Peter Holowach,
Director, CIBC Commercial Banking, Calgary

Peter Holowach has been with CIBC for 25 years and is currently a Director in the Commercial Banking office in Calgary. Peter enjoys working in Commercial Banking because he finds it to be a great opportunity for him to establish an understanding of how businesses work in diversified industries.

Peter has been a Best Managed coach for seven years. 2010 was his busiest year yet, coaching eight companies. To help with the application process, Peter has put together a sample application that companies can use as a guide when working towards completing their application. “Many companies find the application process intimidating. I found by putting together an example, companies were more likely to finish a quality application,” Peter comments.

As a coach, Peter has had the opportunity to work with companies not yet ready or prepared to win Best Managed. “I have worked through the Phase I & II applications with multiple companies where they did not win the designation. Even though they did not receive the designation, all of the companies found it to be an extremely helpful process to complete. Many of these companies now use their applications as their working business plan going forward.”

Peter believes companies receive the most benefit out of the application process when senior management is involved. He believes that if you don’t have senior management engaged in the process, it is hard to evaluate the strategy that is being disseminated down from the top and to make any significant changes.

In terms of the program, Peter thinks the Best Managed Program is a “great tool to establish long lasting relationships with great companies.” While working with companies through the application process he was impressed by the amount of pride companies had in sharing their success with others.

Sam Jamal,
Market Vice President, CIBC Commercial Banking, Vancouver

Sam Jamal has been with CIBC Commercial Banking since 2003 and is now a Market Vice President in the Vancouver office. He studied business at Simon Fraser University and obtained his CFA Designation while developing his career at CIBC. Sam has had the opportunity to be involved in the Best Managed Program as a coach for the last six years.

Sam has helped companies show tangible improvements in their business while coaching them towards Best Managed status. He has had the privilege of coaching E.B. Horsman & Son to win the Best Managed designation three years in a row. As a coach, he works with companies over several years to build the infrastructure required to turn a good company into a Best Managed Company. While supporting companies through the Phase II application, he takes particular interest in ensuring they integrate best practices into their day-to-day activities. He tries to focus on helping companies overcome challenges.

Sam concentrates on understanding a company’s competitive positioning and how they measure success. From there, he celebrates with them the incremental improvements they make over time. Sam says, “I try to help companies work on the business rather than doing the business. A lot of times companies can’t see past the short term and only focus on satisfying immediate needs. I try and help them focus on long term strategy and growth.”

The Best Managed Program has allowed Sam to build lasting relationships with the companies he has coached and he is personally invested in their success. He looks forward to continuing his role as coach and working with Best Managed candidates over the long term to help develop their strategies to become one of Canada’s best.