What a great evening. The indomitable Jon Love, Executive Chair
and Founder of KingSett Capital, joined me for a one-on-one
discussion about his extraordinary career, his reflections on
leadership and current public policy issues in a rapidly changing
world landscape. This was part of the Association for Corporate
Growth’s The Influencer Series and we spoke to a
record-breaking packed house at the TMX Broadcast Centre in
downtown Toronto. The Private Equity group at Bennett Jones was
proud to sponsor the event.

Pictured: Simon Crawford (left), Partner and Head of the
Real Estate Industry Team at Bennett Jones, and Jon Love, Executive
Chair and Founder of KingSett Capital

Here are some key takeaways from Jon on the critical ingredients
in business leadership, the responsibility of business leaders to
help shape public policy and why Canada needs a prosperity agenda
now more than ever.

What lessons in leadership did you learn early in your
career?

I learned that as a leader, you need to look after the people
you deal with, care about their interests and see things from their
perspective. When you do, good things happen.

What do you look for when building a team?

The first thing I look for is values. KingSett Capital is
founded on them. Values run deep and the lessons they teach are
remembered.

I want to know if a person is curious and wants to learn. And
people need to have the right attitude. They must fit within the
culture of the organization. A strong culture is essential for
success.

How do you implement an effective succession plan?

There are four important things to do in succession
planning:

• surround yourself with young people from a different
  generation




• give them decision-making power




• share the economics




• migrate the relationships

All of this takes time. It’s about taking gradual,
incremental steps. It is an evolution, not a revolution.

If you do this, new leaders will emerge, and others will
recognize them.

What do leaders need to be most mindful of during a
crisis?

When you are leading in a time of crisis, what works is
transparency, vulnerability and communication. You also have to be
realistic.

Leadership requires vision, that you trust people and
communicate with them. And you have to walk the talk.

Why is it so important for business leaders to express their
views on public policy?

In a civil society, business must have a voice. Labour,
government and media all have their voices, and business needs to
be a part of the debate.

Business leaders should have conversations about issues that
matter to them. It is important that people get exposed to what
businesses think.

When leaders share their views about what they see as priorities
for the country, it helps build trust. People can understand where
they are coming from.

Business leaders also need to be at the forefront of technology.
When I first started using social media and LinkedIn, it was
relatively new. I found it to be an effective way to communicate
and engage with others. I still do.

You are a strong advocate for creating a prosperity agenda in
Canada. Why is this so necessary right now?

We are in a political recession. The priorities of politicians
are not the priorities of voters.

The economy went off the agenda 10 years ago. This is a serious
problem. If there isn’t business growth, we can’t support
our high standard of living. We have to get the narrative back to
the economy. This is how we create better jobs and generate
growth.

How do we create prosperity in the face of US tariffs?

This is an opportunity for Canada. It’s an opportunity to
create a dynamic and resilient economy that’s focused on growth
and productivity.

The first thing we can do is get rid of interprovincial trade
barriers. This will boost growth and is entirely within our
control.

We should also become an energy superpower. Canada has all of
the tools, know-how and resources. Let’s start with creating an
east/west energy corridor.

We need to do the hard work to make this happen.

What are some short-term solutions?

We can unlock all kinds of potential by making Canada a more
attractive tax jurisdiction and easing the regulatory burdens on
business. We can change this quickly if we’re decisive.

We have too many heavily taxed and regulated industries. Real
estate is just one example. If an apartment building costs C$150
million to build, C$50 million of that is tax. And when things are
over-regulated, everything takes longer so it costs more.

Just look at how many resources we put into taxing things. The
United States has a population of 335 million people and 94,000
work for the IRS. Canada has a population of 40 million and 68,000
work for the CRA.

What do Canadians need to do to push prosperity to the top of
our country’s agenda?

The game has structurally changed with our largest trading
partner. It’s a wake-up call.

Voters must ask political candidates and elected leaders what
their plan is for prosperity—and hold them to it. Will we
compete or retreat?

We can realize our immense potential if we just focus on doing
it.

More information on ACG Toronto is available
here.

Bennett Jones’ Private Equity group leads their field in
Canada. The team represents all sides in private equity
transactions, with particular depth on the buy-side on behalf of US
and international financial sponsors.

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