Matt O'Grady
Recent Posts on BCBusiness
In boardrooms across Canada, in any given moment there’s a discussion ongoing about this organization’s commitment to Indigenous communities or that company’s action plan for reconciliation. A lot of the initial interest—before Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission—was spurred by the...
The global reality of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is being felt in a tangible way by at least one local organization. “In our office this week, we welcomed our first group of Ukrainian mothers, who need everything from the...
When news broke on February 15 that B.C. would be lifting most of its COVID-19 restrictions, including allowing indoor events to return to full capacity, few were as excited as the organizers behind the GLOBE Forum. After a two-year absence...
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a lot of B.C. businesses were looking for ways to help out—and the province’s original craft distillery, Okanagan Spirits, was no different. Early on, the distillery announced that for the month of...
Cities represent something of a climate paradox. On the one hand, they’re the answer to global warming: more efficient land use (think up, not out) means fewer people commuting, and more land for the farms and forests that sustain us. On...
Few sectors have felt the impact of COVID-19 as acutely as the performing arts. For 2020 and much of 2021, staying apart was our main social focus; packing a concert hall to sing, cheer, or even lob a “bravo” at...
Going into the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow this November (also known as COP 26), there were high expectations about what the world’s leading economies could accomplish. First and foremost, countries were asked to come prepared with “ambitious 2030...
Corporate travel is a bit like a weathervane—constantly being buffeted by a series of economic, environmental or technological storms. To work in this business, you have to be prepared for sudden shifts in market conditions and adjust your strategies accordingly. Grant...
As the Canadian economy sprang back to life in 2021, attention turned to what’s been happening off our coasts. After all, roughly 25 percent of Canadian exports and imports, by value, are transported by some mode of marine vessel; around...
A crisis has a way of pushing certain issues—stuck in the footnotes of an annual report—into the Letter From the CEO. Such was 2020, our annus horribilis. In addition to managing the fallout of an epochal pandemic, organizations everywhere had...
In the restaurant business, fortunes can turn on a dime—as Brandon Grossutti, owner of Gastown’s Asian-fusion eatery Pidgin, knows all too well. “I feel like we’re just getting started,” Grossutti told Scout Magazine in a February 25, 2020, profile. “I think...
Tourism is often described in terms similar to manufacturing or mining, with industry reports tallying the number of operators, employees or customers (the tourists). But for Brenda Baptiste, chair of Indigenous Tourism BC (ITBC), the sector can also be seen...