Leaders of Tomorrow Graduation Night 2015

By Grace Chun

The Vancouver Board of Trade hosted its 16^th annual Leaders of Tomorrow Graduation Night on Sept. 10 at the Pinnacle Hotel Harbourfront to celebrate another year of outstanding achievements and success during the 2014-15 year.

Based on the four pillars of mentorship, leadership, networking, and volunteerism, the program provides students with a year of accelerated professional and personal growth. From more than 200 applicants, 120 students were selected as participants in 2014-15.

The MCs for the evening, Corbin Lowe and Amy Tsai, kicked off the ceremony followed by opening remarks from Tim Manning, Regional Vice President of Commercial Financial Services for RBC Royal Bank and 2015-16 Chair of The Vancouver Board of Trade.

Next, the MCs were joined by Josh Campanaro (Regional Chef, JOEY Restaurant Group), Kemp Edmonds (Sales Engineer, Hootsuite), Alexa Loo (Olympian, Coach and City of Richmond Councillor) and Elisha McCallum (Vice President, FleishmanHillard Vancouver) for a panel discussion on leadership and reflections on their own careers and experiences.

Here are four key takeaways from the discussion:

• Control is important, both in life and in your career. It's natural to want to make big, positive changes for yourself and those around you. However, it's important that you first understand the difference between what you can control, and what you cannot.
• Be vulnerable. In the corporate world, we sometimes put on a mask or a shell and feel like we can't be ourselves. However, the most interesting interactions throughout your career will likely come from people who are ready to be themselves, so whenever possible, strive to be a genuine person.
• Don't plan for everything. Instead, try to anticipate what good or bad outcomes could result from your actions, and be open to dealing with those situations if they arise.
• Have integrity. Do what you say you are going to do. It will make you an inspirational person to work with and be around.

Following the panel discussion, the highly anticipated Leaders of Tomorrow year-in-review video was unveiled, capturing the highlights and success stories from the 2014-15 year.

Finally, the coveted awards of Mentee of the Year, Rookie Mentor of the Year, and Mentor of the Year were presented to Jai Goyal (Langara School of Management), Josh Campanaro, (Regional Chef, JOEY Restaurant Group) and Brian Mathae (Director, Group Client Development, Pacific Blue Cross) respectively.

The Vancouver Board of Trade would like to thank all mentors, students, and alumni for being part of the 16^th anniversary celebration and continuing to make a positive impact in Greater Vancouver's business community.

Grace Chun is a staff accountant at Wolrige Mahon LLP and recent graduate of The Vancouver Board of Trade's Leaders of Tomorrow mentorship program. To learn more about the program, visit boardoftrade.com/LOT.