Corporate Spotlight: We are all in this together

As I sign off from our annual Corporate Appreciation Event, held virtually on January 28, 2021, I wanted to share with all our members how appreciated and vital the corporate members of the College are to us.  When we think of health leaders and the health ecosystem, there is an occasional tendency to forget about the corporate sector.  At the College, we view the private corporate sector as an essential part of the College experience and of health leadership in general. Specific organizational models and offers might differ, but we are all focused on bringing leadership to better care and health for all Canadians.

Let me share some of our recent experiences at the College:

1. When we needed sponsorship support to offset the sunk costs associated with cancelling our National Health Leadership Conference in June of 2020, our corporate partners stepped-up;
   
   
2. When we needed sponsorship support to roll out a virtual edition of the BC Health Leaders Conference in October 2020 on short notice, our friends at Roche Canada and other corporate sponsors stepped-up;
   
   
3. When we formulated our virtual HPRS Round Table Program to help co-create responses to the pandemic and strategies for emerging out of the pandemic, we have been overwhelmed with interest from the corporate sector;
   
   
4. When we formulated the new corporate webinar offering to our corporate members in 2020, our friends at BD Canada, Amazon Web Services and Innovative Medicines Canada signed up;
   
   
5. When we relaunched the CEO Forum, our friends at Hillrom jumped in to ensure the success of the Forum; 
   
   
6. As new players enter the market, and innovation flourishes and new offers are being brought to market, we are having an increasing number of conversations with health-related start-ups;
   
   
7. We have received unwavering support for our National Awards Program from our corporate sponsors for many years and this has continued through the pandemic, regardless of the format of our Awards Gala and the challenges in convening award selection committees;
   
   
8. As we look to 2021, and look to change some of the content and community support models of the College, we have received excellent feedback, supportive commentary and an eagerness to engage from many of our corporate members;
   
   
9. When we decided to create a pan-Ontario, 6 chapter Health Leaders Summit to be delivered in April 2021, our friends at Huron Advisors Canada Limited offered immediately to participate;
   
   
10. In the 2020 pandemic year, we welcomed a record number of new corporate members.

As our speaker at the 2021 Corporate Appreciation Event, Craig Deao, told us, there are silver linings in every crisis. Not only does the pandemic provide obvious opportunities for innovation and engagement between the private sector and the health sector at large, there is an opportunity to all be in this together. At the College, we are grateful for the engagement of our corporate members and look forward to forging ahead together.

Alain Doucet, MBA
President & CEO