Topics

Meeting challenges

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:00:50 -0700

by Peter Mitham

A strong dollar, high fuel prices and economic storm clouds south of the border dogged B.C. tourism operators through this summer. Advance bookings were soft as tourists put off making plans until the last minute – and even then, favourable exchange rates sent domestic travellers south of the border.

“For the first time in my recollection, we have a travel deficit with the U.S.,” says Frank Bourree, principal of the Chemistry Consulting Group Inc. in Victoria and a long-time observer of B.C.’s tourism sector.

The guardian

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:20:03 -0700

by Peter Mitham

David Anderson, president and CEO, WorkSafeBC

Double-digit decreases in revenues and income might be bad news for other businesses, but for WorkSafeBC – the government agency that handles workers compensation in the province – it signifies success. The past two years have been the best years in the history of the organization, says David Anderson, the agency’s 59-year-old president and CEO.

The miner

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:17:15 -0700

by Peter Mitham

Donald Lindsay, president and CEO, Teck Cominco Ltd.

A slump in commodity prices and dramatic shifts in exchange rates that put Canada’s dollar neck and neck with the U.S. currency for much of last year made for extraordinary circumstances in the mining sector, which has otherwise been enjoying booming demand for its products.

The miller

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:12:22 -0700

by Peter Mitham

Richard Garneau, president and CEO, Catalyst Paper Corp.

Canada’s dollar was already well on its way north when Richard Garneau was appointed president and CEO of Catalyst Paper Corp. in late March 2007. A veteran executive of major Quebec players including Donohue Inc., Finlay Forest Products and Domtar Inc., Garneau moved to B.C. in the midst of what some have now billed the worst year ever for the B.C. forest products sector.

The caregiver

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:08:05 -0700

by Peter Mitham

Dianne Doyle, president and CEO, Providence Health Care

Generating revenues isn’t the focus of what Providence Health Care does; in fact, unlike most businesses, the more work it does, the less likely it is to be profitable. With the cost of providing health care rising, Providence is more likely to be found discussing ways to better manage the $547.9 million in revenues it garners from government funding and other sources than how to boost business volumes.

The banker

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:03:00 -0700

by Peter Mitham

Lindsay Gordon, president and CEO, HSBC Bank Canada

Ask Lindsay Gordon about his company’s performance in a year that’s not been kind to many financial institutions, and he points to Western Canada’s economic strength. “How a bank performs is a function of the economy in which it operates and the customers that it has,” he says. “We’re very fortunate to have operated in a fairly strong economy and particularly in [Western Canada].”

The real deal

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:12:21 -0700

by Peter Mitham

Real estate is booming, so why are so few developers on the Top 100 list of B.C.’s biggest companies? Mainly because revenue, our basis for ranking companies, is one bit of information few developers are willing to disclose.

But it also has to do with how the revenues of development companies are calculated. Residential developers – the most obvious candidates to rank among the major corporate players in the province – typically don’t receive the majority of sales revenue from pre-sales until a project completes.

Sitting pretty

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:00:42 -0700

by Peter Mitham

This year’s Top 100 numbers back up economists’ claims that B.C. is well positioned to weather any economic downturn associated with the U.S. housing crisis. Aggregate revenues for the Top 100 companies were $122.2 billion, an increase of 8.9 per cent over last year’s tally. The surge outpaces the 6.2 per cent rise in the province’s nominal GDP. And the threshold for making the list this year inched up to $223.9 million in annual revenues, $40 million more than last year.

A glance at the companies reporting the strongest growth over the past year shows just how broad-based the momentum is for B.C.’s economy.

MBA guide 2008

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 16:14:00 -0700

by BCBusiness

Whether you’re just setting out in business or in mid-career wondering where the spark went, an MBA is a surefire way to light a match under your career. But where to start? Under intense competition to meet the demands of a fast-changing global marketplace, MBA providers have fine-tuned their offerings to the point where the choices are dizzying.
The big news this year is two new programs aimed specifically at newbies hoping to launch careers in business administration.

Neighbourhood watch

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:52:34 -0800

By Peter Mitham

When a 300-square-foot house hit the market in Toronto last year at an asking price of $179,000, it was an instant media sensation.

Yes, it was outrageous. But here in Vancouver, a recent Century 21 Canada survey touted a 412-square-foot one-bedroom downtown condo as just the thing for first-time homebuyers. The price? A mere $281,000, or $682 a square foot. The Toronto shoebox? Just $596 a square foot.