Omnium Goes to Canada
Canada is a partner in a major trading block that includes the world’s largest, most advanced developed economy, and Toronto is North America’s third largest financial centre. Canadian firms, many of them Toronto-based, have enjoyed considerable success in the US market, which Omnium participants have ample opportunity to study. While in Toronto, they receive significant access to Canadian business leaders at the highest levels.
A second salient feature of the Canadian, and in particular the Toronto, business environment is its multi-cultural context. Nearly half of the population of Toronto was born outside of Canada. Immersed in this context, participants acquire a direct appreciation of how Canadian business has learned to serve culturally diverse markets and manage culturally diverse workforces.
Meeting with a CEO
“We were all amazed that we had the opportunity to talk to such high-level people. We met with Robert Pritchard, the CEO of Torstar [a major Canadian media conglomerate]. I was impressed not only because he gave us so much of his time but because he was so open. He talked honestly about the challenges facing the news industry. I’m not from the news industry, but he made it interesting because he talked about strategic aspects – which were relevant to me. He was also curious to hear our opinions and learn from us, an audience totally unknown to him. All the CEOs were. These are people who know how to listen. They were role models in that way.”
Omnium graduate David H. Bon
Romanshorn, Switzerland,
Manager Customer Escalations, HP Services
Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa
* Source: Foreign Trade Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau.
