Dave Cobb, The Jim Pattison Group

Dave Cobb, The Jim Pattison Group | BCBusiness

As the new managing director of corporate 
development at The Jim Pattison Group, Dave Cobb talks about working for the notoriously private company and what brought him there.

Dave Cobb has accumulated an impressive number of Cs in front of his name over the course of his career. The 48-year-old chartered accountant’s resumé includes chief operating officer of the Vancouver Canucks, deputy CEO of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games and CEO of BC Hydro. He graced these pages just over 18 months ago as he transitioned from working with the Olympics to taking the helm of the embattled Crown corporation. He is on the move again, announcing last November that he had accepted a position with The Jim Pattison Group.

What have the past 18 months been like for you, and what prompted the sudden career shift?

It has been very interesting and very challenging. As CEO of BC Hydro, you have to balance what the government would like you to do and what is best for the company and customers of British Columbia. Ultimately, I got a call that would lead me to an opportunity I couldn’t refuse, to work alongside and learn from Jimmy Pattison. 


What’s your job description with the Pattison Group? 

I am one of eight managing directors. The job is what you make of it. I do not have a fixed set of responsibilities. I’m going to be looking at overall strategic growth. The company has grown over time by making small deals, small additions, so I will be looking closely at corporate acquisitions.


Describe your first few weeks on the job: when did the real work begin?

I started in early December, but had a six-week transition period before that where I was able to attend management meetings while wrapping up my job at BC Hydro. There are 33,000 employees and 455 locations around the world. I am well underway and have rolled up my sleeves. It will take some time to learn everything and be a big contributor.


Jimmy is a mythic figure in business and his company is also notoriously private. Describe what it is like to make the transition from working in the public spotlight to working for Pattison. 

Yes, we are a private organization in that we don’t reveal financial information to the public, but our organization is quite public in that our businesses are places people visit every day such as Save On Foods and Buy-Low Foods. We are a customer-focused organization. I can’t think of another person I would rather work alongside. Jimmy is very entrepreneurial; there are no politics and frankly it is very different from working with government.


Did you achieve what you wanted to during your time at BC Hydro? What is the biggest impact that you made?

You can’t spend 18 months as a CEO and say you achieved everything you wanted to, but I can say that the executive team and the board did come up with a blueprint for a new strategy for a leaner, more customer-focused organization. That blueprint is being implemented now.


What was your reaction to the provincial government review conducted during your time at BC Hydro?

It is ironic that the new government came in and asked for a review of our operations. Our executive team had already recognized that we had to tighten our belts and run more like a commercial organization. Government wanted to see things with their own eyes. We had plans to reduce our staff by 350 employees and they wanted 1,000 jobs eliminated. We demonstrated that we could have the same cost reductions by cutting 350 jobs. The reality is that the majority of the jobs at Hydro are for trades people and technical people involved in delivering power safely and reliably. All the jobs we cut were on the administrative side. 


How would you gauge the existing support among the local business community for green energy initiatives?

Businesses are interested in clean power, but when the economy is weak saving money trumps the environment. There is a real dilemma going on right now. Do we develop cheaper power through building new natural gas plants, which is certainly better than coal, or do we invest in biomass and wind energy, which is cleaner than natural gas, but more expensive to develop? It remains to be seen how much businesses are willing to pay.


What personal skills do you bring to your new position with Pattison?

I have extensive deal-making experience through the Olympic Games, where I was responsible for all corporate partnerships. I am a chartered accountant and spent five years at KPMG before moving to the Canucks, and I have operating experience through Hydro. One of my core strengths is in relationship-building and being a good listener. I try to listen more than I speak in business meetings. To be successful you don’t need to dominate the conversation.


You have had a series of high-profile jobs in quick succession. Did you set out to have this type of mobile career? At 48, where do you go from here?

I have planned absolutely nothing in terms of my career path. I joined KPMG and thought I would be there for my career. I was halfway to becoming partner when the opportunity with the Canucks came up. I did take a risk by joining VANOC, a job that I knew would end in five or six years, and then the opportunity with BC Hydro came along. I know that I have moved around a lot lately, but I plan on this being my last job. If I stay at Pattison for 15 years and retire, I would be very happy.