Message from CAFE Canada Chair

Even though January is the beginning of our calendar year and lots of businesses start their financial year then as well, for many of us, September represents a fresh start. Going back to school or back to work having spent some time away gaining new perspectives is our annual opportunity to embrace positive change in our lives, and, it gives us an opportunity to chart a new course if the one we have been on has taken its run. And so it is with CAFE Canada..September is our time back from time away. 

Our Board will be meeting in early October in Winnipeg with a full agenda centred around the question of “where do we go from here?” That question involves other questions about the how and the who. While we have some important and useful traditions at CAFE, we also have some legacies that hold us back. Finding the optimal combination of what to keep and what to change will take talent and dedication from everyone involved. And having everyone involved is critical to making it work. In advance of our meetings and in the anticipation of great results I want to thank each and every Board member for their past and future commitment to making CAFE all that it is. In the coming months, we’ll be calling on all members for their input and guidance on the near and long term direction of this association. Help us where and when you can - we welcome the insights and appreciate the support! 

As incoming Chair of CAFE Canada, one of my pleasures and privileges is to thank our outgoing Chair, Ian Wilson of Wilson Fuels in Halifax, Nova Scotia . During his term, Ian presided over some significant changes and challenges that required experience and a skilled hand where board and association governance was concerned. The path he took to both advocate his position and also include the views of his fellow members is an example we all valued. On behalf of the Board, all members, and personally, thank you Ian for your contributions and ongoing support for the work CAFE Canada does and will continue to do! 

The family business community in Canada is looking for leadership; thought leadership on the areas and issues that affect us, and functional leadership within our businesses and professions. CAFE Canada was formed to facilitate that search, to help business families ask the right questions, and to help families and advisors execute on the right answers. My goal as Chair is to enhance our position on those basics and to bring us forward in terms of how we deliver them. Henry Steele Commager said “Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change.” Let’s work together to continue to make CAFE Canada the ultimate family business resource.

Best regards

Allen S. Taylor

CAFE Canada Chair

If you wish to contact any member of the CAFE Canada Board please use the email listed below

email: cafecanadaboard@cafecanada.ca

CAFE Board of Directors - May 2009