Canadian Lawyer

12 F e b r u A r y 2 0 1 5 w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m \ At L A N t I C \ C e N t r A L \ W e s t regIoNAL WrAp-up success to that man. A few decades later his mentor's son persuaded Brussa to join the board of his new company. "It was a disaster," says Brussa. In the end, despite his deep-rooted con- nection to his mentor, Brussa and the board felt obliged to force his old friend's son to resign as company chair- man. Brussa's reputation in the oil and gas community means he is frequently invited to join boards, but U.S.-based Institutional Shareholder Services, an influential corporate governance advisory firm says serving as an inde- pendent director on more than six boards can mean an individual is "over- boarded" — though the firm concedes if a director attends at least 75 per cent of all board meetings shareholder interest can still be protected. Brussa is well aware of the ISS opinion on proper governance and notes, "I attend all the meetings of all my boards." He also points to the fact that he sticks to boards in the business he knows best, oil and gas, and is fully familiar with their business operations. In addition "virtually all the com- panies I sit on I own a large position." This of course brings up the never- ending debate on whether directors should be shareholders. The argument goes that as shareholders they are inter- ested in the share price above other interests. The counter argument is that if board members are literally invested in a company, then they are invested in its long-term health, which translates into shareholder value. And how does Brussa give shareholders value when he serves on so many boards? "You give them knowledge, you give them integ- rity, you give them attention. I chat with senior executives all the time." But what of the inevitable conflicts of interest that arise for a man spread so far in the same industry, in the same town? As a tax lawyer, Brussa is famil- iar with conflict issues. He says when it comes to boards "you excuse yourself from the discussion, if for example two companies you sit on are bidding for the same asset. I don't make any apolo- gies for being on a large number of boards." What of the future? Brussa thinks he may stop being a tax lawyer in a few years, "but I think I'll keep sitting on boards as long as they want me, and I think I can contribute." — GeoFF eLLWanD writerlaw@gmail.com The king of boards Continued from page 11 W hen vice president Jennifer Chow assumes the presi- dency of the Canadian Bar Association-B.C. branch this summer, she will become the first Asian Canadian to head the B.C. branch and diversity will be a key issue going for- ward in her term. Chow, a Department of Justice lawyer, won the vice presidency in a competitive race last fall when then-vice president Carmen Rogers stepped down to take a judicial appointment to the provincial court. Speaking of the election, Chow says: "It speaks a lot of the diversity that members want to see in the CBA leader- ship — certainly in our branch — and I am happy to represent that." Chow, who has been active in equity and diversity committees both for the CBA-BC and the Law Society of British Columbia, sees her election as a reflection of how the legal profession is changing, not just how it practises, but how lawyers themselves are changing and seeking out change over the traditional narrow view of a lawyer. A Canadian born of Hong Kong immigrants, she says more commit- tees are actively seeking out minorities to participate in the leadership of the orga- nization. Being raised in a traditional Chinese culture, Chow knows hurdles can exist both inside any culture as well as outside. "I wasn't really encouraged to go into law," she says. "It was not a traditional career that Asian women went into." Medicine, accounting, or engineering were more Chow fi rst Asian Canadian to head CBA-BC Jennifer Chow

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