CEO's Message

CEO Message - January 2022

I am incredibly excited to take the helm at TNDC. Over the past 20 years I have worked and resided in the North, working in Northern BC and Alberta, Yukon, Alaska and most recently Northwest Territories (NWT). I have been incredibly fortunate to work directly in Indigenous business for the past nine years. Most recently, I was President and CEO of Det’on Cho Management LP, the economic arm of Yellowknives Dene First Nation in NWT. Its purpose, businesses, industries served, and service offerings closely mirror TNDC’s with significant involvement in the diamond mining sector.

So although new to TNDC, I am familiar with the business and excited to apply my knowledge and experience to build upon TNDC’s strengths and successes. From strengthening and expanding TNDC’s existing construction, camp services, airport services, forestry and fibre optics divisions, to moving forward several new opportunities in development, TNDC has tremendous potential. I’m looking forward to growing and diversifying TNDC’s business, propelling it further as a leading indigenous business in the region, benefiting the Tahltan Nation.

While equipped with fresh perspective on how to grow TNDC’s business, I am grateful to have a knowledgeable and experienced senior management team with historical knowledge who are supporting me in our efforts. My first weeks are focussing on meeting team members, clients and business partners at our Dease Lake office, projects sites, and in Smithers and Vancouver. I look forward to meeting more of you in the coming months.

Our focus is preparing for the 2022 work season, securing contracts, advancing new business ventures, and identifying gaps and opportunities to improve TNDC’s processes to better deliver on client commitments. Along with a commitment to customer service excellence, we must also commit to health and safety excellence. The health and safety of our employees, the community we work in and everyone we work with is a top priority. Safety is a continuous journey that requires all employees to embrace a SAFETY FIRST, SAFETY ALWAYS mindset and strive for ZERO HARM to ensure everyone goes home safe every day.

Serving exploration and mining and providing construction and camp services are important pillars of TNDC’s business, so we will be growing opportunities that support the sector, while collaborating with our clients to ensure TNDC and our partners continue to be their valued and trusted partners delivering on existing and securing new contracts in support of their projects. Our airport services business (as the contract operator at Dease Lake Airport serving Red Chris crew and medical flights) is an important and growing division, providing year-round employment for several Tahltans. Our forestry and transportation businesses are also providing employment while the pending build of our new fibre optics infrastructure will open the doors to exciting new opportunities, in addition to bringing new revenue streams.

At its core, TNDC’s mandate is to maintain a profitable organization that generates wealth, economic, employment and training opportunities for Tahltan members, those living inside and outside the territory. The more successful TNDC is through the contracts we secure and business ventures we develop, the more opportunities we can provide to Tahltan members.

We want to be an employer of choice, especially for Tahltan members. The mining and construction industry is highly competitive, which is making recruitment challenging and retention vital. So, we will be implementing recruitment and retention initiatives to make TNDC more competitive, including implementing training programs to help our team obtain the knowledge and qualifications to meet industry standards. Mentorship by qualified professionals will remain vital to grow capabilities, fill gaps, and meet client requirements.

TNDC is on the path to an exciting future. I am excited to be on board, navigating the journey, and express gratitude to TNDC’s Board and Shareholders for this incredible opportunity. But I believe success requires collaboration. Working together as a team with our employees, clients, partners and shareholder organizations, we will deliver on our mandate, achieve our goals and reinvent TNDC’s legacy as the business arm of the Tahltan Nation.