Ep. 076: Vancouver's Potential As a World Class City

Guest: Pau Woo, CEO of HQ Vancouver

Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley need to attract more head offices or run the risk of failing to realize its potential as a world class city.

That is according to Pau Woo, the CEO of HQ Vancouver. “Complacency is our biggest risk,” says Woo. “People will come here because of the beauty of our landscape and the pristine environment. But unless these individuals also invest and generate economic activity and wealth, only a few, privileged few, will be able to live the kinds of lifestyles that we all would aspire to in this jurisdiction. And head offices have to be part of the solution of making this city truly livable and affordable and economically dynamic.”

Woo says Vancouver is perfectly situated to attract Asian headquarters looking to establish a North American presence. He points out many of the CEOs he’s engaging already own a home here.

Currently, Vancouver is dramatically underrepresented and underperforming as a business centre. We have fewer than half the number of head offices of Seattle. This not only outnumbers us, but also, many of its headquarters are international corporations. Calgary outperforms Vancouver, which is ranked last in its peer group in terms of publicly traded companies. Woo says Vancouver has a wide range of advantages over other cities and now is the time to attract major players or become the Miami of the West Coast – a nice playground and retirement home for the rich.