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Bert Hickman
President & CEO
Hickman Automotive Group
“You must remember that others are looking to you for direction. One must lead by example. You cannot be afraid.”
If you’re hunting for a car, truck, SUV or submersible spy cruiser, prowl no further than St. John’s-based Bert Hickman’s operation. He’ll set you up. (Okay, maybe the spy cruiser is off the table). Still, the autoentrepreneur knows his business. He paid his dues at his father’s knee. Now he, and his brother Jonathan, run the family compact with nine car dealerships fixed on their corporate dashboard.
Taking the keys Bert might not have always agreed at the time, but hindsight proves his father’s wisdom in making him work every job in the family-owned enterprise. From cutting the grass to cleaning the washrooms, he had to learn it all before stepping foot in the executive office. “He gave me the opportunity to … earn the business,” says this grateful son.
Steering the right course Bert is on happy, productive overdrive. His new internal marketing campaign, dubbed “Outperform”, challenges employees to strive for excellence and continuously innovate. As a result, his staffers benefit materially whenever they “create an exceptional experience” for customers, and, by extension, Hickman Automotive Group.
Jessie Inman
Chief Executive Officer
Fathers of Confederation Buildings Trust
(Confederation Centre of the Arts)
“Crossing the Drake Passage on a 60-foot sailboat, overcoming the fear of being on such rough water… with no land in sight was a personal triumph for me.”
Jessie Inman is a star corporate performer. In recent years, she has overseen, among other things, a $12-million capital campaign to renovate Confederation Centre’s main stage. She’s also spearheaded a $5.5-million endowment fundraiser for the foundation that controls the trust.
Learning to perform Jessie is a dedicated autodidact, a productive habit that stood her well as CEO of Cool Energy in Australia (where she taught herself enough about the mechanics of a natural gas processing plant that she was able to give an informed tour to a group of engineers), and it’s a habit that keeps her in top performance today.
Staying cool under pressure Caught in the middle of a terrorist attack in 1992, Jessie learned just how horrible it can be to be caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. The incident taught her to stay as calm as possible in stressful situations and to focus on helping others. Good advice whether you’re tripping the light fandango, balancing the books or escaping gunfire.
Guido Kerpel
General Manager, The Westin Nova Scotian Hotel; Vice President Canadian Region, New Castle Hotels and Resorts
“Leadership means putting aside personal ego and the quest for accolades, and instead seeking those accolades and success for your team members.”
Born and raised in The Netherlands, Guido Kerpel came to Canada in the late 1980s with two suitcases. Evidently, the hospitality industry here has been good to him. Now the manager and long-term strategist for New Castle (which owns The Westin Nova Scotian), he continues to employ thoughtful marketing tactics with a high priority on service. “It’s my job to see that we deliver,” he says.
Are you being served? The high-pressure life of hotel management allows little time for brooding. Guido makes sure to nurture the bonds that form between employees. “We have initiatives in place to celebrate our employees,” he says. “While the work can be intense, we also make time to just have fun.”
Putting the “Grand” in “Palace”: Nothing has given Guido greater professional satisfaction than working with his team to resurrect the old Nova Scotian Hotel. Make no mistake: It wasn’t easy. Still, he says, transforming the boarded-up property to a fourstar destination cemented his dedication to, and love for, Halifax.
Darrell Kuhn
President & CEO
Community Credit Union of Cumberland Colchester Ltd.
“A quote I try to live by is from Vince Lombardi: we will never achieve perfection, but in our pursuit of it, we will achieve excellence.”
Darrell Kuhn is a seeker of financial solutions in a perilous world. This means improving the attitudes and outlooks of all who meet the customer. Since 2008, when he assumed his current job, he has engineered a remarkable turnaround — from low morale and mediocre client service — to among the best in both areas.
People pleaser The past year saw Kuhn and company making an unusual investment by hiring a professional business coach to help their leadership team create an “inspired” workplace. Meeting with the coach and hosting weekly presentations has jump-started their goal of being branded as a best place to work.
Not your typical bank Under Darrell’s careful administration, this Community Credit Union is proactively committed to local innovation, aligning products to community values. What exactly does that mean? Think zero-down payment mortgages and a “community volunteer account” for local non-profit, volunteer-based organizations that offers free chequing and interest on deposits. As their new brand states, they want their client to “experience the difference” their bank has to offer.
Dr. Ramona Lumpkin
President & Vice-Chancellor
Mount Saint Vincent University
“I like to chart success against concrete goals — the outcomes our team has set for the organization to achieve and how far we’ve come in achieving those objectives.”
Since 2010, this former Fulbright Scholar and PhD from the University of Kentucky has coordinated the Mount’s five-year strategic plan and executed the university’s most ambitious capital campaign to date, raising more than $12 million in 20 months. Somehow, she also finds time to chair the Association of Atlantic Universities.
Back to the futureAsked what the future might hold for Mount Saint Vincent, Dr. Lumpkin is taking her cues from the university’s past and looking to provide higher education to historically underserved communities: First Nations, African-Nova Scotians, lower income students, and working adults. This, she anticipates, “will allow us to play an important role as a talent magnet for Atlantic Canada.”
Every brick in the wall As much as Ramona likes to chart success against concrete goals, she also believes ‘how’ something gets done is as important as ‘what’ gets done. In fact, she tries to live by Janice Joplin’s words: “You better not compromise your self; it’s all you’ve got.”
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