On this week’s Insights, Don and David talk with Adrienne Oldford, Executive Director at the McKenna Institute. Almost 30 years ago, then Premier Frank McKenna had a vision for what was called the ‘information superhighway’ and how it could transform the New Brunswick economy and society. While there have been some important successes, by some measures New Brunswick is a laggard when it comes to digital technology adoption. The former Premier had an idea to rekindle the province’s leadership in this area and asked Adrienne to help bring that vision to fruition. Now, $50 million in pledged support later, she has a team of 10 staff and the ambition to help transform the province through digital technology. Adrienne tells Don and David all about it in this informative and inspiring conversation.

On this week’s Insights, Don and David talk with Blair Hyslop, Co-CEO, Mrs. Dunster’s about the opportunities to develop food manufacturing in New Brunswick. Blair shares his journey building the company from a staff of 50 to more than 270, the building of a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and growing export markets. He talks about the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in his business and the firm’s retail stores strategy. We discuss broader themes such as access to capital, the cost environment, talent development and more. Blair and his co-CEO and life partner Rosalyn will be inducted in the New Brunswick Junior Achievement Hall of Fame this fall. Hearing his compelling story is well worth an hour of your time.

This podcast was originally published In January of 2024 and was quickly the most downloaded podcast in Insights history. The podcast features legendary entrepreneur Harry Steele. Interestingly, Rob did not join Newcap Inc, his father's company, until he was nearly forty years old. Up until then, Rob was already a successful entrepreneur in his own right and busy building his auto portfolio. While he was the CEO of Newcap Inc, he successfully built a portfolio of one hundred radio stations, which he sold to Stingray in 2018 for $500 million. Since then, he has focused his efforts on building his auto group which had revenues of $2.8 billion in the past year and is the largest auto group in Atlantic Canada, employing 2,500 people in the region. He branched out into Texas a few years ago and has grown to nine dealerships in the state. He now has 32 brands with 64 locations across Atlantic Canada and Texas. We talk with Rob about his father, their working relationship and the lessons he learned working with him. Rob shares his thoughts on the future of electrical vehicles, as well as what keeps him entertained in his personal time.

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