We are excited to be sitting down with Rob Mancey, Executive Director of the new Colorado Chapter of MAPLE Business Council, to learn more about the future plans for Colorado. On November 8th, Rob hosted the inaugural reception for MAPLE Colorado to a standing-room only audience in Denver with presentations by Canadian Consul General Sylvain Fabi, former Canadian Ambassador to the U.S. Derek Burney, and Molson Coors Vice President of Government Affairs, Will Kinzel.
Q. Rob – thank you for taking the time to share some of your background and perspectives with our readers. Would you tell us a little about your personal cross-border journey from Canada to the U.S.? What brought you to the U.S. and Colorado originally?
I was working for a small technology firm in Rexdale, Ontario in early 1991, which was bought by a company (Sybase, Inc.,) and moved us to Boston, MA. After 5 years of really enjoying New England, Sybase moved our family of 5 to the south metro area of Denver in 1996. Twenty-six years later, we’ve never looked back. Colorado is a wonderful place to live and raise a family!
Q. As President and Chairman of the Canada Colorado Association, the state’s networking focal point for Canadians and friends of Canada, and through your corporate real estate/relocation work at AvenueWest, the ties between Canada-Colorado appear to represent a big part of your life. What motivates you to bring Canada and Colorado closer together?
I own a corporate housing franchise of AvenueWest Denver in the Denver Tech Center (DTC). AvenueWest does business within the global mobility market with companies relocating their employees both nationally and internationally. Given my experiences relocating my family a couple of times myself, I have realized both the adventure and excitement as well as the headaches experienced by relocating families.
I love showing off Colorado and sharing all the wonderful things about it with new families moving here. It can be intimidating not knowing anybody or anything about your new locale. I enjoy sharing my sphere of influence and resources with anybody who needs help settling in or with Canadians who have been living here for a while. Given the amount of trade that goes on between Colorado and Canada and loving my heritage, leading the Canada Colorado Association has been a lot of fun and allows me to stay in touch with my roots. I’ve met some wonderful people!
Q. Would you tell us a little bit about the mission and history of the Canada Colorado Association as a networking community to connect Canadians and friends of Canada in Colorado and back to Canada?
The Canada Colorado Association was founded back in 1991 by Ian Barclay (Montreal) and Don Bailey (ON) who were aspiring entrepreneurs seeing the opportunity to create a networking group for socializing and business development. Over the decades the CCA’s mission has been to create a community of Canadians and “friends of Canada” who can be a social and business resource for each other. CCA’s vision statement is “Celebrating Canada…Connecting ALL Canadians and friends of Canada.” CCA fulfills these goals through a number of Canadian flavoured events and seminars.
Q. As the owner of AvenueWest, a corporate relocation services firm in the Denver Technology Center (DTC), what are some of the most common challenges that Canadians face when relocating to Colorado or the U.S. in general?
Often times, one spouse is legally able to work in the U.S., the other spouse may not be able. This legality may cause a lot of consternation and sacrifice within the family unit. The social aspects of the CCA can allow Canadians in similar situations to commiserate and socialize together. Finding resources for immigration, cross-border taxation, wealth management and pension planning can be problematic. Canadian credit ratings don’t transfer when a family crosses the border can prevent a family from securing a mortgage and buying a house.
Q. Turning our focus now to the new MAPLE Colorado Chapter you will be leading, what is the mission of the MAPLE organization and what benefits or opportunities does it offer to businesses?
MAPLE Colorado’s mandate and vision is to become a networking resource for the many Canadians and “friends of Canada” who are conducting cross-border trade and investment between the countries. MAPLE Colorado will complement the good work already being accomplished by the Consulate General of Canada in Denver.
MAPLE is a membership-based executive networking organization focused on promoting bilateral trade, investment and innovation between Canada and the U.S. and in the markets where we operate. Through in-person and online networking events, content sharing through established media platforms, partnerships with economic development stakeholders and Canada-U.S. news curation, MAPLE connects business leaders across sectors and across markets.
MAPLE was founded in Southern California in 2015 and has grown to include Chapters in British Columbia, New York, Ontario and now Colorado. Now one of the largest Canada-U.S. business councils, MAPLE members work in over 25 sectors in over 25 markets across North America.
Members benefit by connecting with fellow business leaders outside of their traditional ‘swim lanes’ who share their experience, expertise, and interest in growing businesses north and south of the Canada-U.S. border. MAPLE sets the table for meaningful conversations through our events and storytelling platforms too.
Q. How is the focus of the MAPLE Colorado Chapter different from the Canada Colorado Association? Will there be synergies between the two organizations?
The Canada Colorado Association can be characterized as C2C (consumer to consumer) social club as well as a B2C (business to consumer) network. MAPLE Colorado creates the B2B (business to business) network which is missing from the CCA.
Q. We understand MAPLE Business Council began in Southern California in 2015 which continues as its base of operations. What are the benefits to Colorado members of being part of a growing network of MAPLE Chapters across Canada and the U.S.?
When organizations and individual executives join MAPLE Colorado, they will have access to not only the events that will be held locally but also the events of our sister Chapters located currently in British Columbia, Ontario, New York and Southern California. This provides expanded networking and content-sharing opportunities.
Moreover, MAPLE Business Council helps members share their insights on markets and sectors with an executive audience across North America through turnkey bi-national content platforms for articles and video conversations. These help members to connect with others who are interested in expanding across Canada and the U.S. as well as north and south across the Canada-U.S. border.
Q. Stepping back from your organizations, what excites you about living and doing business in the Colorado and what does it offer to Canadian companies?
The quality of life and wonderful weather of Colorado makes it a great place to live and work. Colorado has a broad and diverse economic base including sectors such as aerospace, agriculture, biosciences, the Federal Government, financial services, information technology, hospitality, healthcare, mining, oil and gas, and advanced manufacturing. The population is well-educated and outdoor recreation opportunities keep residents healthy and having fun. People are friendly and very open-minded.
Q. How important are the economic ties between Canada and Colorado especially when we think of two-way trade and investment? Does Colorado’s relationship with Canada merit more focus?
Canada and Colorado share significant and growing economic ties together. Each represents an important export market and trading partner to the other. It is absolutely a relationship that merits more attention for it’s size and the fact that it is a win/win relationship benefiting both Canada and Colorado.
Consider some of these topline statistics. Over 131,000 jobs in Colorado depend on trade with Canada which is the #1 market for Colorado’s merchandise exports. Colorado exports over $1.6 billion in goods to Canada annually and another $1 billion in services. Canada purchases 15% of all goods that Colorado sells to the world including nearly a quarter of its meat exports. Canada, in turn, is a key supplier of crude oil, lumber, turbo proellors, technology and software.
Canada is invested in Colorado’s success employing nearly 20k workers and is one of the top sources of foreign direct investment.
For Canada, Colorado is a $342 billion market with over 5 million people. Colorado imports nearly $5 billion in goods from Canada annually and is ranked as one of the strongest states for businesss, economy, infrastructure and tech.
Q. As a membership-based organization, what types of companies are you looking to join the MAPLE Colorado Chapter?
There is considerable trade going on between Canada and U.S., so companies in agriculture, mining (including oil and gas) the parts and components of advanced manufacturing and chemical industry could find a MAPLE Colorado membership advantageous. Of course, financial services, commercial real estate and the beer business lubricate these industries. MAPLE is a cross-sector organization and one of the advantages is the opportunity to meet executives in complementary industries and sectors that can lead to innovations and new insights.
Q. As we continue to exit the pandemic, what role do you see the MAPLE community playing in terms of regional economic development in Colorado and how does it relate to the work of the Canadian government’s presence in Colorado in the form of the Consulate General?
MAPLE Colorado will try to facilitate a return to face-to-face gatherings that are stimulating, informative and in an environment of productive networking. Corporate America is following the lead of social media creating a more connected world with good ol’ fashioned get togethers which are worthwhile and beneficial. MAPLE Colorado’s events will complement the good work already accomplished by the Consulate General of Canada’s office.
Thank you very much for your time today, Rob. How can people who are interested in learning more about the new MAPLE Colorado Chapter, get more information?
Any interested parties can contact: Rob Mancey, 303-902-7525, rob.mancey@maplecouncil.org or Derek Godfrey, 949-939-9026, derek.goffrey@maplecouncil.org.
The MAPLE Business Council website is a great resource and provides an overview of our work. I recommend starting there at www.maplecouncil.org. In addition, our MAPLE Insights website has over 120 articles, interviews and videos from our members discussing markets and sectors. It’s a living library of cross-border content that we continue to grow each month. www.maplecouncilinsights.org