Power Key:
N = New
N/C = No change from 2006 ranking
U = Up from 2006 ranking
D = Down from 2006 ranking |
The Power 50 — Page 3
Nos. 30 to 21
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30. Carol Newell
& Joel Solomon
Endswell Foundation & Renewal Partners
[ N ] In the year of Giustra and his gift of many millions,
it’s easy to forget that some Vancouverites have
been quietly working the “social investment”
angle for over a decade. Take Carol Newell: the New
York-born heir to the Newell Rubbermaid fortune established
her Endswell Foundation in 1992 as a way of assisting
local environmental causes, including Sierra Legal Defence
Fund, Western Canada Wilderness Committee, Raincoast
Conservation Society, and the Sierra Club of B.C. To
date over $20 million has been handed out. In 1994,
Newell and business partner Joel Solomon—himself
a multimillion-dollar heir—launched Renewal Partners,
which provides seed money to local green ventures. Their
success stories include Capers, Happy Planet juices,
Salt Spring Coffee, Jorg & Olif bicycles, and the
Hollyhock Retreat on Cortes Island. Next year, the pair
plans to launch Renewal Two—their first attempt
at bringing outside investors into the business. First
job Carol: A geologic field assistant. Joel:
National Youth Coordinator of Jimmy Carter for President
Campaign in 1975. 2007 Highlight Carol:
Realizing that we’d reached a tipping point both
in public awareness of how fragile our world is and
that strategic philanthropy in sustainability was on
the rise to address these issues. Personally, my investiture
as a Member in the Order of Canada. Joel:
The Great Bear Rainforest Protection and Sustainable
Economic Development Initiative. Lowlight Carol:
No complaints, no grumblings. Joel:
Continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Best
advice Carol: Just take a step and start now.
It doesn’t have to be perfect to begin—mistakes
are the routes to new untried paths. Joel: Align
my values and vision with life work. Favourite
book Carol: Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.
Joel: Blindness by Jose Saramago.
Favourite vacation spot Carol: Hollyhock
Retreat Centre. When I have more time, India. Joel:
Hollyhock. Who should be #1 Carol:
Alison Lawton, social entrepreneur and venture philanthropist.
Joel: Gregor Robertson, MLA and founder
of Happy Planet.
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29. Francesco
Aquilini
Co-owner, Canucks & GM Place; Managing Director,
Aquilini Investment Group
[ D ] This year has not been especially kind to Francesco
Aquilini, since much of it was spent fighting a costly
legal battle with his former partners Ryan Beedie and
Tom Gaglardi over ownership of the Vancouver Canucks
and GM Place. That said, the Canucks solidified their
team and their fan base last season by locking up MVP-calibre
goaltender Roberto Luongo and making the playoffs, and
whoever ends up owning the franchise looks to be in
for a good run. Aquilini bought a 50-percent stake in
the Canucks and GM Place from Seattle’s John McCaw
in 2004, and a couple of years later added the other
50 percent; Gaglardi and Beedie argue that he violated
their partnership by going behind their backs to cut
the deal. This is a big-time, high-stakes scrap: Don
Cherry would be proud. And should Aquilini emerge victorious—a
decision is expected early in the new year—he’ll
be the undisputed sports king of the city.
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28. Larry Blain
CEO, Partnerships B.C.
[ U ] In July, after some bad press on how the under-construction
Canada Line—one of the B.C. government’s
biggest public-private partnerships to date—was
hurting businesses in her riding, Finance Minister Carole
Taylor openly questioned her government’s use
of P3s (public-private partnerships) and said she would
be questioning such projects more thoroughly in the
future. To outsiders, it might have suggested that Larry
Blain, who heads the Crown agency charged with securing
and executing P3s, was in a precarious position. In
fact, his job security is all but assured. Since being
appointed to the post in 2003, he has brokered deals
for some of the biggest infrastructure projects the
province has seen, including the Britannia Mine waste-water
treatment plant, the Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health
Care Centre at VGH, and the Sea-to-Sky Highway Upgrade.
Up next: P3s for the Port Mann Bridge/Highway 1 expansion
and—if TransLink plays along—the Evergreen
Transit Line to Coquitlam. Says Blain: “There
is basically too much money chasing too few partnership
opportunities. And if you happen to be on our side of
the equation, that’s a very good place to be.”
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27. Brian Day
President, Canadian Medical Association
[ N ] In the monotheistic world of Canadian healthcare,
Brian Day is, if not a non-believer, a questioner. The
Liverpudlian orthopedic surgeon (some of our finest
seniors have him to thank for their new knees) founded
his Cambie Surgery Centre in 1995—the first and
largest private hospital in Canada—and has since
become one of the country’s leading advocates
for more private involvement in public healthcare, including
contracting out services to reduce wait times and funding
hospitals on a per-patient basis. This August, in one
of the most divisive conventions in its history, the
Canadian Medical Association installed Day as its new
president. “Those who have studied or worked in
other countries know there are systems with universal
coverage and no wait lists,” said Day in his inaugural
address. “They do deliver better care at less
cost than here in Canada.” First job
Delivering newspapers as a nine-year-old in Liverpool.
2007 Highlight Personal: birth of my
first grandchild, Charlotte. Professional: becoming
President of the Canadian Medical Association. Lowlight
Several, relating to friends’ serious illnesses
or deaths. Best advice To move to Vancouver
(from England). Who do you bounce ideas off
A few close friends, colleagues, and my wife. What
makes you lose sleep Telephone ringing in the
middle of the night. Favourite book
Straight and Crooked Thinking, by Robert Thouless.
Favourite vacation spot Maui. Who
should be #1 Premier Gordon Campbell or Mayor
Sam Sullivan.
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26. Wally Oppal
B.C. Attorney General, Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism
[ N ] As attorney general, the Cowichan Valley-raised
former head of the B.C. Supreme Court acts as the province’s
chief prosecutor: he’s the one who, in important
cases, weighs the evidence and ultimately decides on
charges. In recent years he’s overseen two historic
trials: the Air India bombing, and the ongoing Robert
Pickton murder case. Another complex legal challenge
is unfolding at Bountiful: polygamy is unlawful in Canada,
and just as the U.S. has cracked down on polygamists,
criminal charges involving sexual abuse may also be
pending here. Oppal is the province’s minister
of multiculturalism as well, and takes seriously the
task of uniting our diverse ethnic and racial communities.
First job Working at a sawmill on Vancouver
Island at age 13. 2007 highlight Getting
back to my desk two weeks after my surgery, and having
strangers tell me they got checked because of me. Lowlight
Being diagnosed with prostrate cancer. Best
advice I’ve never forgotten my Grade
8 basketball coach telling us, “If you guys don’t
want to work, it’s no skin off my nose.”
What do you worry about What every
parent worries about—my children. Who
do you bounce ideas off My sounding board and
political advisor is Barinder Sall. I fire him every
day, but he keeps coming back. Last book read
The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright, about
Al-Qaeda and the whole background leading up to 9/11.
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25. Terry Hui
President & CEO, Concord Pacific
[ U ] Save for a few buildings in the final stages of
development—Smart Gastown, and a handful of towers
being squeezed into the remaining waterfront lots on
North False Creek (The Erickson, the Mariner at Coopers
Quay)—Concord’s reign over the 604 is complete.
But like other power listers (see Larry Beasley, No.
40 and Nat Bosa, No. 12), developer Terry Hui is finding
success exporting the dense, skinny-tower model he perfected
here. In Hui’s case the opportunities these days
are to be found in Toronto, Porteau Cove north of Lions
Bay, and the Okanagan, where his ultra-exclusive Greata
Ranch development will put condos in vineyards. Picture
condo living-meets-vacation homes-meets-retirement living.
How else, in these condo-dense parts, to keep Vancouverites
buying Concord products?
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24. Gordon Houston
President & CEO, Vancouver Port Authority
[ U ] Things are moving and shaking for Cap’n
Houston. In September, the Vancouver Port Authority
announced four terminal operators shortlisted to bid
on the controversial Terminal 2 container project at
Roberts Bank. The project— which received final
approval from the feds in late 2006—will add 600
trucks and three trains daily, which represents 400,000
containers annually and addresses the projected 300
percent increase of Asia-Pacific container traffic over
the next 15 years. And in a mid-year report released
in August, the VPA announced a 25 percent increase in
cruise traffic (after several years of reduced passenger
volume) as well as record overall tonnage growth, thus
posting gains in all of its business sectors. But the
really big news? After more than 30 years of discussion
and debate, the Vancouver Port Authority and its Fraser
River counterparts finally got the green light from
Ottawa to merge into one megaport, a key element in
the federal government’s Asia-Pacific Gateway
and Corridor Initiative. Houston was named transition
CEO of the new operation. The merged authority is thought
to be better able to tackle issues such as pollution
and land use (the VPA’s got the financial clout;
the FRPA has available land but inadequate financial
resources to develop it), and better manage labour and
congestion issues. Critics argue that the agency will
be dominated by international shipping interests, bad
news for small-business operators working on the Fraser—but
these concerns, it seems, have been washed out to sea.
First job Industrial chemist in an
oil refinery. 2007 Highlight Receiving
the Certificate of Intent to Amalgamate the three Lower
Mainland ports. Lowlight Hasn’t
happened yet. Best advice Trust your
team. What makes you lose sleep Needless
bureaucracy. Favourite Book License
to Lead by Ross Buchanan. Favourite vacation
spot Our boat.
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23. Peter &
Shahram Malek
Directors, Millennium OV Properties Ltd.
[ U ] While the Malek brothers are sitting on a gold
mine in the 2.6-hectare Olympic Village at Southeast
False Creek, they also paid dearly for it—an astounding
$193-million, doubling the $130 per buildable foot previously
paid for downtown land. But the build-out is underway,
and when it’s all said and done in the fall of
2009, Millennium is expected to squeeze some 14 residential
buildings, 70,000 square feet of retail, and a 30,000-square-foot
community centre out of the deal, including—key
to any chi-chi Vancouver neighbourhood—a new Urban
Fare. This is a project that will take shape with amazing
haste—it has to—and radically transform
one of the last “good old days” parts of
town. Meanwhile, on the north side of the Lions Gate
Bridge, things are also looking up: Millennium’s
controversial $400-million Evelyn Drive redevelopment
behind Park Royal Mall—shelved for two years after
vehement community opposition—was given the green
light by West Van city council last winter: 62 post-war
homes are to be replaced by 319 market and 30 non-market
units, scaled back from the original 600-unit plan.
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22. John &
Paul Reynolds
Senior Strategic Advisor, Lang Michener, & Advisor
to Prime Minister Harper;
President & CEO, Canaccord Capital
[ N ] Funny thing about politics: often the most powerful
people aren’t the ones elected to office. Take
Karl Rove, George W. Bush’s eminence gris—or
John Reynolds. The former Official Opposition leader
and MP for West Vancouver recently served as national
co-chair of the Conservatives’ winning 2006 campaign,
and will likely do so next time round (“Anything
Stephen asks me to do, I’ll do”). Right
now Reynolds is busy helping the Tories recruit high-profile
B.C. candidates, advising the PM on B.C. strategy, counselling
clients of Lang Michener on dealing with the Harper
government, and serving on a variety of corporate boards.
His son, Paul—one of seven children—has
recently joined him in the upper echelons of Vancouver
business, replacing Peter Brown this summer as head
honcho at Canaccord Capital. Will the son follow the
old man’s footsteps? “I don’t think
Paul will go into politics,” says his father,
laughing. “He makes far too much money.”
From John Reynolds: First job Management
trainee at Woolworth’s in Toronto. 2007
Highlight Good government, strong leadership,
and a strong economy. Lowlight No lowlights
since the NDP was removed from power in B.C. Best
advice From John Diefenbaker, when I first
came to Ottawa in 1972: “Always answer your mail
and return your phone calls.” What makes
you lose sleep Nothing. Favourite book
Where Have All the Leaders Gone by Lee Iacocca.
Favourite vacation spot Hawaii—my
daughter lives there. Who should be #1
Jack Poole. He’s a Liberal, but I have a lot of
respect for him. He’s done a phenomenal job with
the Olympics.
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21. Brandt Louie
President & CEO, H.Y. Louie Co.; Chairman &
CEO, London Drugs; SFU Chancellor
[ D ] The Louie Dynasty began in 1898 when Brandt’s
grandfather Hok Yat Louie came to Canada for the Klondike
gold rush. He ended up selling seeds and fertilizer
from a general store in Chinatown, an enterprise that
has since grown into the London Drugs chain and co-ownership
(with Sobey’s) of IGA grocery stores. Brandt Louie’s
latest venture, London Air Services, which charters
Challenger and Learjets and an Agusta helicopter to
corporate executives, grew out of the frustration he
felt when his first-class flight from Chicago to Vancouver
spent five hours on the ground because United Airlines
couldn’t round up a crew to fly it. A noted philanthropist,
the media-shy Louie has made substantial donations to
many local causes.
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