Leveraging the entrepreneurial drive that in 1995 led him to launch West Coast Air Ltd., Allan Baydala has been a transformative force at Port Metro Vancouver (PMV) for the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
Baydala joined PMV as CFO in 2008 and previously led the amalgamation of the Vancouver, Fraser and North Fraser port authorities as president and CEO of North Fraser Port Authority.
Under Baydala’s financial leadership, PMV became the first Canadian port authority to issue bonds through an April 2010 bond issue. The fully subscribed issue of 10-year bonds raised $100 million to aid PMV in achieving its strategic objectives.
Also in 2010, Baydala led a consultation and design process to establish a new fee structure for the port – the gateway infrastructure fee–which will recover $150 million over 30 years from port users. The new fee will recover capital that the port fronted in order to leverage an additional $600 million in government and railway funding for port-related infrastructure projects through the Lower Mainland.
Prior to his port authority work, Baydala was owner, president and CEO of West Coast Air for a decade, growing the profitable regional airline.
“Having previously owned and run his own airline business, he is able to provide both a clear focus on financial control and discipline and a strong entrepreneurial drive to ensure PMV continues to become more customer-focused and business-like,” PMV president and CEO Robin Silvester said in nominating Baydala. •
