Invest Surrey Launchpad

Speaker: Linda Hepner, Mayor, City of Surrey

Surrey is rising from the ground up as one of North America’s newest emerging Metropolitan Centre. The relocation of Surrey City Hall, establishment of Simon Fraser University, and construction of Surrey’s first luxury hotel - 3 Civic Hotel, highlights the completion of first phase of Surrey’s metropolitan transformation. Be among the first to learn about Transformation 2.0, the city’s exciting journey ahead and our blueprint for the next phase of Surrey City Centre’s growth.

Speaker: Chris Bjerrisgaard, Marketing Director, Vancouver Island Brewing + Co-Founder, Vancouver Craft Week

Heralded as the birthplace of craft beer in Canada, British Columbia has been witnessing a craft beer revolution over the past half-decade, with an exponential increase in the number of breweries and associated districts. Chris will share insights on the increasing role being played by these brewery districts and tasting lounges in building a sense of community within neighborhoods and how events such as the Craft Beer Week have been highly instrumental in place making and building cultural vibrancy, besides also acting as economic catalysts for communities.

Speaker: Nicholas Jeffery, CEO, Uniserve Communications

Data is the newest essential global commodity. However, information doesn’t just exist in cyberspace; data centres and other digitally-enabled physical infrastructure are integral in facilitating the movement of information and data that is critical to the success of the modern economy. Nicholas will share why Canada is facing a perfect storm of digital infrastructure investment opportunities for us to leapfrog other nations to become a global leader in the digital economy.

Speaker: Graham Cunliffe, Director of Business Affairs and Operations, Finger Food Studios

British Columbia is known as a global hub for augmented and virtual reality technologies. AR/VR is transforming the way people are experiencing the physical world and has applications from entertainment to industrial prototyping. Learn from Ryan, how AR/VR is quickly transforming how we interact and use our physical environment and the next generation utilization of large-scale industrial space.

Speaker: Ian Forsyth, Terminal Manager, Maritime-Ontario Freight Lines Ltd.

Surrey is strategically positioned not just as the metropolitan centre for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, but also a critical international trade port for the Asia-Pacific region. With superior access to global trade via highway, rail, air and sea, an influx of multinational firms are locating their logistics hubs in the City to make use of Surrey’s geographic advantage. Ian will highlight why Surrey was the ideal location for Maritime-Ontario to invest in its first independent facility in Western Canada after having served the region for over 15 years and what makes the city one of the most efficient and thriving transportation and logistics hub in Western Canada.

Speaker: Ryan Berlin, Senior Economist, Market Intelligence, Rennie Group

Demographic changes, increasing population and changing consumer preferences are unlocking new opportunities for investors and developers to create a diversified housing stock throughout the city. With this in mind, join Ryan Berlin as he explores demographic and housing trends throughout the region, with a particular focus on Surrey City Centre and the role that this vibrant community-in-transition can play in accommodating regional changes in the coming years.