{"id":2218,"date":"2026-05-06T19:03:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:03:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/?p=2218"},"modified":"2026-05-06T19:26:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T19:26:32","slug":"ufvs-first-executive-in-residence-focuses-on-indigenous-economic-reconciliation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/2026\/05\/06\/ufvs-first-executive-in-residence-focuses-on-indigenous-economic-reconciliation\/","title":{"rendered":"UFV\u2019s First Executive-in-Residence Focuses on Indigenous Economic Reconciliation"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_2235\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2235\" style=\"width: 506px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-2235\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/Byng-Giraud-300x259.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"516\" height=\"445\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/Byng-Giraud-300x259.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/Byng-Giraud-768x662.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/files\/2026\/05\/Byng-Giraud.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 516px) 100vw, 516px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2235\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Byng Giraud<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>The Faculty of Business and Computing\u00a0(FBC) is proud to welcome\u00a0Byng Giraud as UFV\u2019s first Executive-in-Residence.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Chris Schinckus, Dean of FBC, says, \u201cThe creation of an Executive-in-Residence related to \u2018Reconcili-action\u2019 marks a pivotal step in our mission to integrate ethical economic development into the heart of UFV. Through this initiative, FBC is proud to provide our community with direct access to expertise in economic reconciliation, promoting better practices for better sustainability of non-Indigenous and Indigenous businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As UFV transitions from reconciliation as a concept to a tangible reality, support from experienced leaders such as Byng will be critical.<\/p>\n<p>Byng\u2019s role will include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Providing\u00a0office hours\u00a0for students, faculty, and alumni to discuss project de-risking, Indigenous procurement, and ethical economic development.\u00a0Byng will be\u00a0\u2018In Residence\u2019\u00a0twice per semester,\u00a0maintaining\u00a0a consistent presence that enables deep relationship-building.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Advising UFV leadership on initiatives that support economic reconciliation (e.g., land use, partnerships, and Indigenous-led environmental assessments).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Acting as a neutral table for external industry leaders, Indigenous communities, and government officials to explore collaborative economic models.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nIndustry Leadership and Economic Reconciliation<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Byng is\u00a0a natural fit for the role. He is a founding member of the BC Assembly of First Nations-BC Business Council\u00a0Champion\u2019s Table,\u00a0a body dedicated to breaking new ground in economic reconciliation.<\/p>\n<p>He is also president of the Vancouver-based <a href=\"https:\/\/sedgwickstrategies.ca\/team-member\/byng-giraud\/\">Sedgewick Strategies<\/a>, a company he founded in 2019, which specializes in risk management and securing approvals for major projects in the industrial, natural resources, and infrastructure sectors, with a focus on those involving Indigenous partnerships.<\/p>\n<p>Notable aspects of his work at Sedgewick include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mobilizing 38 First Nations in BC to jointly invest $715 million in Enbridge\u2019s Westcoast natural gas pipeline. Through this historic partnership, the Stonlasec8 Indigenous Alliance Limited Partnership now owns 12.5 percent of the pipeline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Obtaining federal, provincial, and Indigenous approval of the Woodfibre liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporting facility in Squamish.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Supporting the Squamish Nation in implementing Canada\u2019s first Indigenous environmental assessment process.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Negotiating agreements between operating mines and First Nations in British Columbia, including agreements with five First Nations at two separate projects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Heading\u00a0the corporate affairs and\u00a0Indigenous consultation processes that led to the 2012 re-opening of the Huckleberry Mine in northern British Columbia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Leading\u00a0the Northwest Powerline Coalition, a coalition of companies, Indigenous groups and individuals that successfully lobbied the BC\u00a0government to build the Northwest Transmission line along Highway 37 \u2013\u00a0thereby opening the region to mining and power projects which have been key to empowering local First Nations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"4906\" data-end=\"5094\">In recognition of his work in Indigenous economic reconciliation, and following nominations by three First Nations Chiefs, the province awarded him the Order of British Columbia in 2023.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nFrom Experience to the Classroom<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At UFV, Byng\u2019s focus will be on turning this real-world experience into practical guidance for students, faculty, and local organizations entering this space for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>Byng loves working with young people and employs many at Sedgewick. He laughs when he talks about his love\u00a0of\u00a0whiteboards, and a teaching style that has proven to be\u00a0very effective.\u00a0\u201cEvery room in my office has to have a whiteboard,\u201d he says. \u201cWe start with a problem and use\u00a0it\u00a0to map out all the\u00a0risks and\u00a0potential solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Byng believes it\u2019s essential to have several solutions for one issue. As he explains, \u201cI don\u2019t actually know ahead of time which solutions are going to work, but you need to develop lots of methods and pathways, because one of them is likely to succeed. Nothing\u2019s guaranteed. But if you analyze each one of the risks and develop plans to address those risks \u2013 like chapters in a book \u2013 eventually you\u2019ll get to the end of the story.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Faculty of Business and Computing\u00a0(FBC) is proud to welcome\u00a0Byng Giraud as UFV\u2019s first Executive-in-Residence. Chris Schinckus, Dean of FBC, says, \u201cThe creation of an Executive-in-Residence related to \u2018Reconcili-action\u2019 marks a pivotal step in our mission to integrate ethical economic development into the heart of UFV. Through this initiative, FBC is proud to provide our &#8230; <a title=\"UFV\u2019s First Executive-in-Residence Focuses on Indigenous Economic Reconciliation\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/2026\/05\/06\/ufvs-first-executive-in-residence-focuses-on-indigenous-economic-reconciliation\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":274,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,14,47,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements","category-sustainability","category-reconciliation","category-student-engagement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/274"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2218"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2236,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2218\/revisions\/2236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}