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Q&A with Whistler chamber CEO Val Litwin

The author and entrepreneur hits the ground running but saves time for jogging, too
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Whistler chamber CEO Val Litwin. Photo by Cathryn Atkinson

Entrepreneur and author Val Litwin has been leading the Whistler Chamber of Commerce as chief executive officer for just over three weeks. He talks to Pique about a busy fall and his favourite pies.

Pique: So. How are you finding the job?

val: I've been absolutely loving it. I'm really floored at how vibrant and innovative the business community is up here. Businesses have some serious swagger up here. To name one business and entrepreneur I've met and been blown away by, Kerry Jones of Peaked Pies. They've got a brilliant and simple concept; I think it's going to be one of the next big things in food. And a guy cannot survive on pies alone, but I have been. I've probably eaten there half a dozen times since I arrived.

Pique: I get the impression that you've been very busy.

val: Yeah, it's been very busy but everyone is busy. Whenever you step into a new role you get acclimatized, which is probably an appropriate analogy for a high altitude job like this. You have to get acclimatized to who are the people at the table and what are the needs of the community, and how can the chamber serves those partners and those members. The busy part has been that there has been so much learning and observing. It is one of those things that you know at the beginning you have to sit back and learn the lay of the land. It's hard as an entrepreneur to sit on my hands.

Pique: Trying to get enough information so you can make decisions?

val: Clearly, one of the things that we do that is a huge part of the community-wide strategy in terms of maintaining our status as the best alpine resort in the world is our Spirit Program. There is no doubt that we have to execute on that in the next couple of months. It delivers huge value to all our community partners and resort partners and businesses in the community, so we know we have to do that.

I'm also looking at three to six months out as to what will be our focus heading into the next part of the year as the clock ticks over into 2014; where do we need to bring value to our members.

Pique: What have you been doing to get to know the business community?

val: The nice thing about this community is that all you have to do is walk outside and you start bumping into people. I've been going to our own chamber events like Women of Whistler (WOW) just this last Tuesday. It's an incredibly engaged cohort. It was a sell-out, I think we had 80 or 90 women, so meeting some of those women who are entrepreneurs, but also some who are working for some of the big resort partners up here and are doing really interesting things.

I went to my first The Network meeting on Wednesday at Nita Lake Lodge, which is a really neat organization that is gathering steam and we partner with them for some of their events. Meeting, again, entrepreneurs and consultants who have their fingers in nooks and crannies globally, who are doing really neat things, are dynamic, intelligent people who bring so much to the business community as well.

I'm meeting all these groups of people who are all in business somehow but have different needs and are looking at different things.

Pique: Are people also coming to you to give their different views?

val: I have an entrepreneurial background. A lot of members are not just keen to talk about what the chamber can do for them, I think they're just keen to talk business and strategy and growth. I've enjoyed the conversations I've had out on the stroll and now I'm starting to have coffees and lunches like crazy with business owners who want to get a little bit detailed into what they're doing, what they're planning.

I'm absorbing like a sponge as much as I can.

Pique: How does what you've seen of Whistler business so far fit in with your knowledge? You've brought a particular skillset to the community.

val: From a relatability standpoint, I know what it is like to struggle to make payrolls. There are certain baseline things there that I appreciate, but also a lot these businesses are small and when you're either in start-up phase or even as a small, mature business, you have to do a lot for almost nothing. So it's all about value creation, leveraging partnerships, finding synergies.

It always sounds so trite but that is how you do the most for the least, when you have limited financial resources. From that perspective I think it's exciting because I can come to the table and understand that a company that maybe has only two or three employees, they can leverage certain formats and tools that we have here at the chamber that can really help them get to the next level. If we can give them a platform, or a push to support them, that is the point.

Pique: Tell me about the Canadian Chamber meeting (which took place in Kelowna at the end of September).

val: It was fascinating. I will actually say that the policy stuff was fun. It took me back to my old high-school debating days, I was just missing my blazer. It was very encouraging to see the democratic process at work where we can identify issues that require advocacy and a voice at a provincial and a national level and seeing how those mechanisms work.

It was also encouraging to see how the issues we're addressing in Whistler from an advocacy standpoint weigh very heavily on the BC Chamber agenda and were accepted by the national delegates, certainly on the visa front... just seeing the process in action and seeing it making it to the next level. It's exciting to be part of the advocacy plan that the national chamber will now draft.

And kudos to my predecessor (Fiona Famulak) and Tourism Whistler for teeing that up, I just carried the ball across the finish line.

Pique: And you've had a lot of meetings closer to home lately.

val: Getting to meet the resort partners was great, getting to build a relationship with (Tourism Whistler head) Barrett Fisher and (Whistler Blackcomb's) Dave Brownlie, Mike Furey (of the Resort Municipality of Whistler) and being in email contact with Doti Niedermayer of the Whistler Arts Council.

I think that everyone is excited and we can collaborate to see how we can take Whistler to the next level again... I love that there's a core group of people looking out for the long-term economic success of Whistler.

Pique: And what are your plans in the coming weeks?

val: I'm still learning the needs of the Whistler business community. Learn and observe and make sure we execute a brilliant Spirit Pass Program this year. It's updated and we've got lots of great new content. I just love business. That's what I get really excited about. I think we have a group of really (great) entrepreneurs in Whistler, who have such varied business models. I'm excited to see how in the next year the chamber can step up again and help them with their business visions and business strategies, how can we take them to the next level.

Pique: What do you see as the challenges?

val: You know, I feel that optimism is really high in this town! The economy is getting better. All the partners are collaborating, we're all talking. The view is clear out my window right now and I feel that is a great analogy for how it looks in Whistler. Everyone is aligned, everyone is moving forward at high speed. I think the EPI meeting (last week's release of the RMOW's Economic Partnership Initiative) will gel a lot of the focus around economic development.

I don't see any challenges right now, I just wish there were three of me to do everything faster, but I just have to be patient.

Apart from that, I just need to make sure I'm running the wicked little Cheakamus River running route up to the suspension bridge behind my place once a week. (He laughs.)



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