Dana Hayden knows how to wield a chainsaw – and how to handle complex international trade negotiations.
The accomplished civil servant, who has degrees in forestry and economics, has held numerous positions with the British Columbia government in a wide range of ministries, including forestry, advanced education and economic development.
"I've had a tremendous opportunity to work in a whole bunch of different fields and be involved in making decisions and making recommendations to cabinet that you can really see the impact of," Hayden said. "It's a very rewarding kind of an experience."
Although Hayden has devoted most of her career to the province of British Columbia, she's a born and bred Albertan. Her mother was the first female landman in Alberta; her father was a sergeant in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in charge of combatting organized crime for Western Canada.
Like many young people, when she started university, Hayden wasn't quite sure what she wanted to be when she grew up. She spent two months studying fine arts and piano before deciding to switch to forestry.
"I had always really been interested in the forest and had spent a lot of time in the woods growing up with my dad, going camping, so I thought, what the heck, I'll go learn about forests," she said with a chuckle, noting that her parents were likely a bit taken aback at her career choice.
"They never encouraged me to go that route and frankly probably wondered what the hell I was doing."
Hayden spent a year doing hands-on surveying and brush sawing for a forestry company in Sweden before returning to Canada and taking up more academic pursuits: her first government job was as an economist in B.C.'s Ministry of Forests.
However, as Hayden advanced through the civil service and worked as vice-president of Forest Renewal BC in the 1990s and then as the first female deputy minister of forests in the 2000s, she found that having that hands-on experience helped give her credibility in the male-dominated sector.
Hayden also led the provincial government's work on softwood lumber arbitration in 2011 and 2012.
"It was the first time we had won any kind of softwood lumber trade dispute with the U.S.," she said. "It's an interesting file because there's the provincial government, the federal government, the industry – and industry is not a unified body. … It's a complicated world in which to co-ordinate a unified front for Canada."
In 2013, Hayden was CEO of two Crown corporations: BC Pavilion Corp. (PavCo), where she had a paid position, and Destination BC, which she did free of charge.
There was mopping up to do on both files. Destination BC was formed after years of complaints from tourism businesses when a previous tourism marketing Crown corporation, Tourism BC, was dissolved.
"I had a lot of ownership in the file," Hayden said, explaining why she would volunteer her time on top of a full-time job. "I had spent that year working with the tourism business community … and with the government side, and had even brought forward the legislation [to create the Crown corporation]."
PavCo was dealing with the aftermath of a pricey renovation to the BC Place Stadium roof and the government's controversial decision to renege on a venue-naming deal with Telus (TSX:T).
In addition, there was a dispute between Harbour Air and the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre to deal with.
"After having worked in the public service for 25 years, I have a very good understanding of what kinds of things are of interest or of concern to the provincial government from a fiscal perspective and from a business operations perspective."
Now, after stints as CEO of several Crown corporations, Hayden is heading into the private sector after 30 years in government. She has started her own consulting company - Hayden Consulting Services.
"I'm ready for new challenges," she said. "I've had a long and good career in the public service." •
For more information on our March 5 gala luncheon event celebrating this year's Influential Women in Business, click here.
