Guest: Rod Schween (president of a national media company)
Pattison Media is one of Western Canada’s most well-known media companies – and Rod Schween is the leader. He oversees radio and television stations from anywhere from British Columbia to Manitoba, which includes over 600 professionals. On top of that, he is the Chair of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. This gives him intimate knowledge and insight into the state of broadcasting in the country, as well as developing new technologies that can impact the industry around the world.
What does a vice-president of research do? This is Steven Zicherman’s role with Odlum Brown – he studies businesses by looking at their financial filings and trying to understand how a company “ticks.” This could be from internal factors within the company but can be affected by its ecosystem and competitors, which need to be taken into account; this requires skills geared towards recognizing patterns and seeing everything with a fresh set of eyes.
As far as Scott Jacob is concerned, he has the greatest job he can have. As the CEO of Jacob Bros. Construction, he deals with ensuring that the company runs smoothly and clients get what they need, while his brother (and business partner) handles more of the safety and finance. Knowing and realizing the impact of what the company does is what drives him forward every day – he believes that doing more than average is needed to become above average.
When people think of human resources, there is often a very narrow view of what it is. When Fit Foods hired Giselle Blackman as VP of People and Culture, this was something they wanted to change. How do you make people feel seen and heard? Addressing this is the key to cultivating a positive and healthy workplace – a place that isn’t afraid to ask allegedly “stupid questions” that could lead to innovations and ideas.
When Ken Kalesnikoff was approached to form a task force around Canada’s lumber industry, it was a tall challenge but he was the right person for the job – it came shortly after his role as the principal leader of Kalesnikoff, a lumber company based in Castlegar, British Columbia. Lumber had always been in his blood, growing up in Thrums, an extremely small logging town between Castlegar and nearby Nelson.