Entrepreneur and changemaker Catherine Warren tapped to lead the team dedicated to Vancouver’s economic diversification and resilience
September 14, 2018 – Vancouver, B.C. – The Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) has recruited tech, entertainment and community development powerhouse Catherine Warren as its new CEO. Warren’s comprehensive understanding of Vancouver’s knowledge-based economy, longstanding service to the international media sector and leadership in Canada’s top startup ecosystem will be powerful assets for VEC and its partners.
Warren reports to VEC’s Board of prominent industry and civic stakeholders, chaired by the Mayor of Vancouver. She brings to the table a distinguished international network and career contributions to B.C. and Canada’s business, finance, academic and community-engagement ecosystems. Moving ahead, Warren will guide VEC’s expert staff and business units – Green Economy, Technology, Digital Entertainment, Film Commission, and Asia Pacific Centre – collaborating with industry and government in building Vancouver’s liveable, innovative and sustainable economy.
“Catherine Warren takes the reins with the right mix of business and sustainability acumen at a pivotal time for Vancouver, when our economy is benefitting from banner years in film investment, the opening of new trade with the Asia Pacific, and astonishing growth in the technology sector as the city relentlessly pursues its goals of becoming the greenest city in the world,” says Mayor Gregor Robertson.
The city’s leadership in clean and green economic growth drives an independently assessed brand value of $32 billion. As the global capital for visual effects, a top global cleantech hub, and Canada’s most dynamic and innovative tech startup ecosystem, Vancouver has continued to create jobs and attract investment at record levels in one of the world’s fastest-growing low carbon economies. “With these hallmarks defining Vancouver, Catherine Warren was selected in a competitive search for a VEC leader poised to capitalize on Vancouver’s economic momentum and emblematic strengths to collaborate and lead our region towards a sustainable future,” says board director Karri Schuermans, Principal, Chambar Restaurant Corp.
Warren has served as a C-suite executive for private and publicly-traded companies, academic and government-business enterprises, and is the founder of the international consultancy FanTrust Entertainment Strategies, which she continues to lead. She also brings relevant academic credentials to VEC’s pillars: a bachelor’s degree in physics from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, with a focus on climate change, and a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York, where she did her original thesis work onsite at MIT covering the launch of its Digital Media Lab. Warren will remain with various independent boards and membership organizations, including the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, renowned for the Emmy Awards, where she participates on the Academy’s nominating committee.
“Joining VEC now, as our city draws together bench strengths in diversity, technology and sustainability as only Vancouver can do, I feel exceptionally honoured to represent our economic values to the world, together with our expert team, committed board, and in our collaborations with like-minded organizations,” says Warren.
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About the Vancouver Economic Commission
The Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) is the economic development agency for the city’s businesses, investors and citizens. It works to strengthen Vancouver’s economic future by supporting local companies, attracting foreign investment and promoting international trade. VEC works collaboratively to position Vancouver as a global destination for innovative, creative, diverse and sustainable development.
Based in the heart of downtown, VEC respectfully acknowledges that it is located on the unceded ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish nations.
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