CEO Today Global Awards

13 www.ceotodaymagazine.com CEO Today Global Awards 2019 Canada Tell us about your vision My vision in bringing about change to organizations is based on considering change at the individual, team and organization- wide level, as well as the big- picture global economy. Global tourism is a tremendous industry and Toronto Botanical Garden is very much part of that industry; growing the organization right will allow us to really tap into our key global industry. Strategies that strengthen governance, corporate policy, partnerships, brand, and stakeholder relationships are critical, and most important of all: creating a sustainable revenue model that incorporates technologies to learn, leverage, adapt to, and innovate with a global visitor- ship. My passion is start-ups and scale-ups, with no exception to the work I am undertaking at the Toronto Botanical Garden: we are building a world-class garden in a world-class city with visitorship set to grow rapidly from a quarter of a million visitors a year to a million plus visitors a year. In a Canadian context, this is like seeing the iconic cultural landmark, the Royal Ontario Museum, which enjoys a visitor- ship of a million plus people a year, start over and grow rapidly with the audience, technology and business intelligence at the heart of its plans. Here’s the path I have set to lead the modernization of the Toronto Botanical Garden: developing and implementing a suite of changes that will make Toronto Botanical Garden a true front-running organization in how it operates and plans for a sustainable future operating plan. This means establishing a sound operating foundation: Setting up sound systems: proper financial systems to plan, track, and report performance; it’s the essential work for a sustainable operating plan especially for an organization scaling-up – it’s not glamorous ABOUT HÉLÈNE ASSELBERGS Hélène Asselbergs, Co-CEO and Chief Administrative Officer of the Toronto Botanical Garden, the “living museum”, is leading it through its scale-up during a landmark multi-million dollar expansion to achieve sustained organizational growth and optimal performance. Hélène has led organizations through growth, change and at times, coursecorrection,across diverse sectors that include heritage and culture, education, agri food innovation, infrastructure, health, and e-commerce – with organizations ranging in size from start-up to mature size. She has been an entrepreneur more than once, starting at an early age, including Founder and Principal of a management consulting practice that spanned a decade of public, private and not-for-profit client engagements. Passionate about cultivating the path for our future leaders, Hélène has actively mentored young professionals, established young professional peer networks, and taught in leading postsecondary Canadian schools, including Osgoode Hall Law School. She has also provided strategic insights to the chamber of commerce networks in support of progressive public policy development and economic development, including the Ontario Chamber of Commerce as a member of the Skills & Workforce Policy Council. With her sight also focused on supporting at-risk youth in navigating the path for a bright future, she worked with 30 youth employment agencies and the City of Toronto in designing a communication and conflict management rubric using a train - the trainer model for staff of youth employment agencies to better support their youth clients in their pursuit of employment. Hélène is also energized by supporting entrepreneurs: She launched the career of abstract expressionist painter Sarah Phelps – within her first few years, Sarah Phelps has exhibited at the Louvre, in Paris, her works are regularly admired by Pierce Brosnan and Sarah Jessica Parker, and are collected by private and corporate clients, worldwide. Hélène holds a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School, a Corporate Communication Graduate Certificate from Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and European Studies from the University of Toronto. Business leaders acknowledge her vision for leading organizational growth is all encompassing. As one leader puts it: “As the Advisory Service Line Leader at Grant Thornton, I have had the pleasure to work closely with Hélène on her mission to transform the Toronto Botanical Garden into a digital modern enterprise. Her vision of modernizing the garden, leveraged technology, business intelligence and connected consumer experience, was wholeheartedly supported by the Grant Thornton team through building the overall strategy of transforming her ideas into actionable steps. She has been very innovative in her approach to growing Toronto Botanical Garden as a business and a front runner in moving from ideas to implementation. She holds a holistic vision and a practical approach to solving and overcoming the various hurdles expected with modernization programs. Over the many months that Hélène has interacted with Grant Thornton, I have seen her wear many hats, and play extremely well in many roles ranging from finance, governance and operations to business and technology. At every opportunity, she has stepped up and communicated her vision to many private and public entities to rally the needed support both financially and politically to convert the vision into reality. She is committed to launching the Toronto Botanical Garden, through her modernization program, not only to the national but also the international stage with world-class design concepts.” Geoff Cronin, National Advisory Service Line Leader, Grant Thornton LLP.