February 2022 – CEO’s Message
| Over the past month, we have been refining our Investment Policy Statement and our Strategic Plan while continuing to connect with multiple stakeholders including potential investees and partners. As we prepare to activate capital, we are building a strong foundation of expertise to set us on the path to success. This month we have confirmed the addition of two new team members. Leah Nguyen will be joining us as the inaugural Chief Investment Officer on April 4th, 2022. This is a critical role as we finalize our strategy and begin to mobilize capital. Leah joins us from the TELUS pollinator fund, a $100M impact fund, where she built a portfolio of purpose driven, for-profit funds and companies. Leah is an investor and technology executive with more than 17 years of experience across various industries, including telecommunications, retail, utilities, and natural resources. She has a deep passion for driving impact and igniting positive change. Her experience and interests align well with the mandate of InBC, and we are excited to begin working with her. Read more about Leah here. Note: Any inquiries for Leah can be directed to info@inbcinvestment.ca. Sheliza Thobani has been hired for the role of Marketing and Communications Specialist starting February 28th, 2022 to ensure we proactively and clearly communicate our progress. With over eight years of experience in communications and marketing, her background includes the development and execution of marketing strategies such as content creation, public relations, stakeholder engagements and social media across a variety of industries from health care and education to B2B retail, creative agencies and cleantech sectors. Her latest work involved creating a communications strategy for a social enterprise that is dedicated to sustainable recycling and aiding BC’s circular economy. As we enter a new month, we will begin recruitment of the investment team to support Leah in the deployment of capital and will be announcing a Chief of Strategy and Operations (CSO). Watch our website for pending job postings. The recent StrongerBC Economic Plan released on February 17th, 2022 outlined a focus on two key goals – Clean and Inclusive Growth – and six missions including fostering innovation, building resilient communities and meeting B.C.’s climate commitments. These goals align with the investment framework we are building with our triple bottom line mandate. We are taking an inclusive approach to offer patient and additive capital to funds and companies. The first order of business for Leah as CIO will be to finalize the Investment Policy Statement. The details of this will be shared publicly in late Spring 2022. InBC was referenced in Budget 2022 as supporting B.C.’s goals and missions. $500M is a sizable contribution of public funds, and we are committed to ensuring the effective stewardship and deployment of these funds to maximize positive economic impact in this province. I am looking forward to sharing a number of exciting developments in the months ahead including our Strategic plan and our Investment Policy Statement. If you want to hear more, listen to my recent conversation with William Johnson of the Vancouver Tech Journal on #VTJLive. Until next month – Jill |