Business Council appoints new President & CEO

Vancouver—The Business Council of British Columbia (BCBC) announced today that Laura Jones will assume the position of President and Chief Executive Officer.

“We are excited that Laura Jones will be leading the Business Council of British Columbia,” said Susannah Pierce, BCBC Board Chair and Country Chair Canada and GM, Renewables and Energy Solutions Canada for Shell. “She brings passion, energy, and decades of policy experience to our organization. Laura is committed to working with our members and bringing partners together to advance BCBC’s mission of enhancing prosperity for British Columbians through a competitive economy informed by exceptional research and advice.”

For the past twenty years, Laura has been advocating for a competitive business climate across Canada in various roles at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), most recently as Chief Strategic Officer and Executive Vice-President. She has experience leading advocacy, research, communications, IT, and member relations teams. She has authored and co-authored numerous research reports and policy briefings on a wide range of topics and is recognized around the world for her thought leadership on regulatory modernization and currently chairs the federal government's External Advisory Committee for Regulatory Competitiveness.

“I’m delighted to be joining an organization and a team that I have long admired for its dedication to bringing people together to lift the prosperity of the province and those who live here. A strong economy is the foundation that affords us the resources to do so many important things from providing for families to looking after the vulnerable and protecting the environment,” said Laura Jones. “I couldn’t be happier to be focusing more of my attention on the province I’m proud to call home.”

Laura succeeds Greg D’Avignon who served in the role for 12 years before joining the Canadian Strategy Group earlier this year. Under his leadership, BCBC continued to advance many important files including forming stronger connections with Indigenous leaders, advocating for B.C.’s low carbon advantage and supporting economic resilience through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Laura will be working with the team on the transition and fully in the position on August 10, 2023.

About Laura Jones

Laura Jones is a nationally recognized leader in public policy who is passionate about the importance of a strong economy as a foundation for supporting prosperous communities.

Currently, Laura is Chief Strategic Officer and Executive Vice President of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), a non-profit, non-partisan association that advocates for 97,000 independent businesses across Canada. She oversees CFIB’s advocacy, research, marketing partnerships and member relations teams. She has also led strategic communications initiatives and an IT team transition.

Laura has authored and co-authored numerous research reports and policy briefings on a wide range of topics and is recognized around the world for her thought leadership on regulatory modernization, including creating CFIB’s annual Red Tape Awareness Week. Her work has been published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.

Her work and recommendations have led to policy improvements including taxpayer fairness codes being adopted by governments in BC and Canada, reductions in interprovincial trade barriers, and regulatory measurement and budgets being implemented across Canada.

She currently chairs the federal External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness and has served on advisory committees including a B.C. Expert Panel on Tax and the B.C. Small Business Roundtable.

A strong believer in collaboration and professional growth, Laura established CFIB’s internship program more than a decade ago and is responsible for VP-level development to help with succession planning.

Laura received her. B.A. in Economics from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and her M.A. in Economics from Simon Fraser University.

She lives in Vancouver with her husband and three teenage children. Ballet classes are a newfound passion.