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The Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce is pleased to host its 8th annual Economic Summit on Tuesday, May 14 at the Westwood Plateau Golf & Country Club. Hear from thought-leaders and network while enjoying a delicious buffet breakfast.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault | Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Canada 

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Laurier-Sainte-Marie in 2019. He has previously served as Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Minister Guilbeault is a prominent advocate in the fight against the climate crisis, and has been leading the charge from Laurier—Sainte-Marie for years. In 1993, Minister Guilbeault co-founded Équiterre, the largest environmental organization in Quebec, and served as its Senior Director from 2008 to 2018. He also worked as a Director and Campaign Manager for Greenpeace, and was a Strategic Advisor for more than 10 years at Cycle Capital Management, a Canadian fund dedicated to the development of clean technologies. Minister Guilbeault also worked for Deloitte & Touche as well as Copticom, a consulting firm specializing in the green and social economy, and transportation.

As an activist and strategic advisor for dozens of governments and businesses in Canada and abroad, Minister Guilbeault is a pragmatist who works to make a difference by building bridges and relationships.

Bryan Yu | AVP & Chief Economist, Central 1

Bryan Yu is Chief Economist at Central 1 Credit Union and leads a team of experienced economists conducting macro- and regional economic analysis to support Central 1 and the credit union system. He authors many of the organization’s flagship research reports and weekly notes for clients and the public.

Through his engaging economics reports Bryan has become Central 1’s local celebrity, with his work featured by various media outlets including the Globe and Mail, BNN, Bloomberg and BC Business.

Yu has served on a number of boards, including chairing several strategic, finance and other committees. These include S.U.C.C.E.S.S., the BC Paraplegic Foundation, the Canadian Association for Business Economics, and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

When he’s not keeping busy as Central 1's Chief Economist, Bryan can be found spending time with his wife and kids or volunteering with various charitable and industry associations.

PANEL: THE FUTURE OF THE TRI-CITIES

SPEAKER PANELISTS

Raul Allueva | City Manager, City of Coquitlam

Raul Allueva was promoted to the role of the City of Coquitlam’s City Manager in March 2023 after almost 13 years on the organization’s senior leadership team. Allueva served as Deputy City Manager from 2019 to spring 2023, General Manager of Parks, Recreation and Culture from 2013 to 2019 and Manager of Development Services from 2010 to 2013.

Allueva is a Registered Professional Planner who brings more than three decades of experience in municipal government to his current role, much of that in leadership positions at large cities in Metro Vancouver, including Surrey and Richmond.  His long service in municipal government management earned him recognition in 2021 from the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators.

As Coquitlam’s City Manager, Allueva oversees the broad requirements of the organization, provides advice to Council and executes its decisions, and works with the City’s senior management and all departments to ensure effective and efficient delivery of services. 

Well respected both in the public and private sector, Allueva is known as an energetic and creative leader and a keen negotiator with an ability to motivate others and build stakeholder relationships.  He has a distinguished track record of building partnerships that create community value, and in conceiving, communicating and delivering visionary projects to the community.

Jacquie Griffiths | President, Invest Vancouver

As President of Invest Vancouver, Jacquie leads the regional economic development service for Metro Vancouver. Before accepting the role of President, Jacquie was Executive Vice President and a founding member of Invest Vancouver.

Jacquie has made significant strides in expanding Invest Vancouver and promoting the Metro Vancouver region globally as well as establishing regional partnerships in key sectors such as tech, life sciences, and clean transportation. Under her leadership, Invest Vancouver has been a key player in landing multi-national enterprise investment into the region to increase high quality employment.

Jacquie holds a bachelor of commerce from the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia as well as a master of arts. She holds a designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD.D) and the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR). She brings over two decades of leadership experience in a wide-range of sectors including mining, banking, education, and local government and has been recognized as one of Business in Vancouver's "40 Under Forty." Jacquie is currently a director and chairs the Finance Committee for the Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (CPHR) BC and Yukon. On the national stage, she is the Vice-Chair of the Consider Canada City Alliance and is also a member of the World Trade Center Advisory Committee through the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

Trevor Koot | CEO, British Columbia Real Estate Association

As a former managing broker and REALTOR®, Trevor Koot’s nearly two decades in organized real estate gives him hands-on expertise in understanding the profession’s needs.

Before stepping in as CEO at the BC Real Estate Association, he served as CEO of Kamloops and District Real Estate Association for four years and Kootenay Association of REALTORS® for three before successfully merging the two into the Association of Interior REALTORS®.

Trevor’s leadership in the real estate sector began long before his CEO career when he was Chair of the Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission for five years. He played a key role in redrafting provincial real estate regulations during his tenure. Trevor also served two years as Chair of the Governance Committee at the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials.

He holds multiple degrees, from a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a minor in Mathematics through the University of Saskatchewan to a Master of Business Administration degree through Royal Roads University. Trevor is adding to his extensive education through his current pursuit of completing a Master of Laws degree at York University.

His daughter, Abby, attends the University of Victoria while he and his wife, Jill, live in Vancouver’s Chinatown.

PANEL MODERATOR

Hayley Woodin | Editor-in-Chief, Business in Vancouver Media Group

Hayley Woodin is the Editor-in-Chief of Business in Vancouver Media Group, a division of the largest business news group in Western Canada. She is a North American correspondent for BBC Radio's Business Matters program, an Overseas Press Club Foundation Scholar, a Pulitzer Travelling Fellow, a Pulitzer Center Fellow and a Gumshoe Reporting Fellow. In 2022, Hayley graduated at the top of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism class, as valedictorian, with a master’s of science degree (honours) in journalism. She has more than a decade of experience working in media relations, communications and journalism.

Hayley is a regular speaker, emcee and moderator at corporate and community events. She is a proud board director of the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation, Kwantlen Polytechnic University Alumni Association and White Rock Youth Ambassador Program Society, and chair of KPU's journalism program advisory committee.

AGENDA

• 7:30 am - Registration Opens 
• 7:45 am - Breakfast Buffet & Networking 
• 8:30 am - Welcome 
• 8:40 am - Keynote 1 - The Honourable Steven Guilbeault
• 9:05 am - Keynote 2 - Bryan Yu
• 9:45 am - Health Break
  
• 10:00 am - Panel: Future of the Tri-Cities
• 10:45 am - Closing Remarks
• 11:00 am - Event Concludes

MENU

• Muffins, Danishes, Croissants & Banana Bread
• Hash Browns
• Scrambled Eggs
• Sausages  
• French Toast & Preserves 
• Coffee & Tea 

*Vegan meals are available upon request and must be submitted before Wednesday, May 1. Please make a note when you register for the event.*