of our network came and increasing capacity. We’re Before you took the job at VIA in to a stop. highly dependent now on the 2019, how many big rail trips had You had no control over dealing infrastructure owners. For us you taken? with the blockades themselves? to be able to increase frequency Not a whole lot, but I remember Nope. Not at all. is not easy. the first one. It was in my early That was up to CN? Is there anywhere else in the world teenage years. Some friends and CN, but I would say mostly the where the passenger rail service I ended up participating in a government and the Indigenous owns only 3% of its infrastructure? bilingual exchange. We all took communities who were Well, if they don’t own it, there the bus to Drummondville, the demonstrating. are clearer guidelines in terms of closest city with a train station, On the heels of that crisis came 3. Some 97% the capacity of the infrastructure and hopped on the train all the COVID-19. How did that affect VIA? of the rail they are getting and using. But network used way to Toronto. Same process: calling by VIA is owned definitely there’s lots of room for So you hadn’t done a lot of rail management, working with the by CN, CP passenger rail to grow. And that’s travel. What was it about the job at board, launching the crisis cell to and Ontario’s what our high-frequency rail Metrolinx. VIA VIA that intrigued you? determine how to maintain some will not disclose project is all about. It was the opportunity to baseline operations. That meant what it pays for VIA has been talking about high- transform what might be seen stopping trains in the east and the use of those frequency rail for a while. Why is it as a traditional transportation west, and keeping very minimal tracks. going to happen now? (6) company into something that frequencies in the corridor. We 4. For example, Because we have put in the could be a vehicle for change. also maintained very minimal Winnipeg– effort in the past year. So in What mandate were you given? frequencies in some of the Churchill, June 2019, the government Of course health and safety is regions where people depend Sudbury–White sponsored the project officially River and a top priority. And we had the on the rail. (4) Jonquière– by injecting $71 million into specific project of the HFR— Your ridership dropped 95% at one Senneterre. a joint project office with the high-frequency rail. That was point. (5) Where is it now? Infrastructure Bank. Since then, 5. At its peak in something the board of directors Toward the summertime it 2019, ridership we’ve been performing all the has been following since it was was doing better, so we added on the Quebec due diligence steps and reviews launched in 2016. And all of the frequencies. We went up again City–Windsor in submitting the business case other modernization initiatives, all the way to Labour Day. Then corridor to government. We did that just reached 4.8 like the new fleet of trains that we started seeing the second million, a 5% before Christmas. So right now was announced before I joined. wave, and again ridership started increase over the government has all it needs So the direction of the corporation to go down. It’s a very fluid 2018. to make a decision on next steps. had been established, and your period. We make longer trains as What’s going to change for the 6. VIA officially job was to keep it on track? much as we can when ridership proposed the VIA passenger? I wouldn’t say that. Yes, there is up. And when we need some project in 2016. Whether it’s on the existing

14 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS Need to know

1,414,660 was more capacity for VIA on the rail systems you don’t own. What are you doing to improve that? network between Quebec City 7. There are improvements we’re making We’re working very closely and Toronto, or on the new 430 cars in from an accessibility standpoint. with our partners—CN, CP, network we are proposing to VIA’s fleet. The I don’t know if you’ve ever Metrolinx—and looking for estimated cost connect more new communities, for the new been to the Ottawa station. A solutions that would benefit this increased network is going fleet is $989 lot of work has been going on everyone and allow us to to allow more passengers to million for 32 there. We’ve done great work increase frequencies. They’re “train sets.” hop on the train. It’s going also at the Halifax station. The very aware of our needs. to mean more frequencies at 8. That is, Winnipeg station is beautiful. What about climate change? better times. It’s going to mean classified We celebrated the 100th year of Where does VIA fit in a reduced- shorter travel time, because if as heritage the Vancouver station in 2019. carbon world? buildings. it’s dedicated passenger rail, you And many of them are—I don’t The new fleet of trains have a little more control. It’s 9. International know how to say it in English— comes with energy-efficient going to mean increased on-time Union of classé patrimonial. (8) We’re technologies that will make a performance as well. And the Railways. also looking at revamping our great difference. Electrifying new fleet is a more modern, reservation system so it’s much the infrastructure is also a comfortable and accessible simpler and more user-friendly. great way of doing that, and the mode of transportation. It’s Is there a model you look to HFR project is contemplating also an opportunity to leave elsewhere in the world where electrification. Then there are all the car behind. they do rail travel right? these other opportunities we can When will this new fleet arrive? We look a lot at how they do it find in our maintenance centres, The new fleet is starting delivery in Europe. We are a member of in our office spaces. These are in 2022. (7) So we are very busy the Union internationale des part of an ESG plan we have getting ready for it. Because chemins de fer (9), based in Paris. in place to continuously try to these new trains, which come They’re big on intermodality, improve our contribution to this. with new technologies, will force creating an ecosystem with other And the train itself is a way of us to look at how we maintain, transportation agencies to make reducing traffic congestion and operate and service trains. New a more seamless experience for greenhouse gas emissions. processes need to be developed passengers. That’s definitely VIA’s ridership peak was five around the new fleet, and it’s a something I’d like to champion million in 2019. When do you see great chance for us to modernize in Canada. But it requires the getting back to numbers like that? all of our processes. participation of many other It’s a tough one. We don’t have And the nirvana of high-frequency stakeholders. a crystal ball. We’re not seeing rail—when does that arrive? You said earlier you thought there this happening for 2021, for sure. The next steps are Maybe 2022 is when we’re going environmental assessment, to be on the growth path again. public consultation and And maybe we can dream of construction. The construction having that in 2023—five million could take at least three years. passengers again, maybe more. Is there any guarantee it’s actually It’s a five-year term for you. Is going to happen? there any chance of extending Like I said, the business case is that, or do you see this as a five- in the hands of the government. year experience? Until he left his role, Minister I see it as an ongoing project Garneau was hopeful we would to demonstrate that VIA is a move forward. The hope is really vehicle for change, that we are that with the upcoming spring going to be transformed, having budget, we would see clear a sustainable positive impact support for the project. for Canadians. As long as I’m So we should look for that? busy and trusted to continue Yes. I know I certainly am. to do that, I’ll be with VIA. Will any of the changes you This interview has been edited envision improve the experience and condensed. at the terminal? Of course. I think we have about Trevor Cole is the award-winning author 121 stations total throughout of five books, including The Whisky Canada, so that’s a whole lot King, a non-fiction account of Canada’s to maintain. There are lots of most infamous mobster bootlegger.

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 15 BETTER IS COMING

When youthink creatively,problem solve critically, see change as opportunity and neverstoplearning with courage and confidence,the futureisyours to create. Whychoose Sheridan?There’snothing else likeit. 50 EMERGING LEADERS TRANSFORMING BUSINESS TODAY

The list of challenges currently facing Canada is long and formidable: Kristina Menton, climate change, racial injustice, gender inequity, Indigenous recon- Director of Operations for flight testing and ciliation, gaps in our education system, outdated infrastructure and propulsion at Palo sputtering adoption of digital technology. And now, a pandemic. In Alto–based Opener, sits in the cockpit of the midst of this difficult time, we want to celebrate emerging lead- BlackFly, an all-electric ers actively working to find pragmatic solutions to these daunting aircraft capable of vertical take-offs and problems. Our search began with a call for nominations, both from landings. Page 24 the business community and our own staff. Finalists were evaluated based on their ideas, accomplishments and impact. In the end, we

RIGGIO selected 50 entrepreneurs, academics and executives who are striv-

NINA ing to find a better way of doing things. Together, they show that solutions are possible. But change won’t happen with business as usual.

BY ROSEMARY COUNTER AND KATIE UNDERWOOD. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH BY SARAH TRELEAVEN PHOTOGRAPH

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 17 18 MAR CH 20 21 / REPOR T ON BUSINE SS

PHOTOGRAPH REMIDESA CEO, Pantonium

Groceries, takeout, music, movies, so much else,” says Desa. “We want to demand transit made their commutes taxis and almost everything else can be more accessible to the riders, and more convenient. now be summoned to your door- also more flexible and productive for Since the pilot project fared so well, step on demand. And yet, you’re still the drivers.” Pantonium Macrotran- Belleville went all in on Desa and Pan- expected to bundle up and wait on a sit could be the software platform to tonium Macrotransit when COVID-19 street corner for the bus. What if it’s connect riders and rides to streamline hit in March 2020 and ridership plum- the middle of the night? What if you trips. If his theory worked, that is. meted. “Our ridership dropped more need to change buses—once, twice or So to find out, Desa’s team ran a test than 90% overnight, so it was a very more—to get to work? Wouldn’t you in Belleville, Ont., on its single (and simple decision to make,” says Buck. rather buy a car instead? notoriously inefficient) evening route. Within three days, the city of 50,000 Public transit almost everywhere “Our nighttime service has to cover moved its entire transit service— has big problems with access and con- a big area, and our ridership was on seven days a week, 24 hours a day—to venience. And the pandemic upped the low side,” says Paul Buck, Bel- an on-demand model. the stakes: The only thing worse than leville’s manager of transit services. Slowly but surely, other cities are an empty bus that takes an extra hour “We needed something that would considering a better way of taking to complete its route because it still service more people and not drive the bus. The on-demand service in waits at every single stop is an over- around empty all night.” Desa’s plan Chatham, Ont., manages to serve the filled one where masked travellers was comfortably familiar with a mod- whole city with two buses rather than cannot possibly maintain a healthy ern twist. “It took me back to Dial-a- five; Stratford, Ont., has done twice as physical distance. Bus,” Buck says, recalling GO Tran- well by replacing 10 buses with just a But Remi Desa wants to end the sit’s failed mid-’70s experiment. “This pair. Pantonium also found success struggle. After years in the transpor- is exactly what we were looking for, south of the border in Rogers, Ark., tation and logistics sector—ensur- except the technology didn’t exist.” where ridership grew 44% and ride ing deliveries moved and arrived as Rather than using a set schedule time fell by 30%. In these and eight efficiently as possible—the Toronto- that riders can either make work or other cities, Pantonium’s technol- based entrepreneur thought outside not, Pantonium Macrotransit used ogy has increased access to jobs and the box. Literally. “I started to think AI software (and an old-fashioned schools, reduced fuel consumption about moving people instead of pack- phone-in option) to ask the people of and traffic congestion, and decreased ages,” says the CEO and co-founder Belleville where they needed to go and carbon emissions. Riders, meanwhile, of Pantonium. It’s not quite the same, when. “Our system then co-ordinates save nearly $10,000 annually by using he jokes. “A person isn’t going to sit all the buses across the city according transit instead of cars. happily for four hours even if it is the to demand. Basically, we’re adjusting And yet, despite all its promise, most efficient route.” the routes and schedule in real time Pantonium Macrotransit faces a Public transit, he posited, needs to on real people’s schedules,” says Desa. familiar problem: The bigger the city, modernize like everything else. “On- The project wasn’t just success- the slower the bureaucracy moves to demand technology has been around ful but surprisingly so: The area that reward innovation. “Public transit has for some time now, but certain indus- was serviced increased by 429%, yet a large political aspect. Everything tries haven’t adopted it,” he says, cit- vehicle mileage decreased by 30%. needs to go through council, and ing funding, politics and never-ending Accommodating just 30 riders per change takes time,” says Desa. Thanks red tape as major hurdles that impede hour equated to a 300% increase to him and his forward-thinking col- progress. Century-old transport mod- in usage. The surveyed riders were lagues at Pantonium, however, order- els, user apathy and pragmatic neces- mostly young, low-income and caring a bus to your doorstep from your sity exacerbate all of the above. less, and more than 70% reported on- iPhone is closer than ever before. “We’re trying to reimagine mobil- ity so buses can run on demand like PHOTOGRAPH BY THOMAS DAGG

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 19 ATRISHALEWIS Partner, McCarthy Tétrault

As an undergrad at McGill University, a com- paratively multicultural school, Atrisha Lewis had instructors who discussed the existence of the so-called “glass ceiling”—while offering assurances her generation would soon smash it. Then she went to Bay Street. “This is probably one of the whitest, malest spaces we have in all of Canada,” says the trial litigator. Moreover, the change she was promised never came. What did come, however, was opportunity. “I’ve been pushing for inclusion for years,” she says, “but it feels like only recently that people have started to listen.” The Black Lives Matter movement, the death of George Floyd, and pro- tests across America and beyond have helped open many people’s eyes to racial injustice. Even those in law, sometimes. “It depends where you’re working, of course, but in general, this is an old white industry based on precedent and tradition,” Lewis says. Diversity and inclusion initiatives not only lack support but are actually opposed. “A lot of people in this industry still deny systemic racism even exists.” The Law Society of Ontario’s youngest elected bencher—effectively a member of the organization’s board—Lewis recently acted pro bono for the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers to fight systemic racism. She argued in favour of peremptory challenges, a motion in which a defendant or the Crown can exclude a juror without a particular reason. Such challenges are useful tools for defendants who sense bias from a potential juror. “The criminal code was amended to get rid of peremptory challenges because of concern they were being abused,” she explains. “I’m concerned about the perspective of Black Canadians who might feel a juror is looking at them the wrong way. Sometimes it’s hard to describe the feeling that someone’s racist, but it’s there.” The association lost the battle at the Supreme Court. While Lewis was disappointed, she was happy to be heard and represent the perspective of Black Canadians. She knows it’s an uphill battle, but also change isn’t impossible. “A lthough the demographics on Bay Street have yet to catch up with the rest of Toronto, and while I’m alive to how much more work there still is to do,” she says. “I’m grateful to be at a firm that is actively trying to move the dial.”

PHOTOGRAPH BY KENYA-JADE PINTO

20 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 21 THOMASBENJOE President and CEO, FHQ Developments

Canada’s ongoing reconciliation been issues around proper participa- place and let them be honest, because effort with Indigenous people has so tion of Indigenous businesses in the sometimes they’re a bit embarrassed. far taken myriad forms, many sym- Saskatchewan economy,” he says. I’m not so quick to propose a solu- bolic: a commissioned report, for- “What I kept hearing were all the rea- tion but to find the key issues and mal apologies from government and sons it wasn’t working.” Benjoe set out then build consensus. Some days are growing public awareness around the to connect the dots early on, meet- very frustrating, so it requires a lot of issue of land rights. But, as it is under- ing with key provincial stakeholders patience.” stood by many leaders in the Indig- in the private and public sectors, and Benjoe says when he does speak, enous community, reconciliation will business leaders in the Indigenous he builds trust by focusing on the be fundamentally incomplete without community. He’s also dedicated sig- foundation of the Indigenous value economic influence and the ability to nificant effort toward lobbying for system: community, or “how we build establish livelihoods for current and Indigenous procurement at the fed- wealth and create successful busi- future generations. eral level. (Last year, the Trudeau nesses without forgetting the people.” With that in mind, in 2010, FHQ government announced plans to allo- In fact, for Benjoe, and FHQ more Developments was founded by the cate 5% of its total capital spending to broadly, business practices are inex- 11-member First Nations communities Indigenous businesses.) tricable from the core teachings of of File Hills Qu’A ppelle Tribal Coun- One of Benjoe’s most transforma- the Nehiyaw (Cree), Dakota, Nakota, cil, which represents over 15,000 First tional projects has been the creation Lakota and Anishinaabe (Saulteaux) Nations citizens and 435,000 acres of an Indigenous Engagement Char- First Nations they serve: Miyo-wîcêh- of reserve lands in Treaty 4 territory ter, which sprung from a 90-day task towin (or “the principle of getting (encompassing much of southern Sas- force co-led by Benjoe in his role at along well with others, having good katchewan). The alliance’s primary the Saskatchewan Chamber of Com- relations and expanding the circle”), purpose is to build Indigenous wealth merce. “We wanted to get the non- Wîtaskêwin (“living together on the and all that entails: equity ownership, Indigenous business community to land”) and Pimâcihowin (“making a the development and prosperity of support the Indigenous side,” he says. living”), among others. Indigenous businesses and workers, “The charter provides resources for Always looking forward, Benjoe and crucially, partnership with non- how to engage the two.” Included in notes that roughly a third of all Sas- Indigenous businesses to create a the charter are awareness training, katchewan youth under 18 are Indig- pipeline to capital and leadership. an Indigenous business directory, enous. “If we don’t do something to At the helm is 35-year-old Thomas resource plans to support Indigenous better allow them to participate in Benjoe, a member of the Muscow- procurement and workforce acquisi- the economy,” he says, “we’re going petung First Nation. Benjoe, who tion, and community outreach guide- to have a pretty serious issue on our attended the University of Regina and lines for non-Indigenous enterprises, hands.” For his part, Benjoe dedicates worked as a commercial account man- large and small. a portion of his time to youth mentor- ager for RBC prior to his FHQ tenure, Benjoe says one of the most stub- ship, as well as advocating specifically admits he’s always been a “big-picture born barriers facing his community is for opportunities for female entre- person,” one with an expansive mis- unconscious bias, whether it’s mani- preneurs. Recently, FHQ partnered sion in mind: to advance Indigenous fested in the overrepresentation of with the Matchstick program, led by prosperity, not only for the 11 nations Indigenous workers in part-time and Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatch- he serves as FHQ’s president and temporary roles, or a frustratingly dif- ewan, which provides support to CEO, but for all nations. fuse belief held by higher-ups in the First Nations, Métis and Inuit women Benjoe was inspired to take a com- “lack of ability [of Indigenous work- interested in pursuing their own ini- merce-oriented path in his teens after ers] to do certain jobs.” tiatives. reading a magazine that highlighted In facing such systemic prejudice, “We’re taught to look seven genera- the story of a successful Indigenous Benjoe says, his biggest asset has tions ahead in terms of the things we CEO. “I really wanted to be that guy,” been his ability to listen. “I work with try to accomplish,” says Benjoe, for he laughs. “I always associated suc- a number of CEOs, and if you see me whom collective values and wealth cess with economics, but I wanted to in those rooms, I’m always the last to creation are not—and have never do it in a way that brought prosperity speak,” Benjoe says. “I try to build an been—mutually exclusive. “I take a to the community, too.” understanding of why they haven’t lot of advice from elders in our com- In his four short but rigorous years made policy changes [to encourage munities. We’re all gifted in the way in leadership, Benjoe seems to have Indigenous employment], and I try to we think and the way we learn, and smashed one ceiling only to come up give them a safe space to explain why all I’m doing is taking those gifts and against another. “There have always that is. We try to come from a good trying to change the world around me—and make things better for the PHOTOGRAPH BY TENILLE K CAMPBELL youth coming up.”

22 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS PHOTOGRAPH MAR CH 20 21 / REPOR T ON BUSINE SS 23 24 MAR CH 20 21 / REPOR T ON BUSINE SS

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PHOTOGRAPH ADAMNOBLE Founder & CEO, Noblegen Imagine if the food chain wasn’t lin- ear but circular. Food tech company Noblegen uses Euglena, a single-cell organism, to replicate animal-based foods—without the livestock. “If we start with the cellular ingredients, we don’t need the animal anymore,” explains founder Adam Noble. Here’s just one example: the Egg, a powder that when mixed with water can be used in everything from scrambles to baking. It scooped up a 2020 World Food Innovation award, and the agri- BOBBIERACETTE cultural, environmental and societal Founder and CEO, the Virtual Gurus and askBetty applications are massive.

When Bobbie Racette was laid off from her job in Alberta’s oil and gas sector, she was reminded of her mother’s own ERINMADRO struggle to find work. “I saw her coming home at the end Senior Engineer, Cenovus Energy of the day, after getting turned down and pounding the Calgary-based Cenovus has made pavement,” she says. “She’s a successful woman now, but it a big promise to the world: net-zero was very difficult to see that.” Racette, who is of Cree-Métis greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. descent and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, decided It’s a big goal for the oil and gas com- to break the cycle herself. “I struggled to be taken seriously pany, and Erin Madro is leading the for what I knew I could do, so I said, ‘I’m going to hire mar- environmental innovation group set ginalized folks across Canada.’” to make it happen. Stakeholders, sci- Racette’s cycle-breaking inclusivity-first business is the entists, academics, innovators and Virtual Gurus, a Calgary-based talent marketplace that entrepreneurs are all firmly on board. matches small and medium-sized enterprises with North American virtual assistants and freelancers using match- making algorithms. It’s an ideal setup for workers who may GARETHBROWN have difficulty in accessing nine-to-five work: stay-at-home CEO, Clir Renewables or single parents, Indigenous peoples living in remote com- Renewable energy is proving to be munities and differently abled individuals. (Currently, the both low-cost and cost-effective, and Virtual Gurus’ virtual assistant pool is 95% female, which yet big corporations are still slow to is, sadly, not common in the overall workforce.) adopt wind and solar power. For any- “There are a ton of people who might have the most one who thinks renewables are risky experience, but they don’t ‘fit the part,’” Racette says. “For or precarious, Gareth Brown uses example, a person of colour or who is transitioning gen- analytics driven by artificial intelli- ders—clients who, if they come to us, will be accepted.” gence to measure input and output, On tap this year for Virtual Gurus is an American expan- while optimizing the performance of sion and the relaunch of Virtual Gurus Academy—a train- the power source. The goal is to make ing platform focused on administrative expertise—as well emerging power sources irresistible as the pilot of askBetty, a Slack app that acts as a live vir- to skeptics. “We show these numbers tual assistant for on-demand administrative tasks. Racette, to big clients all over the world to whose career now includes co-founding Alberta’s LGBTQ+ make them feel confident in investing Chamber of Commerce in 2017 and closing her first round in renewable energies,” he says. of funding last February with $1.25 million, is a master class in overcoming prejudices. “I am a BIPOC Indigenous woman with a full sleeve of GOLNAZGOLNARAGHI tattoos,” she says. “Investors were thinking I wouldn’t be Founder, Accelerate Her Future able to scale this company, and we’re now moving into the Seventy percent of women of colour U.S. Would it be too clichéd for me to say, ‘Don’t underesti- in Canada have credentials from a mate the underdog?’” higher education institution; fewer than 7% hold a management position. PHOTOGRAPH BY LIAM MACKENZIE Golnaz Golnaraghi is determined to

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 27 ERICADANIELS Executive producer and founder, Kejic Productions close this gap. After 15 years in aca- One example: Studies show women demia, the Royal Roads University are less competitive than men. “We business prof decided it was time for could try to train the women to ‘lean action. “My vision was a sustainable in,’” she says, “or we can just tweak social enterprise to help early-career the question.” Kang proved that by racialized women,” she says. Acceler- merely tweaking a competition for ate Her Future began as a pilot proj- an internal promotion at a company ect, grew into a one-day conference, from opt-in to opt-out, and women’s evolved into a 10-week mentorship so-called non-competitive nature program and continues to expand disappeared. “Suddenly there was without an end in sight. no gender gap,” she notes. “We com- Erica Daniels found her pletely eliminated it.” way to film and television JESSICACHOW production through a Co-founder & CEO, Vieren multimedia program for SONIASENNIK Everything old can be new again, even at-risk youth in Winnipeg. Executive Director, time—at least in the form of watches, In 2017, Daniels—who Creative Destruction Lab which are actually making a surpris- is Cree and Ojibwa— Since 2012, Creative Destruction Lab ing comeback. Jessica Chow travelled started Kejic Productions (CDL) has been a space connecting to Switzerland to learn the meticulous on the Peguis First tech startups with leading brains. art of making an automatic watch. Nation in Winnipeg. “Imagine you’re trying to build a space It seems cutting edge, sure, but it’s Two years later, she company, and you get to run your idea actually a centuries-old heritage art won the first-ever film by Chris Hadfield,” says Sonia Sennik. that harnesses the movement of the prize at the Indigenous Since the beginning of the pandemic, wearer to wind itself. “We joke it’s the Music Awards. Now, she CDL’s “vision council” of innovators— original FitBit,” says Chow. Designed mentors other Indigenous including Mark Carney, Lisa Cook and by Project Runway Canada’s Sunny youth so they can tell Margaret Atwood—have collaborated Fong, the sleek Vieren watch proves their own stories. to launch a rapid-screening system for no product can’t benefit from a mod- Canadian workplaces. ern makeover. “A passionate storyteller, Erica is dedicated to sharing the stories of ALANKRISS JOSHDOMINGUES her community, and CEO, Specialisterne USA/Canada Founder and CEO, Flashfood hopes to pave a way for In homage to the model in Denmark A bad thought: Every day, $5,000 to other Indigenous women on which it’s based, Specialisterne $10,000 worth of food from every and young Indigenous means “the specialists” in Danish. grocery store goes to waste. A better storytellers to do the “Our mission is to enable a million one: Flashfood is a new app that sells same. She passes on her careers for individuals on the autism food approaching its best-before date expertise by mentoring spectrum,” says Alan Kriss, who con- at deep discounts. It’s the creation of in the community and sults with companies like IBM, RBC Josh Domingues. A shopper inside a offers video production and KPMG to change the outdated store will always reach for the carton training programs for ways they recruit, on-board and man- of milk with the latest possible expiry Indigenous youth and age people with autism. “We help date, but a little clever marketing women to learn and grow companies understand where they can rescue potential leftovers from in the media industry.” are on the inclusivity ladder—and the garbage. “We make it look sexy, —Tabatha Bull then help them move up.” slash the price by half and send [the President and deal] right to your cellphone,” says CEO, Canadian Domingues. Last year, Flashfood kept Council for BENBRITTON some 12 million pounds of perfectly Aboriginal Chief Strategy Officer, Ionomr Innovations Business

good food from getting tossed. For the world to ever reach net zero MONKMAN for carbon dioxide emissions, energy

systems—the bulk of them installed SHYAN SONIAKANG before the Second World War—will Canada Research Chair in Identity, need massive upgrading. “But if you Diversity & Inclusion, University of Toronto can retrofit a natural gas system, and (DANIELS) Though systemic oppression is wide you can, you can make the whole sys- and ubiquitous, Sonia Kang looks for tem economic,” says Ben Britton, CSO tangible, doable, simple solutions. of Ionomr Innovations, which devel- PHOTOGRAPH

28 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS SOPHIEGAGNON Executive Director, Juripop ops ion-exchange membranes (for it’s not as strange or as difficult as it chemistry dropouts, that’s selectively seems: “Land-based sustainable sea- permeable barriers that conduct elec- food doesn’t pollute the ocean and tricity) for clean energy generation. actually solves a lot of environmental The company’s newest product, the concerns like escaped fish and food ionomer Pemion, took top prize at the waste.” Experts predict a 40-times European F-Cell Conference this past growth in production by 2028, thanks September. largely to the Halifax-based CEO’s sophisticated artificial intelligence tech that optimizes fish feeding, accu- KATIESQUIRES-THOMPSON rately measures biomass and detects Chief Strategy Officer, Sophie Gagnon spent early signs of disease. Women in Capital Markets three years as a civil and In her seven years at Women in Capi- commercial litigator at tal Markets, Katie Squires-Thompson Norton Rose Fulbright RAVINAANAND has shot up from event co-ordinator to before making an abrupt Co-founder & COO, FLIK strategy officer to CEO. Her rise coin- left turn: She joined Of the 36 attendees at a coveted sum- cided with a growing commitment to Juripop, whose army of mer entrepreneurship program in equity, diversity and inclusion that volunteer lawyers and Toronto, just six were women. “A nd I has evolved from women to BIPOC notaries offer low-cost was the only woman of colour,” says and LGBTQ2S+ people in the finan- legal services across Ravina Anand. She noticed the pro- cial sector. Currently focused on clos- Quebec on topics ranging gram similarly lacked female founding the education gap and increasing from family law to ers, investors and role models, so equity literacy, Squires-Thompson is workplace harassment alongside her roommate at the pro- responsible for cohesion. “There are to sexual violence. She gram, Anand emailed leaders like so many different programs and men- arrived in 2017, just in Polly Rodriguez and Arianna Huff- torships, but they need to all come time for the #MeToo ington to close the gap. The content together and unite,” she says. movement to spur led to FLIK, the Female Laboratory of hundreds of women to Innovation Knowledge, a website that seek help. turned into a social enterprise when KRISTOPHERMARTINEZ young entrepreneurs began reaching Manager of Global Culture & Engagement, “Sophie embodies out to seek mentorship. “We had one G Adventures the kind of social group of women wanting experience As the Mayor of the G-Force, a.k.a. a engagement that can and another of female founders who manager at G Adventures, Kristopher make the world a better wanted to share their knowledge,” says Martinez might be the only travel place. At Juripop, she and Anand. “A ll we had to do was leverage professional grateful for COVID-19. her team help change the technology to connect them.” “This is a phenomenal opportunity to lives. They make a real change the way we do business,” he difference. Sophie is also says of the too-white, ultra-exclusive, involved in a number SAMPOIRIER big-business luxury travel indus- of other organizations CEO & Co-founder, Potential Motors try. After years of biting his tongue, and causes in which she Electric cars get lots of fanfare, but he says, the killing of George Floyd puts her talent, passion what happens to the old ones? “You inspired him to “not be afraid to place and energy to the service never hear about that part, but there’s the race card and actually double of others.” clearly a big disruption and we need down.” Just like we shop local, trav- —Sophie Brochu solutions,” says Sam Poirier. Inspired ellers should “travel local,” and the President and CEO, by a summer spent in Germany when industry needs to show it in action. Hydro-Québec millions of diesel vehicles were sud- Instead of another ad featuring a denly banned from city streets, Poirer white lady in a bikini on a cruise ship, spent $700 on an old clunker and set for example, he says, “I want to see a about converting it to run on elec- Black trans woman on vacation.” tricity. While the experiment was a success, he will need to move from lab-based technology to real-world MATHEWZIMOLA applications to have a larger impact. Co-founder & CEO, ReelData AI For that, Poirier set up Potential “The future of aquatic farming is on Motors in the Maritimes, where he’s land,” says Mathew Zimola of Reel- leading Canada into the electric vehi- Data AI. With a big enough tank, cle revolution.

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 29 DAHABOAHMEDOMER Executive Director, BlackNorth Initiative plans to help 10,000 students annually SARABINGHAM join between 10 and 20 vocations of Associate Director, Women Entrepreneurship the future—whatever they may be. Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University Sara Bingham’s first passion was a baby sign language business called SAEEDTORBATI WeeHands, which had 87 instruc- CEO, Ontario Green Savings tors across North America. All of Eco-friendly, cost-saving solar pan- those individuals, she realized, had els can cost upwards of $80,000—a the potential for entrepreneurial suc- huge, often impossible investment cess of their own. So that became for homeowners. But Saeed Torbati, her next passion, mentoring aspiring It’s no wonder Wes CEO of Ontario Green Savings, had women at Wilfrid Laurier Univer- Hall, founder of the an idea. “My company provides high- sity’s Women Entrepreneurship Cen- BlackNorth Initiative, was efficiency upgrades at no cost,” he tre. She takes them through the busi- so excited to announced explains. The homeowner’s part of ness-building process, from personal Dahabo Ahmed Omer as the deal? “Whatever you save on your finance to credit scores to applying its inaugural Executive energy bills, a portion goes to pay off for mortgages. “A lot of women have a Director. The long-time the upgrade itself.” (It’s so simple, yet passion for something, but not neces- activist and public policy so smart.) sarily the skills to develop a business,” adviser is chair of the says Bingham. board for the Federation of Black Canadians and DUSTYNLANZ was part of Ottawa Mayor CEO, Responsible Investment Association HEATHERGAMBLE Jim Watson’s taskforce When we talk about sustainable and CEO, Women on the Move/ combatting anti-Black inclusive businesses, few of us think The Artemis Project racism. Now Ahmed first of the finance industry. Dustyn Less than 1% of women-owned busi- Omer is turning to the Lanz does: “My mission is to drive the nesses reach $1 million in revenue, corporate realm: More adoption of responsible investing and largely because corporate supply than 200 companies have a sustainable financial system.” Last chains rarely procure from them signed BlackNorth’s October, for example, Lanz led more (when they do, revenues increase by pledge to end anti- than 40 institutional signatories man- 250%). It’s a big problem, but Heather Black racism, including aging more than $40 trillion to make Gamble of Women on the Move ensuring at least 5% of a joint pledge to promote diversity. knows to find a niche and start there. their student workforces “Finance doesn’t necessarily change “Our project is a collective of women- and 3.5% of their the world,” he says, “but what gets owned businesses that serve mid- and executive ranks are filled money gets done, and the financial large-tier mining companies,” she by Black people by 2025. system moves money.” says. Gamble consolidated the collective and presented it to mining execu- “As an accomplished tives, who could then have their pick human rights advocate, GAVINARMSTRONG from the wide talent pool they didn’t Dahabo is driving the Founder and CEO, Lucky Iron Fish Enterprise know existed. BlackNorth Initiative Small fish, big wave: With a three- toward ending systemic inch cast iron fish-shaped ingot— anti-Black racism. which activates when dropped into HEATHERPAYNE A highly respected boiling water—Gavin Armstrong and CEO, Juno College of Technology visionary, she was his team have taken aim at iron defi-

The Juno College of Technology is named one of the 100 ciency, the world’s largest nutritional MAIL not like any other college. The boot- most influential people challenge and one that disproportion- AND strapped company helps keen up- of African descent under ately impacts women and children. A

and-comers find tech jobs with no age 40 in 2019.” Fulbright Scholar who has appeared GLOBE prerequisites, skills or pricey degrees —Wes Hall on Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list and won required. “Higher education can be Founder and both a Muhammad Ali Humanitarian quite classist and racist,” says founder Executive Chair, Award and an Innovation Award from LUM/THE

Heather Payne, “and nobody seems to Kingsdale the Edison Foundation, Armstrong FRED be working to fix it.” She’s wrong there: Advisors hasn’t let the accolades for his certi- Payne herself is building a fast, afford- fied B Corp distract from his ultimate (HALL) able, accessible program that turns focus: having a social impact. (A por- non-technical people into web devel- tion of all sales is donated to clinics opers at lightning speed. By 2030, Juno in Indonesia, refugee camps in East PHOTOGRAPH

30 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS Africa, and food banks on home soil.) Defense, winning top prize at its inno- Ndayiragije is a board member of “Private-sector businesses have an vation contest last year. Les offices jeunesse internationaux obligation to solve the world’s great- du Québec, which spotlights youth est challenges,” he says. “You can do entrepreneurship, and is a mentor well and do good at the same time.” AXELNTAKABURIMVO-NDAYIRAGIJE with Technovation, a mobile-app Manager, Control Centre—DD-1 competition that fosters budding tech & Operational Analytics, Bell Canada and entrepreneurial abilities among CONNIESTACEY After rocketing his way up the Bell girls ages 10 to 18. Next up: an MBA. Owner and President, ranks from new grad to management Growing Greener Innovations in just two years, Axel Ntakaburimvo- Inspired as she rolled her sleeping Ndayiragije has somehow found time PAULYANG twins past a too-loud diesel genera- to channel his passion for inclusion Director of Innovation & Sustainability, tor, Edmonton-based entrepreneur into a smorgasbord of extracurricular Tim Hortons Connie Stacey set out to build a better initiatives. On the clock, the indus- During last October’s Waste Reduc- one: portable, scalable, sustainable, trial engineering grad leads a team tion Week, Tim Hortons announced affordable. Two years later, Growing of 10 workers, who oversee the tele- the country’s favourite coffee to go Greener Innovations launched the com giant’s customer appointments would be making big eco-friendly Grengine UltraLite. “You don’t need for all of Quebec; on the side, he’s the changes: Napkins will be 100% recy- an electrician or engineer—it only project management lead for Bell’s cled, double-cupping will be vetoed connects one way. You don’t even Black Professionals Network, with a and, after years of scrutiny of single- have to be able to read,” says Stacey, member count of 700. “We’re making use plastics, reusable and return- whose invention can be charged via sure [people of colour] are supported able cups will launch through a pilot an outlet, a solar panel and even a the whole time at Bell,” he says, “and project. At the initiative’s helm is stationary bike. The generator even not just during Black History Month.” Paul Yang, director of innovation and impressed the U.S. Department of Out of the office, Ntakaburimvo- sustainability: “Whether it’s through

Congratulations Eli on aremarkable year and on K93I5 HI9 H8 C49 OFDC F9;3G39ICD H8 =49VZHK9 N RM3ZPD=HG 7L BMIM:3MI B4MI59JM[9FD EXMF:6 -THE NEAL BROTHERS TEAM

CHECK OUT NB XSTLOMASKS BELOW

@nealbrothers @shinethelighton

ELI BROWN (left), W@UTQY =UY STVU= @Q ROBINSHABAN Co-founder and principal economist, Vivic Research product design or innovative mate- today’s kids, this Surrey, B.C., native rials or just completely changing co-founded Camp We Empower in the way we do things, we’re about 2014, which was later rebranded as to pioneer how we can do things dif- the SPARK Foundation, a non-profit ferently.” geared toward supporting Canadian students and youth with “life education” in the form of interactive work- JAMILECRUZ shops, entrepreneurship toolkits and Founder and CEO, I&D 101 mentorship opportunities. Rochelle Jamile Cruz was used to being the Prasad—a past recipient of the Diana “one-off” in the room: the woman. Award and Canada 150 Commu- The Brazilian woman. The Black Robin Shaban—who nity Award in Leadership—has also Brazilian woman. A combination of is currently pursuing used the COVID-19 shutdown as an these singular personal and profes- her PhD at Carleton opportunity to leverage her under-26 sional experiences in the communica- University in Ottawa— team, putting together care packages, tions and mining engineering sectors describes her research school supply–filled backpacks and spurred her to found I&D 101, an orga- sweet spot as the meals for front-line workers. nizational consultancy aimed at dust- intersection of policy, ing the old, white cobwebs from estab- economics and social lished businesses and replacing them justice. And her newly GURMESHSIDHU with clear data-driven diversity and created consulting Co-founder, Moment Energy inclusion mandates. Now a sought- firm, Vivic Research, Ever wonder what happens to batter- after speaker and board member of is dedicated to helping ies after they die? Gurmesh Sidhu did, Women in Mining Canada, Cruz says, non-profits, civil-society too. Now, in partnership with Simon “There are no easy conversations.” organizations and policy Fraser University, the alumnus’s West Still, she continues to lead them. makers figure out how Coast startup, Moment Energy, is rev- they converge to affect olutionizing energy storage, helping the lives of regular remote communities reduce their reli- KRISTA LANGTHORNE Canadians—using the ance on polluting diesel generators by Manager, Business Development, kind of quantitative upcycling used batteries from electric Newfoundland Power analysis wonks vehicles. “By allowing energy storage By her own description, Krista Lang- understand. alternatives to enter the market,” he thorne is a “results person,” a “how says, “we’re making renewable energy can we do it?” person. Her challenge? “Robin packs a huge accessible—especially for businesses Kick-starting the adoption of elec- double punch: She is a that don’t have the budget to do so.” tric vehicles (EVs) in Newfoundland quantitative analyst with and Labrador, the province with the piercing sightlines into current lowest number of EVs and the questions that need RYANRIORDAN charging stations. Since refocusing asking today. Her PhD Associate Professor, Finance, Smith School her role at the investor-owned utility thesis is around antitrust of Business at Queen’s University on EV adoption in 2018, Langthorne and competition, but she It could be easy being green, but how has become an industry powerhouse has also been involved much will it cost? Ryan Riordan—a (pun intended) in the areas of electri- in research around pay lifelong environmentalist at heart and fication and smart technologies. She equity, income security, recently appointed research direc- works with businesses and policy- and the intersection of tor for the Institute for Sustainable makers to address gaps in EV funding technology and society.” Finance—is quite literally crunching while building customer awareness —Armine Yalnizyan the numbers in his industry-leading and, happily, lowering their expenses. Atkinson Fellow research, despite initial skepticism Can she hit the utility’s target of con- on the Future from the business community about verting a third of the province’s vehi- of Workers its usefulness. “They said nobody cles to electric by 2034? We’ll let you really cared about anything but the guess her answer. bottom line,” says Riordan, “so I was sort of working in a vacuum.” That is, until the publication of his widely ref- ROCHELLEPRASAD erenced recent report, “Capital Mobi- Founder and Executive Director, lization Plan for a Canadian Low- SPARK Foundation Carbon Economy,” which is the first Frustrated by the lack of “soft” life to tally the costs of meeting Canada’s and leadership skills afforded to commitment to reducing greenhouse

32 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS gas emissions by 30% by 2030. Once able tech, AI and machine learning to is aimed at protecting municipal perhaps considered a niche in aca- mitigate global disparities in health interests—by plotting “drone roads” demia, Riordan’s output is now influ- care. “We always wanted to be a social and creating software ready-made encing government policy while also enterprise; it’s sort of in our DNA,” for dense urban environments—and acting as a signpost for private-sector says Masys. During the pandemic, offsetting potential airspace mono- firms keen to make more climate-con- Masys and associates launched NEO, polization by larger U.S. companies scious investments. a platform that empowers families (cough, Amazon). At ground level, to detect COVID-19 symptoms early McCalla is a staunch advocate for using affordable consumer wearable Black founders in tech. JORDANMASYS devices, creating one of the largest Co-founder and Head of Business, Kiipo anonymized data banks to acceler- Not content to use his tech savvy to ate research into COVID-19. “There ROBERTWONG whip out yet another dime-a-dozen are so many problems tech needs to President, Agri-Neo Inc. ad sales platform, Jordan Masys wants be solving,” he says, “ones that impact In a climate of seemingly endless to create a quintessentially Cana- lives meaningfully on a daily basis.” lettuce recalls, Robert Wong is dian “tech-for-good” sector. Hence determined to build a world where his drive to produce solutions to aid “food safety is just table stakes.” At society through his health technology ALEXANDRAMCCALLA Agri-Neo, Wong’s team has doubled company, Kiipo. Having co-founded COO, AirMatrix down on “organic pasteurization,” Ethiopia’s first comprehensive emer- The future of business is vertical, as eliminating pathogens with naturally gency medical services system—as Alexandra McCalla knows well. In occurring processes rather than the well as the non-profit PhysioQ , a data her executive role with AirMatrix, typical harsh heat and chemical pro- collection and management platform McCalla has taken to the skies, work- cessing that has become more or less for health researchers—Masys is ing to accelerate the commercializa- industry standard. (For example, the keen to leverage innovations in wear- tion of drone use in Canada. Her work company’s Neo-Pure liquid solution

Smith School of Business is proud to congratulate Ryan Riordan forbeing named aChangemaker.

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Ryan Riordan QI;4RO:I;K69 B:;NLIRLJ56 FIRLRH6 As the world changes, businesschanges. KATHERINEHOMUTH CEO, Sheertex uses oxygen to combat salmonella school. After accessing a government outbreaks in dry foods, like nuts and subsidy that covered his post-sec- grains.) “One of the fundamental ondary tuition, Milton is now paying shifts we’re trying to create is mov- that experience forward by founding ing from reactive to preventive,” says Bursity, a scholarship consolidator Wong. “The majority of dollars are aimed at helping students from mar- still being spent on sampling or tell- ginalized communities across North ing you after the fact that you had an America access funding opportuni- issue. We’re handling the bacteria, the ties for higher education. Not content fungus—the things you can’t see.” to smash only one systemic barrier, he’s also an advocate for founders of Katherine Homuth colour in Atlantic Canada’s startup CHRISTINAWONG founded three successful community, hoping to make the coun- Executive Director and Co-founder, businesses in less than a try’s innovation ecosystem more hos- Employ to Empower decade. After founding pitable “to others coming after us.” Never underestimate the power of a (and selling) companies kid who just can’t stop asking “why?” focused on e-commerce in response to all the world’s ills. Har- and online education for CASSIEMYERS nessing her lifelong passion for pub- women investors, she CEO and Founder, Lunaria lic outreach, Christina Wong left her launched Sheertex in Cassie Myers’s passion for accessi- corporate job in 2018 to found Employ 2017, making tights bility has taken many forms: first as a to Empower, an organization that pro- from some of the same peace and conflict studies student at vides business-development mentor- materials contained in the University of Waterloo, and then ship and resources (like microloans) bulletproof vests. working with young girls at hack- to residents of Vancouver’s Down- athons and now as the CEO of Lunaria, town Eastside who are facing social “Katherine is of a rare whose proprietary software creates barriers to employment. “I’ve learned breed of entrepreneurs customized diversity, equity and inclu- the importance of dignity and work- who can identify a sion audits, program evaluations and ing with people,” says Wong, “rather problem, visualize the management plans for North Ameri- than assuming what they need. That’s opportunity for market can companies. True to form, Lunaria how real change happens.” disruption and execute is a social-purpose business, with it from concept to global eight small to medium-sized clients expansion. She solved spanning the continent. Myers’s work BETHBORODY the decades-old problem is perhaps the perfect answer to her Director, Sustainability, New Gold of pantyhose rips and own riddle: “How do we give all people Bringing fresh eyes to the hardscrab- tears with Sheertex’s economic empowerment and ensure ble male-dominated world of min- ‘unbreakable’ hosiery that, for future generations, access to ing, 33-year-old Beth Borody is the and turned it into one of opportunity isn’t even a question?” youngest-ever director of New Gold. Canada’s fastest growing During the pandemic, Borody led the startups. In 10 years, firm’s efforts to bring rapid testing to the idea of disposable ALWARPILLAI its Rainy River site, and she regularly pantyhose will be a CEO, Fable Tech Labs forges partnerships with NGOs, gov- distant memory.” After moving to Canada in 2015 and ernments and local Indigenous groups completing her master of inclusive to develop an understanding of the —Murray McCaig design degree, Alwar Pillai led acces- Managing Partner,

resource industry’s undeniable rela- ArcTern Ventures sibility initiatives with the Ontario MAIL tionship with surrounding communi- government and Rogers. Nowadays, AND ties. “Issues like poverty, racism and she’s the CEO of Fable Tech Labs, a

health all play into business continu- platform that helps businesses test GLOBE ity, and our sector hasn’t really grasped whether their products are workable that yet,” she says. “We need people to for individuals with disabilities—by come in and shake that up a bit.” working directly with users. “Right LUM/THE

now, more than a billion people can’t FRED use the full potential of the digital CHARLESMILTON world,” says Pillai. “The goal is that CEO, Bursity anyone, regardless of their age and (HOMUTH) In another time, Charles Milton was disability, should be able to access floating between menial jobs, unable services, products—everything— to foot the bill to send himself back to online.” With big-name clients like PHOTOGRAPH

34 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS Walmart and Slack, and $2 million in neurs. And because CSI knows the know they’re not alone,” says Brown, seed funding raised last summer, Pil- children truly are our future, Geis’s whose profits partially fund global lai’s platform is ensuring the future is team piloted the Agents of Change mental health awareness initiatives. user-friendly for all. program, teaching the foundations of “We’re starting to see that many peo- social entrepreneurship to ambitious ple are becoming comfortable with youth as a means of achieving the reaching out for help, and Canada is BARNABEGEIS United Nation’s Sustainable Develop- really taking a turn.” Director of Programs, ment Goals. Centre for Social Innovation Barnabe Geis’s mission in his role at CHARLESWONG Toronto’s Centre for Social Innova- ELIBROWN Founder and President, CarePros tion (CSI) is focused, broadly speak- President, Shine the Light On After witnessing one of his wife’s ing, on building the “next” economy— After struggling with depression, relatives undergo a disastrous expe- “one that is regenerative, equitable anxiety and substance abuse while rience, Charles Wong went to work and prosperous for all.” In a practical on a tennis scholarship at the Univer- himself on filling service gaps in sense, this can be seen in Geis’s dedi- sity of Michigan, Eli Brown turned to Edmonton’s home-care sector. In late cation to offering support, creating a treatment, which yielded the business 2016, he founded CarePros, which host of programs for entrepreneurs at idea that would eventually aid in his provides comprehensive group home all stages. Since Geis joined CSI nine (and others’) recovery journey. With care for young Albertans who are liv- years ago, he has spearheaded the Shine the Light On, Brown’s focus is ing with disabilities. Now CarePros Social Entrepreneurship 101 course, destigmatizing mental health through offers a whole suite of medical and which has trained more than 150 biweekly and monthly clothing col- behavioural services—respite, child members, and CSI’s Climate Ventures laborations with inﬂuencers willing care, community and transitional incubator, which has accelerated to share their own struggles. “A lot of support—and is also planning a cross- the ideas of 121 early-stage entrepre- what we’re trying to do is let people Canadian expansion.

CHANGEMAKER SAM POIRIER

Is making aglobal impact with his company Potential Motors and their next generation AI-based QEMKPUE PDHLWDU SDOLIVWEODW OTUUG EUEPLWKNEY YWKQELWVKHSZ

WaytogoSam! The University of New Brunswick and GDTW FJ\]]]X OEUUDI VUTRHK PDH[WVLTUVLE GDTZ #proudlyUNB 36 MAR CH 20 21 / REPOR T ON BUSINE SS

PHOTOGRAPH PHOTOGRAPH CO BLES ILL DEMAND LLAP BUT SA US SING OF TR CHA ND OI SED CO THE AT NG S FA FO IONS ULD FO PRODUCERS SINCE WC MAX E PA R BY R BY CA NDEMIC. THA ETT CRUDE MA NAD L THE T TT BE A’ CHASE ST HAS ? S A AR OIL T MAR CH 20 21 / REPOR T ON BUSINE SS 37 F OR years now, energy companies have served as the there, which means the company that owns it has to be con- unintentional ballast in most investors’ portfo- stantly drilling and completing other new wells. And while lios. While virtually every other asset class has that strategy worked when capital markets were willing to risen—and in some cases, like technology stocks, subsidize the upfront costs in the hope of recouping them soared—energy stocks have taken beating after later on, with both global capital flows and operational cash beating. That’s been particularly true here in Can- flows virtually disappearing in early 2020, the shale compa- ada, where the combination of collapsing com- nies were forced to pull their rigs out of the field and shut in modity prices and ongoing frustrations around some of their production. pipelines and market access have made them That effectively pulled them off the so-called “shale tread- more appropriate for masochists than mainstream mill.” And it’s increasingly clear they may never be able to investors. But despite the Biden administration’s get back to where they were before COVID hit. “We think decision to revoke the presidential permit for the U.S. oil production is going to exit 2021 somewhere between Keystone XL pipeline, Canada’s oil sands produc- nine and 10 million barrels per day,” says Adam Waterous, ers may be about to stage a dramatic turnaround. the founder and CEO of the Waterous Energy Fund. “What If they do, they’ll have COVID-19 to thank for the that will mean is that over a 24-month period, U.S. oil pro- opportunity. duction will decline by three and a half million barrels per It might seem strange to think a global pan- day—which is the largest collapse in history.” demic that triggered an unprecedented collapse Waterous, who began as an investment banker before run- in demand for crude oil would be good for the ning Scotiabank’s energy investment banking unit and later companies producing it, but that’s exactly what serving as its global head of investment banking, is one of happened for those in Canada’s oil sands sector. the Canadian energy sector’s more outspoken bulls. He also That’s because COVID may have permanently has plenty of skin in the game, given that his fund has already wounded the U.S. shale sector. The wells these bought out heavy oil companies like Cona Resources and companies have been drilling for the past decade Pengrowth Energy, and currently has a $126-million bid on have helped push U.S. production to record levels, the table to add Osum Oil Sands to the fold (the Waterous but that came at a cost. The production coming Energy Fund already controls 45% of the company’s shares). from an average shale well declines by as much as And while Waterous actually called a top on Permian Basin 50% in its first year and continues falling off from production before the pandemic hit, the supply picture looks

38 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS even better to him now. with growth, starting in 1973 with the first Arab That’s in part because of the huge collapse in U.S. produc- oil embargo,” Waterous says. “That was a period tion, and in part because Europe’s supermajors appear to have when the industry was in an age of scarcity, and gotten religion (or, perhaps, have been forced to by the grow- all things oil were driven for growth. Now that ing number of environmental, social and governance–ori- this age of scarcity has passed, we have to focus ented investors) on climate change and their role in it. BP has on the underlying profitability of the business.” pledged to cut its oil and gas production by 40% by 2030, while That’s why the sector has seen a flurry of mergers others, including Shell, Eni and Total, have said they’ll reach recently, including Cenovus Energy’s $23.6-billion net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner. All told, Waterous sees takeover of Husky Energy in October and White- the unintentional U.S. production declines and deliberate cap Resources’s all-stock purchase of TORC Oil & European production cuts adding up to seven million barrels Gas in December. “There will be fewer companies per day, with the majority of them coming off the market by out there,” Waterous says, “but overall, the health 2025. According to his math, that will mean the proportion of of the industry will be better—and that’s going to global supply provided by “investor-controlled production” help attract investors to the sector.” will fall from 27% to 18%. “In other words,” he says, “while This isn’t just Waterous talking his own book, the sheer number of dollars looking to invest may be declining, so too are the opportunities to deploy them.” WTI WCSWCS minus WTI And while investors have shied away CRUDE 80 from deploying those dollars in Can- AWAKENING 70 ada over the past five years, that could 60 PRICE OF be about to change. After all, while the 50 decline rates on shale wells will make WEST TEXAS INTERMEDIATE 40 it nearly impossible for the U.S. to VS. WESTERN 30 grow production meaningfully for the CANADIAN 20 foreseeable future, they’re barely even SELECT (US$), 10 an issue for oil sands companies. As AND THE PRICE 0 a result, large integrated companies DIFFERENTIAL -10 like Canadian Natural Resources and -20 Suncor don’t have to spend nearly as much money to hold their production -30 steady, and can break even on their -40 -50 operations at between US$25 and 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 US$30 per barrel—far lower than their American peers. The cost of getting those barrels to market might be about either. As Morgan Stanley analysts Benny Wong to drop, too, given that the Trans Mountain pipeline expan- and Adam Gray said in a recent note, “With sion and Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline are both moving closer improved cost structures and increased propen- to completion. When the capacity of these two are added sity to be capital disciplined, Canadian producers to the nearly 600,000 barrels per day of so-called “debottle- are emerging from the downturn stronger, with necking” work that could be done on existing infrastructure, greater ability to generate free cash flow.” But that that’s upwards of 1.5 million barrels per day of additional strength will depend on their ability to resist the egress capacity in the next few years. As a result, the “dif- temptation to grow—something that has tradi- ferential” between Canadian barrels and West Texas Inter- tionally proven to be a challenge. “The industry mediate looks set to hit levels that seemed unimaginably low has not been known for having significant capi- just a few years ago, when that differential widened to more tal discipline and providing reasonable long-term than US$50 per barrel and the Government of Alberta had to returns to investors,” says Allan Fogwill, the presi- implement mandatory production cuts. dent and CEO of the Canadian Energy Research Now, after averaging more than US$20 per barrel between Institute in Calgary. “A nd part of that is their fixa- 2010 and 2020, the differential is set to narrow to between tion on growth.” US$5 and US$7 in 2021. That’s due to new pipeline capacity Getting past that fixation won’t be easy in an and because competing supplies of heavy crude from Mexico industry where production growth has tradition- and Venezuela will continue to fall off. According to Kevin ally been the defining operational metric. But oil Birn, the vice-president of North American crude oil mar- sands producers’ competitive advantage right kets for IHS Markit, “Declining availability for other global now may be the fact that they don’t have to grow sources of heavy, sour crude—such as Venezuela—could in order to be profitable. Instead, they should be give Canadian producers an added boost.” holding production flat, explicitly acknowledging But the bull thesis for Canadian heavy oil doesn’t just the reality of peak demand and using it to reshape depend on declining supplies and rising prices. It also turns their businesses. Rather than trying to grow and on the fact that Canada’s oil sands companies are behav- expand, they should pay out every penny they ing far more like profit-seeking enterprises than they used can to shareholders in the form of dividends. And to. “The industry went through a four-decade obsession those could be considerable: According to a recent

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 39 long-term more than most oil and gas companies. “These projects have 20- S&P COMPOSITE TSX COMPOSITE CAPPED ENERGY INDEX WHAT to 30-year windows, and that’s almost 100 unheard of outside the oil sands. So that ADRAG thinking alone puts you in that mindset ENERGY STOCKS of what is going to happen five, 10 or HAVE PROVIDED 15 years from now.” But, he says, there’s 50 UNINTENTIONAL still a disconnect between companies BALLAST IN INVESTOR acknowledging where the destination PORTFOLIOS is and deciding on how they’ll actually 0 get there. “The commitment is there, the intention is there, and increasingly, these companies are starting to piece together the strategy. That is what -50 gives me some hope they can get there. FEB. 2016 FEB. 2021 But it’s still a question mark.” Bryan Helfenbaum is another interested observer with both questions and hope. He’s the executive director of advanced hydrocarbons in the clean report from BMO Capital Markets, “Improved oil energy division of Alberta Innovates, prices combined with operating cost reductions “WE’VETALKEDABOUT which is responsible for steering the and restrained capital spending should allow oil government’s Bitumen Beyond Com- sands companies to generate $12.5 billion of free DIVERSIFICATION bustion program. That program, which cash flow (pre-dividend) in 2021.” seeks to find alternative applications That will be particularly attractive in a post- BEFORE,BUTWE for Alberta’s massive stores of bitu- COVID world, where the combination of ultra-low men, has taken on new urgency in interest rates and a rapidly aging population will REALLYDIDN’TNEED recent years, as the growing popularity make a healthy dividend nearly irresistible to the of electric vehicles and their impact on pension funds that collectively control trillions TO—IFWEWAITED demand for oil becomes more obvious of dollars in global capital. As Guild Investment by the day. “We’ve talked about diver- Management, a Los Angeles–based investment ANDDAWDLED sification before, but we really didn’t adviser, wrote in November 2019, “These pension LONGENOUGH,OIL need to—if we waited and dawdled funds require an annual return of 7. 5% on their long enough, oil prices came back, and assets to meet their obligations—a figure that PRICESCAMEBACK, we were back in business,” Helfen- is relatively high due to rising obligations from baum says. “The sheer size of supply accelerating retirements and low interest rates ANDWEWERE offset the basic fact that bitumen, as over the past two decades.” As companies still a feedstock for fuels, isn’t very good. capable of generating significant free cash flow at BACKINBUSINESS” We’ll always be vulnerable as a feed- current oil prices, oil sands players can help meet stock because of that higher propor- that demand for yield if they choose to shift away tion of carbon atoms.” from growth. And ironically enough, the growing But, he says, when it comes to other drumbeat around peak demand for oil and when it applications, that carbon intensity isn’t will arrive may free them up to do just that. nearly as much of a problem. Take car- But that’s only part of the story. If they’re to bon fibre, a high-strength, low-weight prosper over the longer term, oil sands compa- material used in everything from wind nies will have to find a way to substantially reduce turbines to textiles to concrete addi- their emissions—far more than they have in tives, with new applications being recent years. And while the federal government’s added all the time. “A s these advanced materials, like carbon intention to increase the carbon tax to $170 per fibre, carbon nanotubes and even graphene, become used tonne by 2030 will give them a good reason to do more and more,” Helfenbaum says, “bitumen’s higher pro- that, they’ve yet to make the sorts of investments portion of carbon atoms actually becomes a strategic advan- that will be required to get to net-zero emissions. tage.” And while there’s still plenty of work to do when it “Yes, this focus on dividends and efficiency is a comes to scaling up the conversion of bitumen into value- short-term benefit,” says Jamie Bonham, the direc- added products, the science has largely been completed. “We tor of corporate engagement at NEI Investments, still have a little ways to go to hit the kind of specifications to an ethical investment firm. “But if we are talking really have large commercial application,” Helfenbaum says, about a long-term ESG play, you do need to see— “but the proof of concept has really just been demonstrated in relatively short order—some commitments and in the past couple of years.” larger gains on that greenhouse gas front.” Bitumen can even continue to play a major role in how we The good news, Bonham says, is that oil sands move people and goods, even if they’re increasingly being companies are accustomed to thinking about the transported in electric vehicles. “No matter what is fuelling

40 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS cars in the future, one thing we’re going to need is nomic growth, the Government of Canada is looking hard at roads,” says Helfenbaum. “A nd roads are currently ways to support new opportunities for Alberta’s traditional made with high-carbon-intensive feedstock. So resources. In time, and with some luck, those efforts could heavy oil out of Canada may be the last oil pro- prove more beneficial to the oil sands sector than the federal duced, because having those heavy ends becomes government’s decision to buy and build the Trans Mountain an advantage.” Then there’s the vanadium and lith- pipeline expansion. ium that currently ends up in the tailings ponds of But if there’s anyone who can mess up the industry’s Alberta’s oil sands companies but are key inputs in surprisingly bright future, it’s the industry itself. The fed- the batteries that will power the world’s growing eral carbon tax is only an asset if the companies advertise fleet of electric vehicles. Calgary’s E3 Metals says it accordingly, and for an industry whose leaders haven’t its proprietary direct lithium extraction technol- always been enthusiastic supporters of the idea, that might ogy can recover upwards of 90% of the lithium be more difficult than it should be. Indeed, some of those contained in the waste water from oil and gas leaders continue to trade in dead-end arguments about the operations, and turn it into battery-grade mate- ethical nature of Canada’s oil production or the sins of the rial. And the global vanadium market, which stood OPEC regimes—the very same arguments that failed to gain at approximately 80,000 tonnes per year in 2018, traction with investors five years ago. could nearly double by 2030. “Processing recov- And while they’re talking a better game when it comes to ered vanadium into a usable electrolyte could also emissions and climate, oil sands companies have yet to put represent a significant business opportunity,” the their money where their mouths are. The longer they wait Bitumen Beyond Combustion report concluded. to do that, the further behind they risk falling. “If you have All told, these are multibillion-dollar opportu- already laid out this broader strategy, which has accepted as nities that don’t have anything to do with global a core tenet that you have to be carbon competitive to sur- demand for products like gasoline and die- vive in the future, then it’s a no-regrets policy to start making sel—and, in some cases, provide a natural hedge some of these steps that get you there—regardless of what against their inevitable decline. And now, thanks the price will be,” Bonham says. “If that’s the end goal, then to the COVID-driven imperative to stimulate eco- it’s better to start sooner than later.”

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65+ Years Details and speciﬁcations subject to change without notice. E. &O.E. 85,000+ Homes MintoCommunities GTAisapart of MintoCommunities Inc. SWAMY KOTAGIRI CEO, MAGNA INTERNATIONAL This pandemic is too big to fight alone. We’ve learned the importance of a co-ordinated effort within Magna and the global auto industry in restarting production and the economy after a worldwide shutdown. By pulling together, we became an example for other industries to emulate. On a personal level, the pandemic reminded us to remain positive, LEADERSHIP generous and caring, even in a crisis. LESSONS JUNE MAY 8 With a $120-billion market cap, Shopify surpasses GOODDECISION. RBC as Canada’s most valuable company, signalling the increasing importance NOTGREATDECISION. of ecommerce as FROMTHE consumers shop from home. GOODDECISION. Sobeys and most other grocery MAY chains initially instated “hero pay”—a $2-per-hour bump—at the WORST beginning of the pandemic (read: the great toilet paper rush of 2020). In June, having recovered from a wave of panic buying, all major

grocery chains cut MAIL the raise. Six months APRIL 20 For the first AND time in history, U.S. oil later, following a prices fall below zero YEAREVER public outcry amid GLOBE as demand for the commodity continues rising COVID-19 *EXCEPT FOR to slow and storage numbers, Sobeys 1348, 1862, 1914–18, capacity nearly tops CEO Michael LUM/THE 1929, 1939–45... out. The Dow closes 2.4% lower—its worst Medline broke FRED day since April 1. ranks with other grocery giants and

IT’S BEEN ALMOST A YEAR SINCE THE WORLD restored hazard (MITCHELL) APRIL 7 The HEALTH ORGANIZATION DECLARED A GLOBAL International Labour pay for workers in NG; PANDEMIC. AND SINCE THEN—WELL, YOU Organization reports lockdown zones. He that full or partial also refused to raise HAYLEY

KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENED. WE SPOKE WITH lockdown measures CANADA fees on suppliers, have affected 2.7 OF 10 CANADIAN LEADERS ABOUT WHAT THEY’VE billion workers, lambasting BANK LEARNED FROM MANAGING IN DARK TIMES or 81% of the competitors who did (GRIFFITH) global workforce. for what he called BY LIZA AGRBA AND REPORT ON BUSINESS STAFF The organization calls the effect on “odious behaviour… EDELMAN, global earnings in the midst of a KATSAROV; “catastrophic.” MARCH 12 national emergency.” In what would later

be known as “Black APRIL RESEARCH Thursday,” the Dow CHRISTOPHER MARCH 11, 2020 dips 10% in one trading MODUS The WHO declares day—the largest single- MARCH 18 The border between Canada and COVID-19 a global day percentage fall the United States closes to non-essential since 1987. travel. Justin Trudeau announces $82

pandemic, citing (REISMAN) TIMELINE 4,291 deaths and billion in virus relief measures—a total of OF A GLOBAL more than 3% of Canada’s GDP—including

a 13-fold increase (CLOCKWISE): DISASTER in cases outside $27 billion for workers and businesses, China. under the umbrella of Canada’s COVID-19 MARCH 17 Cineplex closes movie theatres Economic Response Plan. SOURCES across Canada, following a call from federal PHOTOGRAPHS: Health Minister Patty Hajdu to cancel 42 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS gatherings of more than 50 people. ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, TRUST IN HOW DOES 2020 COMPARE CEOS BY TO PREVIOUS YEARS FOR JUNE 24 ISCREAM,YOUSCREAM,WE PUBLIC YOUR ORGANIZATION? Fitch Ratings downgrades Canada’s triple-A 2017 37% credit rating to double-A-plus, ALLSCREAMFORVACCINES citing the country’s Chapman’s, the beloved Grey County, Ont., ice 2018 43% “much expanded” 2020 government cream company, took its wholesome image to WORSE AVERAGE BETTER deficit. The move a new level when it donated two freezers to 55% 19% 26% represents the the COVID-19 vaccine effort. Having contacts 2019 45% first change in the country’s credit in the freezer industry didn’t hurt: Company rating since 2004. vice-president Ashley Chapman secured two superfreezers after reaching out to his network 2020 45% in December, co-ordinating with local health units to make sure they’re ready to go as soon as vaccines arrive. A resulting Twitter flurry had 2021 40% JUNE 28 Coronavirus grateful customers of the brand celebrating with cases exceed 10 million worldwide. pints and ice cream cakes.

JULY 1 JULY JOANNA GRIFFITHS Air Canada and CEO AND FOUNDER, KNIX WEAR INC. WestJet resume Last year marked a record-breaking year for us, and the selling middle seats, citing JULY 8 underlying factor was our ability to be agile and try new recommendations The federal things—whether it was taking our physical experiences from the government digital, such as our virtual fit program, or rethinking International releases its first fiscal how a brand can have an impact on the broader Air Transport community, as exemplified by our PPE donation HEATHER REISMAN Association. update since CEO, INDIGO BOOKS the start of campaign and quick response to Black Lives the pandemic, Matter. Our strength was in our agility, and it will One of the biggest projecting undoubtedly be part of our story going forward. a deficit of challenges for $343 billion for us has been the the 2020–21 AUG. 14 The Canadian Competition Bureau launches fiscal year. a probe into Amazon Marketplace. The watchdog says upheaval driven it’s investigating potentially anti-competitive practices by the tech giant—particularly those that might impact by continually third-party sellers on the platform. evolving COVID-19

mitigation T

strategies, with GUS stores frequently AU AUG. 18 It’s the end of the shortest bear market in U.S. history as the S&P 500—driven mostly opening and by the tech sector—rallies to hit a record high, closing. This PREPARINGTOENTERTAIN ringing in the official start of a bull era. creates enormous challenges for our COMMUTERS,ONCEWEHAVE DENNIS MITCHELL teams, and for those CEO, STARLIGHT CAPITAL The No. 1 lesson I learned is the trying to plan and importance of celebrating the little things. manage inventory. It TRAFFICJAMSAGAIN I’ve spent more time and energy looking Global ad budgets fell by almost $50 billion this for ways to make sure the team stays is hard to overstate year, and ad-supported tech giants like Spotify connected, that we preserve our culture the stress created felt the squeeze. Fortunately, the music platform and remember what we’re all pulling for everyone in the was able to lean into its podcast business. It toward together. So we’re doing things saw demand for premium, subscription-based like a virtual escape room. We celebrated organization. going through $250 million of assets content—as well as an opportunity for higher under management. We do weekly games profits, given podcasts don’t come with the 70% where we learn about each other. royalty paid to record labels. The firm spent And it leads to more CANADIANS WHO REPORT nearly $1 billion on podcast-related assets and discussion and overlap, GOING CASHLESS production over the past two years, with last where somebody on our year’s acquisitions including exclusive rights to sales team finds out they 2019 2020 the Joe Rogan Experience—the most popular like the same series as our executive assistant, and podcast on the platform. Critics are skeptical that they start chatting more, Spotify’s investments will pave a path to long-term and they start exchanging profitability, but shares in the company rose 10% ideas. And that’s 10% 19% the day it announced the deal with Rogan. crucial.

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 43 LEADERSHIP LESSONS GOAHEAD,CALLER—I’MLISTENING Montreal-based Dialogue, which specializes in virtual health care services for organizations, raised $43 million in Series B financing during the pandemic, FROMTHE led by Sun Life. This allowed the platform to acquire Optima Global Health, an employee assistance program provider, bolstering Dialogue’s presence in that space. In November, it launched the country’s first multidisciplinary WORST OCT. 9 IBM announces that it will separate its mental health program, facilitating access to psychologists, managed infrastructure psychotherapists and social workers through a virtual platform. business into a new public company, effectively splitting the OCT. 20 In the largest antitrust tech case in 20-plus tech giant in two. years, the Trump administration sues Google, accusing it of an illegal monopoly on search and search advertising.

OCT. 25 GREG HICKS As a pandemic- OCTOBER VEMBER CEO, CANADIAN TIRE driven oil collapse NO “Progress over perfection” is a phrase we pushes the sector toward mergers, use quite a lot now. Crisis management Calgary-based has a way of snapping everyone together Cenovus acquires around shared objectives. There just wasn’t Husky Energy for time for the meeting before the meeting, $2.9 billion in an the hierarchies, the egos. Everybody just all-stock deal. knows what they have to do. When we get back to some degree of normalcy, if we as SHANNON LEININGER leaders could give our teams clarity around PRESIDENT, CISCO CANADA priorities and the outcomes we’re looking Leaders need to remember that for, and if everybody collaborated and the pandemic isn’t the time to worked in a horizontal fashion the way we worry about how many hours did in the heat of the crisis, we’d be a force a day someone has logged. NANCY SOUTHERN to be reckoned with. I was on a call recently with CHAIR AND CEO, ATCO LTD. regional leaders, discussing I’ve learned the the pressures of the second wave. Someone commented true agility of he was constantly bouncing our team as they from conference calls to help his young kids with school. adapted to new SEPT. 1 He said, “Often I don’t know if ways of working After announcing an SEPT. 13 In the year’s biggest I should be focusing on work impressive second and delivering TEMBER tech merger, chipmaker or my kids.” It was tough to quarter, Zoom Video Nvidia announces a US$40- hear because our homes are essential services saw its stock soar SEP billion deal to acquire Arm by 44.6%. With a no longer a sacred space to Ltd. from SBG and the disconnect. My comment to while keeping US$129 billion market Softbank Vision Fund. The cap, it’s now more deal later hits a wall of him was, “Take care of your communities, valuable than Boeing antitrust-related problems. kids.” As a leader and a parent, customers and and Starbucks, and I’ve felt the same struggle. more than General themselves safe. Motors and Ford combined. INCREASE IN CONSUMPTION, I’ve also learned 2020 VS. 2019 that video calls PANCAKES 25% just can’t match the true value ADIFFERENTKINDOFWORKTRIP and spontaneous Supporting front-line workers was a major theme for busi- WAFFLES 20% outcomes of nesses as nurses, doctors and other health care workers working face to reckoned with a never-before-seen crisis. Facing a massive dip in demand for its services, Airbnb pivoted toward an BREAKFAST face. So while I’m area of need: convenient accommodation for overburdened SAUSAGE 16% proud of how well health care professionals. In early April, the short-term we’ve managed, rental platform created an opt-in program for hosts willing to open up their spaces for free or at discounted rates. The BACON 15% I’m keen for this company waived regular usage fees while promoting man- pandemic to wind datory enhanced cleaning protocols. In December, the firm CEREAL 11% down soon. also committed to deploying $1 million over the next two years to fund free stays for Red Cross workers.

44 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS HOW WILL YOUR ORGANIZATION HANDLE REMOTE WORK ONCE IT’S SAFE TO RETURN ON-SITE? 9% FULLY ON-SITE 38% MOSTLY ON-SITE WITH SOME REMOTE WORK 43% A SPLIT BETWEEN REMOTE AND ON-SITE WORK ELLIS JACOB STEWART JOHNSTON CEO, CINEPLEX SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT, 9% MOSTLY REMOTE WITH SOME ON-SITE Everybody is concerned about BELL MEDIA SALES & SPORTS streaming versus theatrical. I’ve relied on the simple but 1% SHIFTING TO FULLY REMOTE The studios want theatrical powerful value of empathy. releases; the directors do; the We’ve faced a lot of obstacles stars do. And maybe after X in delivering live sports number of days, movies go programming, of course, to video-on-demand, where but we were also hit hard you pay 30 bucks to watch by the repercussions on the THE AVERAGE it at home. That doesn’t get advertising industry. One PRICE OF me as concerned, because it’s way to adapt was to heighten A SINGLE- NOV. 18 Pfizer not free, and people still want our communication. I began announces its FAMILY HOME COVID-19 vaccine IN COTTAGE to get out of the house. The sending regular notes to is 95% effective. COUNTRY challenge is having a movie my team celebrating our SKYROCKETS in theatres and streaming at creativity and success. I also the same time. We’ve been told more personal stories— in the business for 100 years. work-from-home tips, updates $453,046 We took our hits with VCRs on how my family was and DVDs. But as long as the adjusting and even photos of DECEMBER $406,222 content is there, our guestswill my dog (he’s a pretty great come back. office mate!). DEC. 1 A federal judge throws out President Trump’s proposed changes to the U.S. H-1B visa program for skilled foreign CLICKANDCOUGH workers. The changes would have narrowed Virtual health care platforms that connect Canadians to eligibility and forced providers over the internet had some traction before the employers to pay much higher wages to foreign pandemic. But as in-person health appointments became an workers. emergencies-only affair, telemedicine went from convenient LEPAGE to crucial. Through its subsidiary Shoppers Drug Mart,

ROYAL Loblaw Cos. poured $75 million into Toronto-based Maple RODRIGUEZ;

E. DEC. 2 In another meteoric in September. The move gave Loblaw a minority stake in the rise for the tech industry, telemedicine firm and expanded both companies’ capacity MONROE, Lightspeed POS stock hits to facilitate virtual doctor’s visits. Maple’s team doubled in

ALBERTO a record high, trading at

WEST $78.14. The jump came after size; for Loblaw, it was the latest in a series of health sector it announced it would acquire 2019 2020 investments, starting with the acquisition of Shoppers in 2014.

(JACOB) restaurant management software firm Upserve—its second major U.S. acquisition JAN. 20 Newly elected President Joe Biden issues an GLOBALDATA, in a month. executive order to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. On the same day, by executive order, the

MCINTOSH/CP; U.S. rejoins the Paris climate agreement. DEC. 9 Health Canada authorizes (CLOCKWISE): the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine—the first to get a green light from the health authority. The Y JAN. 8, 2021 Tesla hits a milestone when its SOURCES

(SOUTHERN)JEFF DoorDash delivery app goes public, JAN. 27

AR market cap strays north of US$700 billion. Now with its stock closing at US$190— In a move that sends more valuable than Facebook, the firm’s stock

MAIL; 86% above its IPO price—giving it institutional investors ANU

OSORIO price surged more than 740% in 2020. With a net a market cap of US$72 billion. J into a frenzy, a group worth of US$191 billion, Tesla founder Elon Musk is AND of Redditors foils short officially the world’s richest person, inching past sellers by driving

CARLOS Amazon’s Jeff Bezos for the title.

GLOBE the stock price for struggling GameStop THE up by around 1,000%. MICHELE ROMANOW Wall Street firms face LUM/ (ROMANOV) CO-FOUNDER & PRESIDENT, CLEARBANC billion-dollar losses. I didn’t believe a company could ever be as productive and grow with home- Apple reports its most FRED based workers—but we’ve hired almost 100 people during the pandemic. One successful quarter in history, posting BURSTON; of our big realizations has been that we can recruit anyone from any part of US$111.4 billion in (HICKS) the world because the Zoom Box is the great equalizer. Also, there’s been all

COLE revenue, mainly due to this press around COVID-19 setting women back; many are now at home with the iPhone 12, which children, trying to teach them algebra and also do their jobs. I think in the long brought in more than term, this will be a huge win for women—we’ve seen this year it just doesn’t US$65 billion. matter when you get the work done. PHOTOGRAPHS (JOHNSTON)

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 45 In 2018, Andrew Dabbikeh applied bikeh and his teammates met the bank’s for the job of capital markets risk ana- hiring managers for the first time. “It lyst at Toronto-Dominion Bank. Diag- was like a Dragons’ Den pitch,” says nosed on the autism spectrum at the Dabbikeh, who incorporated music age of five, Dabbikeh holds a bachelor’s into his team’s project, an analytics-rich BY JENNIFER degree in science, a master’s in epide- marketing campaign for a robot that miology (specializing in biostatistics) locates victims in a natural disaster. LEWINGTON and a fistful of analytics-focused certif- He was immediately offered a posi- icates. He is also a published composer tion. Several months ago, he earned a of electronic music. promotion to senior risk analyst, and ILLUSTRATIONS Instead of a typical one-on-one inter- he recently sat on a bank hiring com- BY YOSHI view at the bank, he and several other mittee to fill risk analyst vacancies. SODEOKA candidates who self-identified on the “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” says autism spectrum spent two weeks at Dabbikeh, cautioning that some on the TD working on simulated projects autism spectrum may seem aloof at using Lego robots. The exercise tested first. “Internally, they are extremely their knowledge of analytics, team- bright and very creative, and they also work skills and presentation abilities. are extremely emotional,” he says. At the end of the two week trial, Dab- “They just internalize it a lot.”

46 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 47 In the global hunt for technology- savvy workers, some companies are turning to a once-ignored source of talent: those diagnosed with autism and other neurological disorders. This so-called “neurodiverse” cohort—often well-educated, task- focused and prone to out-of-the-box thinking—tends to struggle with the breezy social interactions that get others to, or through, a traditional job interview. In 2017, only 33% of adults with autism spectrum disorder reported they had a job compared to 79% without disabilities, according to a survey conducted by the Public Health Agency of Canada. Now, assisted by specialty recruiters, business leaders are discovering the bottom-line advantage of neurodiversity hiring—and it’s not just to meet rules on non-discriminatory employment or demands for corporate social responsibility. “It is a way of accessing talent, potentially high levels of talent, that to do, but because if you want to win as the autism spectrum who prefer crisp, you would not otherwise have suc- an organization, you would want to do straightforward language. cess in accessing,” says Ivey Business this,” says Paul Clark, executive vice- “If you read a job posting for risk School professor Robert Austin, who president of TD Bank Group and chair analyst, there is a ton of jargon and is the author of multiple case studies of the bank’s people with disabilities acronyms,” says Keith Isaac, TD vice- on neurodiversity hiring and a recipi- committee. “We are doing this because president of capital markets risk man- ent of a Social Sciences and Humani- we want to win.” agement. “That is right away a barrier, ties Research Council grant through TD’s strategy, he adds, is not only and a person could say, ‘I don’t have 2024 to study best practices. “There about making accommodations but those skills, and I am not applying.’” is this large group of people who have also to support the overall growth of With input from Specialisterne, the the ability to contribute, particularly every employee. “The competition bank reworked its description of a in areas where companies are having across Canada for incredibly skilled risk analyst without altering the job. trouble finding expertise,” says Austin, talent is very, very high,” says Clark. Instead of asking successful applicants adding that some neurodiverse indi- “A s an organization, we have to tap into to “ensure the execution of your func- viduals are gifted in pattern recogni- that potential.” tion is in line with documented proce- tion, memory recall and mathematics. Since 2016, TD has worked with Spe- dures,” TD begins with a straightfor- “There are not enough people in the cialisterne Canada, a not-for-profit ward question: “Does working with world who do business analytics, and a that promotes neurodiversity hiring. database systems to investigate and lot them have great talents that are gen- Affiliated with a same-name Danish resolve errors to assure process accu- erally in short supply.” organization that has championed neu- racy and efficiency sound like some- Unexpectedly, neurodiverse hiring rodiversity hiring since 2004, Speciali- thing you would enjoy?” reaps other rewards. sterne coaches potential job candidates As well, TD modified the interview “What we hear consistently from and advises employers on recruitment process for neurodiverse candidates to managers...is that it has made them bet- and orientation practices. Since 2014, assess their competencies for the job, ter managers,” says Austin. Workplace the organization has recruited 215 cannot superficial chitchat. “When you accommodations made by managers didates, typically enrolling them in call in candidates to meet for half an who communicate clearly and give workshops before they connect with hour or an hour, what are you assess- structured feedback, for example, are employers who, in turn, receive training?” asks Isaac, who has hired more as valuable to neurodiverse employees ing in the effective interviewing and than six neurodiverse candidates since as their peers. hiring of the neurodiverse. 2017. “You are assessing how firm their At Toronto-Dominion Bank, which TD’s hiring success has spurred handshake is and how well they answer has hired roughly 50 neurodiverse an internal discussion about effec- stock questions. Is that really the best employees in North America since tive recruitment and integration of way to recruit?” 2016, the business case is undisputed. all employees. For example, vaguely It turns out effective hiring can also “The reason getting this right mat- worded job postings may deter poten- foster employee retention. ters is not because it is the legal thing tial candidates, especially those on Glenn Rampton, a neurodiversity

48 NOMARVEMBERCH 202120/20REPOR/ REPORT ONTBUSINEON BUSINESS SS ing firm Ernst & Young with the public. “Some typical skills opened its first Neurodiver- are attention to detail and the ability to sity Centre of Excellence in do repetitive tasks, and others are good Canada, patterned after six with numbers,” he says. “It’s important introduced in the United not to stereotype folks.” States since 2016. The centre Workplace accommodations are typ- recruits those with autism, ically low-cost—on average about $500 or sensory or other cogni- a person—such as noise-cancelling tive differences to work on headsets or seating arrangements for projects managed by various those sensitive to noise and light. groups in the organization. Neurodiversity hiring programs are “These individuals are not just for corporate giants. very bright and have ad- Kinaxis Inc., an Ottawa-based sup- vanceddegrees,”says Anthony ply chain–focused software company, Rjeily, EY’s national leader expanded its global workforce by 57% for digital transformation last year to 1,000 employees. “I think and innovation, and national 2021 is going to be the hardest talent leader of the centre of excel- competition for technology companies lence in Toronto. “They are we have seen because of this ability extremely focused on the for everyone to work remotely,” says task at hand, and much of the Megan Paterson, Kinaxis chief human work we do in technology resources officer, citing one impact of and data analytics, block- the coronavirus. Silicon Valley com- chain and cyber information petitors, she points out, are able to technology, requires a level recruit high-quality candidates in Can- researcher and an adjunct assistant of focus these individuals have.” ada without their having relocate to the clinical professor at McMaster Univer- Already, he says, those deployed by United States. sity, has tracked the placement record the centre have spotted technological Four years ago, with “wonderful” of job applicants coached by Speciali- solutions overlooked by others. “For a advice from industry rival SAP Can- sterne Canada. firm like EY, it is very important for our ada, a pioneer in neurodiversity hiring, In a 2020 survey of 80 of Specialiste- people to be innovative to create solu- Paterson says Kinaxis introduced its rne’s Ontario job candidates, Rampton tions for clients,” says Rjeily. Now, he version of Autism at Work. Those on found 84% were still employed after adds, some clients want EY’s advice to the spectrum now account for 1.5% of two years at the same organization or set up their own hiring programs. Kinaxis’s employees. “The impact of in an equivalent position elsewhere. Companies experienced in hiring people we have brought in through this “People with autism can compete well neurodiverse candidates offer the same program has been really compelling,” in many jobs, but they have to get into recommendations: Start small, build says Paterson. “It is the diversity of the jobs first,” he says. “The selection awareness among all employees about thought and perspective [they bring], procedures, with the best of intentions neurological disorders and weave best and it has helped us from an innovation of human resource people, have tended practices into the corporate culture. standpoint for sure.” to screen them out.” At Microsoft Corp., “we see disability Among those hired recently is soft- Despite successes, neurodiversity as a strength,” says Neil Barnett, direc- ware developer Minni Ang, who was hiring remains in its infancy, says Alan tor of inclusive hiring and accessibility not diagnosed with autism until 2017. Kriss, chief executive of Specialiste- for the tech giant, which has recruited She holds a PhD in computer applica- rne Canada (and a Report on Business more than 100 employees under its tions; her past jobs include university Changemaker—see page 17). He says autism hiring program since 2015. curriculum writer and freelance app his organization, founded in 2013, has “This is really a talent play, a [corpo- developer. set a “shoot for the stars” goal for Cana- rate] culture play,” he adds. “We are just In 2019, coached by Specialisterne dian companies to hire 25,000 neurodi- finding incredibly talented folks who Canada, Ang applied for a software verse employees over the next 10 years. have the skills we need to have, not just developer position at Kinaxis. She and However, what Kriss calls a “hairy for jobs but for careers at Microsoft.” a few other candidates spent two weeks audacious” target is really meant to Instead of a conventional interview, at the company working on projects prod companies into rethinking con- Microsoft invites candidates with designed to put their technical abilities ventional recruitment to reach a wider autism spectrum disorders to its Red- on display. Ang was hired immediately array of highly qualified candidates. mond, Wash., campus for four days of and, halfway through a six-month pro- “Businesses are very interested, but “get-to-know-you” activities. “We do bation period, landed a full-time posi- they don’t know how to get started,” team-building exercises where you get tion. “If you invest in people like me, says Kriss. “Because they don’t know to meet the managers in person before you can get the same return [as any how to get started, there is an inertia.” the interview,” says Barnett. Most posi- employee],” she says. “It is a bit of a Some, however, are moving ahead. tions have a highly technical compo- steeper learning curve at first, but the Last November, global consult- nent, but a few involve direct contact reward is huge.”

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 49 Congratulationsto theserecent appointees

Phillip Crawley, Publisher &CEO of The Globe and Mail, extends best wishes to the following individuals who were recently featured in the Report on Business Section of The Globe and Mail newspaper. Congratulations on your new appointments.

Tracey Ramsay Yaz Alattia Rodney Bergman Daniel Bunyan Kristen Caughill Rishi Chawla to VP and General to Technology to Operations to Strategy and to Mktg.+Comm. to Strategy and Manager Security Lead, Operations Lead, Consulting Travel Operations, Consulting AbbVie Canada Canada Toronto Canada and Transportation Mktg.+Comm. Lead, Financial Services Accenture Toronto Montreal N. America, Toronto Toronto Accenture Accenture Accenture Accenture

Soula Courlas Stewart Earle Sharonjit Gill Michael Grasley Tiffany M. Ho Celeste James to Strategy and to Technology to Finance to Technology to Strategy and to Strategy and Consulting Cloud Sales Finance Lead, Toronto Consulting Consulting Talent and Human Toronto Canada Toronto Accenture Supply Chain and Banking Potential Toronto Accenture Accenture Operations Calgary Accenture Accenture Accenture

Rodney Kelly Adrian Mah Kelly Makway Chris K. McPhee Patrick Mousseau Sai Naidu to Technology to Strategy and to Strategy and to Strategy and to Consumer to Operations Software Consulting Consulting CFO and Consulting Industries Toronto Engineering Lead, Comms and Media Enterprise Value Lead, Public Service Montreal Accenture Canada, Ottawa Toronto Canada, Toronto Ottawa Accenture Accenture Accenture Accenture Accenture

MARCH 2021 Recent Appointees

Eva Y. Ng Pina Sciarra Adam Swinglehurst Tylor Truong Pratheeba Sheri Williams to Strategy and to Interactive to Strategy and to Technology Vigneswaran to Technology Consulting Marketing Advisory Consulting Cloud Security to Technology Toronto Utilities Lead, Canada CFO and Enterprise Toronto Products Delivery Accenture Vancouver Toronto Value Toronto Accenture Toronto Accenture Accenture Accenture Accenture

Harley Nakelsky Jay Hamilton, Robin Bienenstock Zouheir Mansourati Caroline Papadatos David G. Hutchens to President BComm, CPA, CA to Board of Directors to Senior VP and to Board of Directors to President and Baker Real Estate to President Cogeco Chief Technology Cogeco CEO Incorporated Canadian Urban Communications Inc. Officer Communications Inc. Fortis Inc. Limited Cogeco Communications Inc.

Joseph Adamo Manfred Lau Martin Imbleau Michael Runia Barun Mohanty Susan McIsaac to Chair of the Board to President and to President and to Partner and Chief to Board of Directors to CEO of Governors CEO CEO Investment Officer Plan International Right to Play Holy Trinity School Montez Corporation Montreal Port Nautical Lands Canada International Authority Group

Steve White Vivek Goel Lynn Loewen, James Moore, to Board of Directors to President and FCPA PC, MA Shaw Vice-Chancellor to Board of Directors, to Board of Directors, Communications University of Xplornet Xplornet Inc. Waterloo Communications Communications Inc. Inc.

MARCH 2021

To make arrangements for an Appointment Notice, please call 1-800-387-9012 or email [email protected] View all appointment notices online at www.globeandmail.com/appointments 52 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS WEALTH SMART MONEY

MARIA SMIRNOVA PORTFOLIO MANAGER, SPROTT INC., TORONTO

Maria Smirnova runs the only silver equity mutual fund some silver companies also acquired in North America. Her $278-million Ninepoint Silver gold deposits to diversify during the Equities fund was the brainchild of Eric Sprott, her former bear market. They struggled to make boss, mentor and now a mining financier, who has long money when silver traded at around US$16 an ounce. Until last year’s been a bull on “poor man’s gold.” But soon after the rally in the silver price, there was not fund’s launch in 2012, silver fell into a bear market. The a lot of money to invest in explora- metal shot up in price after COVID-19 took hold last year, tion and development. Now there is however, and silver producers’ shares have soared. We new life in the sector. asked the 43-year-old, who also co-runs Ninepoint’s Gold Junior silver miners, such as & Precious Minerals fund, why U.S. President Joe Biden’s Discovery Metals and SilverCrest Metals, are among your top 10 green energy agenda is a tailwind for silver and whether holdings. How important are juniors bitcoin is a headwind for gold. to your fund? The silver fund has about one-third Gold has bounced around its 2011 peak of about in exploration companies. Large miners focused US$1,920 an ounce in recent months. Silver also on silver or gold are struggling to grow produc- peaked in 2011, near US$50 an ounce, then sank, but tion. We think they will have to buy juniors to has been volatile lately amid bets by retail traders in provide future mines. We haven’t seen a big wave Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum. What’s your outlook? yet because the COVID-19 pandemic forced com- We don’t have price targets on the metals, but panies to pause their due diligence processes. We our outlook is positive given the macroeconomic don’t bank on mergers and acquisitions—it’s the picture. Both metals will benefit from a low to cherry on top. negative interest-rate environment and a depreci- Bitcoin, often called digital gold, has attracted more ating U.S. dollar. We see more monetary and fis- institutions and legendary U.S. investors, such as cal stimulus being deployed globally to generate Paul Tudor Jones and Stanley Druckenmiller. Is it a economic growth, but this may also lead to infla- headwind for physical gold? tion in the future. Investors may see gold as a safe Bitcoin has been a headwind for gold to the extent haven and an alternative to fixed-income securi- that it has attracted investment dollars. It may well ties. Silver is more volatile than gold but tends to have an increasing role in financial markets, but perform better in bull markets. It will benefit from I don’t know how to value it given bitcoin’s digi- an economic recovery—because of its industrial tal nature. It doesn’t even have a universal price, uses—and from investment demand. Last year, sil- because it trades on multiple cryptocurrency ver exchange-traded funds took in more than 280 exchanges at varying prices. An attraction is that million ounces of silver. it is unregulated, but an arm of the U.S. Treasury How will Joe Biden’s US$2-trillion plan to fight is trying to tighten regulations around cryptocur- climate change affect silver? rencies. I don’t view bitcoin as having a store of It’s positive for silver, but we don’t know how value like gold. The metal has played that role for many initiatives will get passed by Congress. The several millennia. /Shirley Won metal is used in solar panels because it is one of the best conductors of electricity. Tax credits for buying residential solar installations will help silver NINEPOINT SILVER EQUITIES SERIES F demand. It is used in all cars and trucks but more ANNUALIZED % TOTAL RETURN* so in electric vehicles, which Biden wants to push. 1-YEAR 71.9 His call for 500,000 EV charging stations can help 5-YEAR 28.9 silver because it’s used in their construction, and SINCE INCEPTION (FEB. 2012) 2.7 they may also be powered by solar panels. Your silver fund holds stocks such as Pan American DITTMAR S&P/TSX COMPOSITE TOTAL RETURN Silver, which mines silver, gold and other metals, and TINA Newmont, the world’s largest gold producer. Why 1-YEAR 5.6

KRIS the other metals? 5-YEAR 9.3

APH Pure silver plays are almost non-existent. Silver is SINCE INCEPTION (FEB. 2012) 6.8 GR mined as a byproduct of gold or with base met- TO * RETURNS TO DEC. 31, 2020. SOURCE: MORNINGSTAR DIRECT als, such as lead, zinc and sometimes copper. But PHO

MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS 53 HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION 70% AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDP Nominal household consumption and INFORMATION SERVICES CORP. residential investment to nominal GDP REGINA 68 REVENUE (2019) $133 MILLION

66 PROFIT (2019) $19.4 MILLION

THREE-YEAR SHARE PRICE GAIN 64 22%

P/E RATIO (TRAILING) COVID-19 18.2 62

Oil price Fast-rising young tech stocks scare collapse 60 the bejesus out of value investors, and 2020 was filled with them. 2009 financial Shopify roared past Royal Bank of 58 crisis Canada to become the country’s most valuable publicly traded 2001 near company, and recent IPOs such recession 56 as Lightspeed, Docebo and Dye & Durham soared to multibillion- dollar market capitalizations despite 54 little or no earnings. For a tech play that’s a lot less 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 stressful, look to placid Regina and Information Services Corp. (ISC), DECODER a long-established company that has an intriguing mix of strong SWINGING BACK TO THE 1960s fundamentals. Those include government and private-sector When COVID-19 first consumers was a point economic importance clients, digital technology applied struck the global of concern among thanks to the rise of to solid traditional businesses, and a economy last spring, the economists prior to other vital sectors that Bank of Canada joined the pandemic. The sparked innovation, track record of steady earnings and central banks around the current economic and productivity and higher stable growth. world in administering a health crises have only living standards. The Auto ISC is a former provincial massive dose of monetary deepened the decade- Pact with the U.S., signed Crown corporation that operates support to aid businesses long funk we’ve seen in in 1965, paved the way for the electronic databases for and households. business investment dozens of new factories, Saskatchewan’s land titles, business And just as they did and exports. tens of thousands of registrations and records of personal during prior crises in In fact, using a measure jobs and spinoff benefits property (such as autos). The 2001, the Great Recession of expenditure that across other sectors of and the oil crash, includes both household the economy. Likewise, province took the company public Canadian consumers consumption and the rise of Canada as an in 2013 but retained a 31% stake. were spurred into action investment in residential “energy superpower,” as Jeff Stusek, a University of Regina by this support (at least, real estate, Canadian one former prime minister MBA graduate who arrived as chief as much as is possible households are on liked to say, created operating officer in 2006 and was in a once-a-century track to reclaim a level tremendous wealth promoted to CEO in 2008, said the pandemic). Vehicle sales of prominence in the across the country. idea behind the share issue was to are above pre-pandemic economy not seen since Both energy and levels. Retail sales have the early 1960s, when automotive have fallen on “unleash this company to the world.” reached new heights, Dief was chief, phones hard times. Perhaps tech, Revenue was $79 million to start, even if what we’re buying were rotary only, and a accelerated by the current all from the province, courtesy has changed. As for real typical house sold for upheaval, will eventually of a 20-year exclusive contract to estate, the boom seems $12,000 (not accounting live up to its promise of run its databases until 2033. But to have barely paused. for inflation). ushering in an innovation leaders wanted to diversify outside It’s no surprise that, We shouldn’t find economy in the future. For Saskatchewan and add revenue from once again, consumers any comfort in the fact now, though, our growing are carrying the weight that this is not wholly dependence on household private-sector sources, which now of this recovery. Canada’s uncharted territory. spending and real estate accounts for about half. overreliance on real In recent decades, feels like we’re stuck in The company has done that by estate and debt-laden households declined in the past. /Jason Kirby becoming a mini tech roll-up. In

54 MARCH 2021 / REPORT ON BUSINESS WEALTH

2015, it bought Toronto-based ESC Corporate Services, which provides INFORMATION SERVICES CORP. TSX SHARE PRICE* ($CDN) registry information to law *PRICE ADJUSTED FOR DIVIDENDS firms and banks. Two years later, ISC added Enterprise Registry Solutions of Dublin and B.C.-based AVS Systems Inc., which offers $21 technology automation services to lending and leasing businesses. Last July, ISC acquired Paragon Inc. of Toronto, which sells systems and services that help banks and other lenders recover cars, boats and $11 other assets (the repo business in the new millennium). “That turned some new eyes to our story,” says Stusek, who’s FEB. 2016 FEB. 2021 51. “What was boring becomes exciting.” Until that purchase, ISC’s seems limited. Growth will likely keeps the business below the radar stock has for years hovered just remain prudent. ISC operates of tech giants. above its issue price of $14 for years mostly in niche markets. Its closest And with ISC still priced at less and then sank below that mark competitor is Toronto’s Ontario than 20 times its trailing earnings per last May in the COVID-19 market Municipal Employees Retirement share, it provides a stress-free option plunge. But since the summer, ISC System–owned Teranet, another for both growth and value investors. has climbed past $20. mid-sized provider that grew out of “I think we’re in the sweet spot of Even so, the excitement still a registry operation. But that focus both,” Stusek says. /John Daly

Five years, $20 billion in miningtransactions… and we owe it all to you.

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Ali Pejman <.1 Duncan Baird .<1- ./5 Steve Bone 06%6C>%C A6E?%HE A6E?%HE A6E?%HE 67>+!H;(6%2F#E?$6!>?67+$6 "=%$6%+46>E"2F#E?$6!>?67+$6 B?H:H+4#%H2F#E?$6!>?67+$6 Investment banking, elevated. Oil and gas

Turning Point is the largest investor in cleantech in Canada, full stop.

were asked if we could run it for the midstream sector. A week later, we walked into the pandemic, and by summer, the rig count dropped to a historic low of six. And it became more important than ever to find ways to leverage the skills and expertise in the industry to generate new business. We ran Avatar virtually for 54 people in the midstream sector, and their proposals were remarkable. Around the same time, Bryan Trudel, then an executive director at CIBC Capital Markets, encouraged me to think about Avatar as more of an asset than a training program. A lot of the VC funds in cleantech focus on everything climate change–related. Very few focus on unlocking technologies that exist inside oil and gas to decarbonize the sectors that are hardest to decarbonize—heavy industry, agri- culture, manufacturing. And all the institutional investors in Canada have mandates to invest in This is not a drill cleantech, but they can’t invest in oil and gas proper. Bryan and I launched Avatar Innovations late Kevin Krausert quit his family’s oil drilling business last year. There are 250 participants represent- to help foster innovation in renewable energy ing 67 companies, exploring energy solutions like geothermal, carbon capture and biofuels. At the My great-grandfather built some of the first steam end of March, they’ll pitch their ideas to a series of rigs in the Turner Valley, and my grandfather started shark tanks, and then we’ll hopefully be in a posi- working on them at 16. As a kid, I’d visit the rigs tion to implement them. It’s a pretty unique model. with my dad. I was a bit of a science nerd, and I got 250 In tech, you go from three kids in a basement with into neurosciences at McGill. After four years, I was Number of oil a case of Red Bull and some fantastic code raising thinking about doing a master’s, but my grandfa- and gas workers 50 grand from family to selling to Google for $50 ther, who started Beaver Drilling in the 1960s, came participating million. In oil and gas, you go from having a fantas- in Avatar’s to see me in Montreal. His health was failing, and he latest cohort, tic idea to needing $100 million really quickly. So told me it was very important to him that I work on representing working inside these large-cap companies creates the rigs. Going from being a vegan, yoga-practising 67 companies a safe third space for innovation, but it also derisks science student to being a roughneck in Alberta was from eight the investment opportunities, because you end up provinces very different, but I ended up staying for four years. with a solution to a definable problem. I became president of Beaver in 2015, and that was $50 million Oil and gas is the largest investor in cleantech in when it became very clear the industry was chang- Size of Avatar’s Canada, full stop. A vast majority of large upstream VC fund, which ing structurally, not just cyclically. I knew I would will invest companies have committed to some version of net have to find new ways of doing business so oil and in solutions zero by 2050. The challenge is that if they divert gas workers could not just survive the energy tran- developed one cent of cash flow to anything other than debt sition, but champion it. I worked with the Univer- by program repayment and share buybacks, the markets cru- participants sity of Calgary’s business school to design Avatar, a cify them. There’s also a culture of compliance that SCOTT two-year program dedicated to building the skills Avatar’s slows down innovation. And there’s a feeling of required for innovation and implementation— sponsors include being under attack, and sometimes the most com- KYLE skills that aren’t exactly fostered in oil and gas. Suncor, TC forting solution is to attack back—and that’s never a Energy, Enbridge When the first Avatar program ended in the fall of and Shaw good place to be when making policy or investment 2019, I wasn’t sure what to do with it next. Then we Communications decisions. /Interview by Dawn Calleja ILLUSTRATION

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