Leadership Cafe with YVR: Billion-dollar Ideas

Christoph Rufenacht

Do you have a million-dollar idea? How about a billion-dollar idea?

Join your fellow CYP Members to hear from Christoph Rufenacht, Director of Capital Planning, who oversees the ambitious $5.6 billion YVR 2037 long-term plan. In 2017, 24 million passengers rolled their luggage through YVR -  almost 2 million more people than the previous year! As North America's fastest growing airport, YVR has come up with their most aggressive plan yet.

The YVR 2037 long-term plan aims to better serve a growing economy and manage the increase in globalization. Riding the tourism boom, YVR also plans to create direct flights to amazing destinations such as Buenos Aires, Lima, and Santiago. At this engaging workshop you will learn first-hand about this billion-dollar plan and work with your peers to come up with solutions to a challenging question presented by Christoph.

Why attend this event?

  • Hear from a leading industry professional about what goes into creating a billion-dollar plan.
  • Become informed about major transportation challenges and opportunities in our region.
  • Learn about the impacts that global trends and small policy changes, such as visa requirements, have on the transportation industry and our local economy.
  • Discuss with fellow CYP Members the YVR investments and what they could mean for Greater Vancouver's businesses and local economy.

About the speaker:

Christoph Rufenacht has been with the Airport Authority for 17 years and in his current role of Director, Capital Facilities Development, he is responsible for long term capital planning and the development of the 20 year Master Plan. With a focus on integrated planning, Christoph leads teams in the effective planning across all aspects of the organization. He was also influential in developing the Airport Authority's Priorities and Planning Office, responsible for supporting senior management's decision making process to improve transparency and prioritization surrounding decision making throughout the organization along with supporting project delivery by tracking initiatives against objectives, timelines and budgets to ensure accountability. Prior to moving into planning focused roles, Christoph developed extensive experience in managing complex construction projects, with a strong focus on airside projects including runway, taxiway, apron and airfield lighting projects. Christoph holds a B.ASc. in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia from 2001 and received his Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) designation in 2006.

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The Company of Young Professionals (CYP) is our professional development program for people under the age of 35. Launched in 2007, CYP is a vibrant network for emerging leaders to acquire the skills needed to advance their careers. Through the CYP program, you can accelerate your career progression like no other program in the country. We achieve this through networking, development workshops, volunteer opportunities, and much more. Get involved