BC Business
Cheryl Maitland Muir
Maitland Muir has built a career in both the public and private sectors and now goes to work for the organization previously known as Canada's Digital Supercluster.
It seems like, from the very start of Cheryl Maitland Muir’s career, she’s been dealing with high pressure environments. That’s just part of the deal when one of your first jobs out of university is working as a constituency assistant for Gordon Campbell.
Maitland Muir would go on to work for a couple different ministers and took on a handful of other senior communications roles before eventually landing at the Business Council of BC in March 2012. She stayed with that organization for over 11 years, most recently as the interim CEO, before becoming vice president of communications and public affairs at Digital (formerly Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster).
Vancouver-based Digital, led by CEO Sue Paish and funded in part by the federal government, is focused on accelerating the development and adoption of digital technologies by Canadian businesses to drive economic productivity and address issues like healthcare and climate change.
While it’s a big move for her, Maitland Muir acknowledges that some of it will be a continuation of the work she was doing at BCBC. “It’s a lot of the same partners and stakeholders, and some of the same folks across the tech sector—it felt like a natural opportunity for me,” she says. “The conversations taking place around the Canadian economy, the challenges around productivity and innovation and having meaningful growth in the country—Digital is at the forefront of actioning some real projects and solutions that are going to help move the needle on some of those challenges.”
Specifically, Maitland Muir was drawn to Digital because of how the organization is focusing on health outcomes and how decarbonization can be injected into traditional industries: “I think it’s important work they’re doing here.”
So while she’s only a handful of days removed from her position with the BCBC, she looks back on her time with the organization fondly. And she’s clearly going to use many of the skills she learned in the role in her new position.
“The BCBC is such an important organization here in the province and the country in advancing conversations around how to grow a private sector-driven economy that supports the economic wellbeing for British Columbians and Canadians,” she says.
“I was really privileged to work with a great team of economists and public policy leaders and some of the most senior business leaders across the country. BCBC is a convener of the business community, and I truly think Digital is a convener and connecter across the economy that is advancing some technology for solutions to climate, health care and other challenges facing our country and province right now.”