Collisions YYC

Join me as I chat with Dan Giurescu, President, CEO & Founder of TerraHub.Dan walks us through the world of blockchain, a new technology that is very much underestimated and not understood enough as to what its value can be for the economic transformation of Calgary. Having immediately recognized its untapped potential, Dan created TerraHub, the first Calgary-based blockchain education, incubator and consulting institute that is now internationally recognized. Dan holds nothing back as a champion for transformation in Calgary and stresses the need for more of us to find our voice and expose what we're doing and where we’re going.

Join me as I chat with Laura Jo Gunter, President & CEO of Bow Valley College (BVC).Laura brings the notion of education to the conversation on change, specifically on Pivot-Ed, a new program from BVC that will have a direct impact on the transformation taking place in Calgary. As a lifelong learner and a champion for strong community connections, Laura’s goal with Pivot-Ed is to create an accessible platform for employees and employers to receive meaningful education in order to adapt to the changes ahead in Calgary.

Join me as I chat with Jeff LaFrenz, President & CEO of VizworX. Jeff brings the value of resilience to the conversation on change, taking us through the trials and tribulations VizworX faced during Calgary’s economic downturn. Having close ties to the oil and gas industry in 2015, VizworX had to make tough decisions to survive, which included exploring new industries, which led to a period of rapid growth. With over 25 years’ experience in technology commercialization and a passion for innovation, collaboration and community, Jeff and the team at VizworX use advanced technology to transform their client’s businesses, a concept of transformation that needs to be adopted in our city.

Join me for another edition of Collisions YCC Current & Critical, a high-intensity series where I sit down with local leaders to discuss current topics affecting Albertans.In this episode, I discuss Brexit and the recent victory for the Conservatives in the UK with Jake Surrey of Fountain Partnership and UK-born digital media specialist who’s been traveling back and forth from Calgary since 2011. Being well-versed in all things digital and political, Jake sheds light on the strategies used behind the scenes during the late-2019 election that led to such a landslide victory for the UK Conservatives, and how social media played a key role in it. In our chat, Jake and I draw the curtain back further and further and get to the bottom of the influence that social media has in society and whether or not the decisions we make our actually our own, be it in politics or simply in our day-to-day.

Join me for another edition of Collisions YYC Current & Critical, a high-intensity series where I sit down with local leaders to discuss current topics affecting Albertans.In this episode, I discuss David Bissett’s $30M donation to the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) with returning-guest Terry Rock and how it presents a great opportunity to provide the latest in digital education and to advocate for change. Not to be overshadowed, however, Terry sheds light on other organizations that have already contributed to the economic change in our city, such as The League of Innovators, Platform Calgary, Techwest Collect, Evolve U and Creative Destruction Lab.  While this is a great sign of our city welcoming the idea of a digital transition, Terry and I delve into the skills that got us to this point, and if those with the skillset that brought us here can be, or are willing to be a part of Calgary’s new story.

Join me as I chat with Evan Hu, Founding Partner and G7 Associate at Creative Destruction Lab.Evan brings his entrepreneurial attitude to the conversation of economic transformation and explores what we need to do to push Calgary forward. With several successful startups under his belt, including OmniLogic, MapleMusic, and Ideaca, Evan offers up a fresh perspective outside of the Oil & Gas sector when it comes to how we can innovate our current landscape. The way Evan sees it, our ship hasn’t sunk yet - but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to spark a change. By shaking things up between industries and diversifying away from the fuel economy, Evan believes the ship that is Calgary will smoothly sail towards economic change.

Join me as I chat with Damarys Zampini, President & CEO of Sustrategy.Damarys brings a worldly perspective to the conversation of economic transformation, specifically on the need for us to look past our city limits and find insights on a global scale that we can adopt here in Calgary.  As a champion of constantly learning and always being curious, Damarys guides the disrupters in our city towards sustainable growth, both locally and globally, through innovative and personalized strategy - something she feels needs to happen more in Calgary. When it comes to the transformation of our city, no assumptions can be made, and Damarys brings home the fact that before we think globally, we need to build a solid network amongst all businesses right here at home.

Join me as I chat with Terry Rock, President and CEO of Platform CalgaryTerry shares his notion of establishing the right ecosystem to fuel economic change in Calgary, specifically on how a digital transformation can lay the groundwork. Knowing the responsibility that comes with being both a leader and, as he likes to call himself, a truth-teller, Terry’s mission is to empower entrepreneurs and thinkers into building the next economy by bringing everyone together to find a common purpose, get on the same page, and push forward towards a better future for our city.

Join me for a special edition of Collisions YYC Current & Critical, a new high-intensity series where I sit down with local leaders to discuss current topics affecting Albertans.In this episode, I discuss Car2go with former YYC General Manager Jon Wycoco and the hard reality we face as Calgarians of no longer having the car sharing service in our city. We share our perspective on how quickly Calgary embraced the service and the trials and tribulations that ultimately led to Car2go ceasing operations on October 31st of this year. Was it the downturn in the economy? The cost of parking? Or is car sharing just another fad? (Spoiler alert: Not even close!) Jon and I get to the root of what happened, the impact this will have on our city, what we can learn from it, and most importantly, what we can do to bring another similar provider back to Calgary.

Join me for a special edition of Collisions YYC Current & Critical; a high-intensity episode where I sit down with local leaders to discuss current topics affecting Albertans. On this episode I discuss WeWork and the rise and fall of the co-working unicorn. I am joined by Alex Putici, founder of Alberta’s largest co-working organization, Work Nicer. We share our perspective on how WeWork reached a peak evaluation of over $47 billion to its recent value of less the $5 billion. What happened, what can we learn from it, and what impact will it have on co-working in Alberta?