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Pay InvoiceBV April 2011
Ian Penny: Conviction to make a difference
by Lynne Wells
For Penny and his wife it was an opportunity to continue their careers, while providing the quality of life they wanted for their children. Born in Cape Breton, Penny has worked in the financial industry across Canada and in
large urban centres and in the United States. But in 2005 he was offered the chance to become vice president of Commercial Banking, Atlantic with CIBC in Halifax and he leapt at it.
“My wife loves her job as a nurse in a Fall River medical clinic and I have a good career here in Halifax. We have family here we want our children to be involved with. I think any Maritimer who has left the region would want to come back if there are healthy reasons to return. It’s beautiful here.”
Through his responsibilities at the bank, Penny has knowledge of businesses and business conditions throughout the Atlantic provinces, and he has a vast network of contacts within the business community. His previous positions have given him sim- ilar insights and connections in other regions.
People, he says, have the same motivations, needs and challenges no matter where they call home or do business. From his work with Fortune 500 U.S. companies as well as large and small businesses in Canada, the United States, Latin America, Asia and Europe, Penny says he’s observed the differences are merely in the details.
“People everywhere need and want food, clothing, shelter, education, recreation, medical care, communications, job skills, etc. and I see how things such as good service, trust, a good work ethic, a willingness to face challenges and take advantage of opportunities can lead to success no matter where someone lives.”
Opportunity is a pivotal point with Penny. He and his wife have taken advantage of a number of opportunities to move and grow and they encourage their three children, a boy and two girls, to do the same.
“The right opportunities are what will catapult you forward,” Penny says. “The right opportuni- ties are what will bring success to a business and to a community.”
Of course, the trick is in knowing what’s right. The Halifax Chamber of Commerce has already targeted two items as needing to be improved in order to increase the number of ‘right opportuni-ties’ available in the region: Increasing the province’s competitiveness (incuding the cost of government) and incrasing the size and quality of our labour force. Penny believes these two areas are, “those (where) we can make the most difference and (ensure) success.”
But he doesn’t believe that charging ahead blindly is the way to go about things.
“Economic growth and development of the region is essential,” he says. “Without it every- thing else dwindles. Being competitive nation- ally and internationally while being prudent with decreasing our provincial debt is key. We do have some difficult decisions going forward in this province. We will need to weigh the pros and cons of many of the decisions required and be prudent with our course of action.”
While he doesn’t think charging ahead with- out informed decisions being made first is going to bring success, Penny is acutely aware of the pitfalls of getting bogged down in delib- erations.
“The need to act is just as important as the need to focus and make informed decisions,” he says. “At times, we spend far too much time reviewing alternatives and strategizing. Leadership is about charting a course and hav- ing the conviction to make a difference.
“We need to implement an aggressive plan to attract hardworking, talented people to our region,” he says. “We need to support our econ- omy with economic programs that will generate additional revenue and allow us to decrease our provincial debt over time and develop an econ- omy that’s sustainable and beats national and international competitors.
“Attracting excellent people and being cost competitive; that’s what will give us success,” Penny says. “I hear it weekly from clients and colleagues. It’s all about people and being com- petitive. If we have excellent people and are able to be cost competitive, we will win and our economy will grow.”
Penny believes Atlantic Canada’s slowly growing economy and the global technological advances making inroads in the region are giv- ing rise to diversified and growing employment opportunities here.
“It took the right employment opportunities to bring my wife and I back,” he says. “We need more of those ‘right opportunities.’ People, and the overall population, of this region are critical factors if we’re to succeed in growing a vibrant economic environment here. If we do it correct- ly, we’ll be okay. If not, within five to 10 years we’ll have a real problem. There’s a dire need to bring back to this region working people who can contribute every day to the economy. It’s a big issue for all of Atlantic Canada.”
Along with an inward migration of talented workers, Penny would also like to see the pri-
vate business sector take on a greater role in fostering students and young professionals.
“Co-op programs between our educational institutions and the private business sector give students opportunities to practically learn about their chosen field and the business world in general. Apprenticeships expose young peo- ple to the real world and help them understand what the working world is all about. They can
learn skill sets, discover what they really want to do with their professional lives and hopeful- ly find career opportunities that will keep them here, which will benefit the regionally business community.”
Penny himself took that road, completing some of his education then going out into the workforce where he fine tuned his career inter- ests before going back to school, and he encourages his own children to do the same. “Doing things the way I did helped me find out what I wanted to do and then I could tailor my
education to my goals. I think more young people would benefit from following that path.” Penny also believes there needs to be a shift in employment focus from the government sector to
the private sector. “We need to remove the burden of employment from the tax payer because it’s not sustainable,”
he says. “The private sector should be where our employment growth is happening. That’s where we’re going to see cost competitiveness, which is another critical factor for success. A keen focus on growing and supporting our private sector and decreasing over time our reliance on government is essential.”
Government reliance is an old story in Nova Scotia, but Penny believes winds of change are in the air.
“Private industry is the key to success. I think the NDP government understands this because we are seeing some changes. However, much work is required to accomplish this goal going forward. We’re at a very pivotal and important phase in our journey in this province. If we look out 10 to 15 years from now I believe we will look back at 2011 and 2012 and either say, ‘Those were the years that changed our course and made the difference,’ or we’ll say ‘Those are the years we missed the chance to change our course and position our province for enhanced success.’
“We are committed at the Chamber to be a part of the solution and to tell the Halifax and Nova Scotia story loudly and to make a differ- ence for our members. We have excellent peo- ple working at the Chamber, and I plan on being a proactive and active participant to help lead change where it’s required to make Halifax even more successful going forward. We will continue to maintain a close relationship with all levels of government advocating hard on behalf of the business community.”
Penny says celebrating wins and successes are just as important as achieving them.
“There’s nothing better to enhance momen- tum than to celebrate success,” he says. “Success breeds success. We need to tell more people about the success we are experiencing in Halifax and we need to harness it as a tool to create additional success.”
Case in point: the 2011 Canada Winter Games held in Halifax this past February.
“The Games were excellent for the business community and for the people that live and work in Halifax and Nova Scotia,” Penny says. “We showcased our province very well and brought national awareness to our city and region.
“I have three children very involved in sports,” he adds. “Sports have been an excellent training ground for myself personally and my children to learn many of the most important things necessary to be successful in life. I’m very proud of the Games and very appreciative of the many people that committed their time and resources to showcase our city in such an excellent venue.”
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Second Look
Business Profile - A hand up,, not a hand out - Joanne Bernard, Alice Housing
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Trends - by: Predictive Success Corporation
