This article is part of the Bright Leaders of Calgary series, which features prominent corporate leaders and their insights on the local business community and vision for the future.
As Calgary continues to position itself as a global hub for innovation and entrepreneurship, business leaders and educators are shaping the next generation of talent.
Dr. YJ Bao, Professor of Policy and Strategy at the University of Lethbridge’s Dhillon School of Business – Calgary Campus, is at the forefront of preparing students for an increasingly complex and interconnected world.
With expertise in global strategy, digital transformation and economic policy, Dr. Bao provides valuable insights into how Calgary’s business ecosystem can thrive in a competitive landscape. Calgary’s economic action plan, Uplook, lays the foundation for sustainable growth and innovation, ensuring a resilient and diverse economy for all Calgarians — now and in the future.
We caught up with Dr. Bao to discuss the emerging opportunities for talent and entrepreneurs, the skills future business leaders need and how Calgary can leverage its strengths to succeed on the global stage.
1. How do you see Calgary’s next generation of business leaders shaping the city’s economic future? What skills do you believe are essential for students aiming to succeed in global markets?
Students need to have a global mindset, and particularly now, they need to recognize that Calgary, as well as Canada, cannot stand alone. I encourage them to pay attention to geopolitical change, the ideological forces that shape the environment and also position themselves into the global market and the global economy.
Additionally, they need to be AI competent. This is going to be a basic requirement. It's going to be a very basic essential requirement for the next generation.
Last on my list would be pick a specific area and immerse yourself in it. Dive in and gain a deep understanding of what's going on. That's where you build up your expertise and domain knowledge. That's where you can leverage your personal as well as organizational competence.
2. As Calgary continues to diversify, which sectors do you see presenting new opportunities for talent to build careers, and entrepreneurs to scale new ventures?
The digital economy is quite a good fit with Calgary's institutional environmental and business ecosystem conditions. If you look at Finland or the other Scandinavian countries, our research says that is in line with what Calgary potentially could be. The digital economy, and specifically the high-tech sectors — software, artificial intelligence — could be and should be a very booming sector in Calgary.
3. What lessons from global markets do you think Calgary businesses can apply to succeed in an increasingly competitive and interconnected world?
The first lesson we learned — and we learned dearly in the past decade or so from other regions but now is imminent to Canadians — is not to ignore the geopolitical forces, ideological forces and where they may intertwine. They may trigger a sequence of acts beyond our control. So have a better understanding of what's going on in the geopolitical forces and the ideological confrontations. It's essential for Canada and for Calgarian business leaders as well.
Secondly, leverage our cultural capital. We as Canadians and Calgarians have a very unique cultural identity that is appreciated by the entire world. In the global market, there’s a lack of trust. The Canadian brand of trust could be a very distinctive attraction to business around the world, and we really need to leverage that for our own benefit and for the benefit of the world.
Lastly, like my recommendation to individual students, Calgary needs to pick an area and draw in to be a real expert. There are several things we can choose to do so, such as anything that relates to geography-based software and artificial intelligence or the digital economy. That relates to the oil industry, we have already built it up in past decades, but we need to go a little bit beyond that and use that to leverage our digital capabilities and to position ourselves in the global market.
We need to keep a high spirit, particularly in this period of time... We need to have the spirit to weather through the next four years.
4. What gives you optimism for Calgary's future?
I'm optimistic because one, we have the essential elements for success. I do my research in different regions, I see how things have worked out, we all have those same elements. Two, we don’t have too much of a “scene” yet. Calgary is a blank canvas — you can paint any picture you want as long as you put your will behind it. In that sense, I’m very optimistic.
About Team Calgary: The Team Calgary corporate partnership program engages our community’s visionary thought leaders to influence Calgary’s economic growth and create long-term prosperity and opportunities for all Calgarians.
Together, we advance the economic strategy, Uplook: An Action Plan For Our Economy, as the path to make Calgary the place where bright minds and big ideas come together with an unmatched spirit to help solve global challenges.