Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Judges' comments: BC CEO Awards

Bjorn Moller
gv_20121106_biv020901_311069967
Alice Laberge, Bev Briscoe, David Rowntree, energy, George Melville, Judges' comments: BC CEO Awards

Bjorn Moller

"The successful CEO gets everyone pointed in the same direction. This starts with building a strong leadership team with a complementary skill set, then facilitating them in articulating an exciting vision, rooted in the organization's competitive strengths. The CEO is the chief cheerleader, so he/she spends time among the rank and file to personally sell the plan and generate enthusiasm. But the successful CEO is about more than visioning and corporate strategy. Equally important, he/she will drive the achievement of the vision through an excellent execution plan, breaking each element of the strategy into concrete goals and metrics that create line of sight. And, he/she will deal quickly with people who don't fit the culture as they will sap the energy out of the company."

George Melville

"If you look at the list of honourees for the CEO awards, you will see that it takes a wide variety of skills, knowledge and abilities to lead an organization in the right direction. However, one common attribute that I believe creates a great CEO is the ability to focus the team in such a way that it extends the CEO's passion to all of the organization's stakeholders and drives behaviours that are required to go above and beyond. This year's winners have been able to do just that."

David Rowntree

"For me it starts with basic values. A successful CEO needs to be honest, straightforward and operate from a place of integrity. A successful CEO also needs to communicate a vision for the organization that customers, employees, suppliers and the community can understand and buy into – where are they, where are they going, and how are they going to get there. The ability to make hard decisions when necessary and get results round out the qualities that I look for in a great CEO."

Alice Laberge

"There's no such thing as the 'perfect' CEO – no one person has it all. But there are certain attributes that are common to all great CEOs. In addition to in-depth industry knowledge and expertise, intelligence and integrity are critical attributes. Truly exceptional CEOs also have a vision for their organizations and are able to make this vision a reality through leading and motivating a team of committed people. These CEOs are self-aware and know what their weaknesses are. They hire people that not only fill those gaps but also help the CEO to look beyond their own view of the world, recognizing and creating opportunities that others might not see. They challenge themselves, and those around them, to go beyond what they think they can do."

Bev Briscoe

"A successful CEO provides vision and values for the organization and will have the communication skills to make them come alive. A good CEO is a natural leader who people trust and follow. A leader will provide something to believe in, someone to believe in and someone who believes in the individual. A great CEO provides clarity of purpose and expectations with a balance of reward and compassion that motivates people to be the best they can be and moves the organization toward its goals and objectives." •

For more information on the November 20 gala awards dinner celebrating our CEOs of the Year, click here.