Dear CMC-BC Colleagues, 

This will be my last CMC-BC Monthly Memo as President of CMC-BC. I have had the privilege of serving on Council for the past six years, joining in 2019 as a Director-at-large at the invitation of then President, Jame Healy. I then moved into the VP role, at the invitation of the next President, James Grieve. In this time, I have had the honour of serving with six iterations of the CMC-BC Council – working with dedicated, smart, and fun colleagues who love our profession and want to contribute to our collective success through CMC-BC.  

As I look back on my time on Council, a few things have shaped the way I approached my presidency for the last two years.

When I worked with Jame Healy, I appreciated and was influenced by his presidency, which I describe (with tongue firmly planted in cheek) as “just do it and ask for forgiveness later.” By that I mean Jame was bold in coming up with ideas to continually serve our members better. During his presidency, we worked together to completely revamp our Awards Night, launch Third Thursdays, and develop the “forge the way” approach that CMC-BC has become known for. 

When I worked with James Grieve, I appreciated and was influenced by his presidency, which I describe (with heartfelt sincerity) as deeply relational. He helped build the CMC pipeline one conversation, one coffee, one relationship at a time. He demonstrated that there is no short cut to building community – it takes time, effort, and consistency. During his presidency, we worked together to make the opportunity to build invaluable professional relationships the cornerstone of the CMC-BC experience.

My presidency benefited from these two shoulders that I stood on. I had the bandwidth and strong foundation to bring structure to our approach at CMC-BC. Structure through a formally developed, adopted, and implemented Strategic Plan. Structure through a formalized approach to engaging with each associate member and helping them through their CMC journey. Structure to the way we honour and engage our FCMCs. Structure to the way we approach our key member engagement opportunities from our Awards Nights, to our Local Mixers, to our Student Pathways to Consulting. Structure to our relationship with Certifying Institutes across Canada and our National Association through our refreshed governance framework and financial model enshrined in our new Accord and soon to be Constitution.

To our next president, Rob Cupello, and our 2026 Council – I wish you continued success. In our current context, having a robust certification built on a credible ethical and competency framework, and a platform for building relationships with like-minded professionals is priceless. I know you will bring your own fresh take on the leadership of CMC-BC.

To my CMC-BC community – thank you. My approach to management consulting and my firm would not be where it is today without the colleagues and friends I have come to know, learn from, and work with through CMC-BC. 

As with any community, you will get from it what you put into it. I urge you to lean in and contribute. It’s worth it. I promise.

Sincerely,

Ashka Wirk, FCMC
Past President, CMC-BC
ashka@wirkconsulting.ca