Don Safnuk, President and CEO, Corporate Recruiters Ltd.

From the 2013 Influencer Index: The recruiter has spent more than three decades bringing the top tech talent to B.C. 

After 33 years of recruiting the world’s top tech talent, it’s safe to say Don Safnuk is the godfather of B.C.’s tech industry.

“He started Corporate Recruiters in 1980 to build a tech industry before there even was a tech industry,” says Brent Holliday, partner at Garibaldi Capital Advisors Ltd. “He’s been involved with many, many companies in hiring the top people who perform for them.”

Safnuk founded Corporate Recruiters in 1980 when the concept of deepening B.C.’s tech talent pool was unique. Over three decades later he’s worked with almost everyone in the sector and is known for being an excellent judge of character, Holliday says.

In addition to operating behind the scenes, Safnuk was crucial in the founding of the non-profit B.C. Technology Industry Association, an advocate for the province’s 8,900 tech companies. He served six years on its board. Safnuk also helped grow the Victoria Advanced Technology Council, and is the current chair of the Talent Task Force on the Premier’s Technology Council.

“Helping the community is helping the technology companies be successful, helping the associations by creating a good infrastructure for them to be successful and supporting the community they live in,” Safnuk says. “Those are the three legs of the stool and I’m very interested in all three.”