The Ampersand - Unplugged

Send us Fan Mail In this eye-opening episode of our podcast, we delve deep into the realm of Environmental, Social, and Governance practices in the marketing world, with a special focus on the importance of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion within this framework. Join us as we explore how these three essential pillars are interwoven and crucial in shaping the future of responsible marketing. Our gu...

Send us Fan Mail In this thought-provoking episode, our co-hosts delve into the captivating realm of the legal profession and explore the pressing issue of equity, diversity, and inclusion within the Canadian legal sphere with Dr. Kellinde Wrightson, Executive Director of The Foreign-Trained Lawyers Program for the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary.  Our focus? The experiences of foreign...

Send us Fan Mail In this edition of The Ampersand: Unplugged, co-hosts Kiara Marika and Adam Pekarsky sit down with Sol Zia, the Executive Director of the Calgary Hotel Association. The discussion again focuses on our Season 3 topic of ESG, this time through the lens of the Tourism and Hospitality sector. While the sector has returned to form following two very difficult Covid years, the impact of...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode we embark on a journey into the heart of the ESG framework, shining a spotlight on the crucial environmental & governance aspects. Join us as we dive deep into the intricate web of sustainability, uncovering the pivotal role it plays in shaping the future of our communities and businesses.  Alan Ross, Managing Partner at one of Canada’s largest and oldest law f...

Send us Fan Mail *Disclaimer* We were having some technical difficulties with our audio on the day we recorded this episode, so please bear with us while you tune in for a really interesting conversation. We appreciate your patience!* In this edition of The Ampersand: Unplugged ,  co-hosts Kiara Marika and Adam Pekarsky sit down with longtime friend of Adam’s, and of the firm, Alex MacWilliam, the...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with the esteemed Dean of the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, Ian Holloway. In addition to being a long time friend of the firm and Adam's boss in Adam's capacity as a sessional instructor at U of C, Ian is a great story teller and scholar. Our discussion is wide ranging and talks about university campuses and...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged, we sit down with Chad Aboud, former General Counsel and Law Firm lawyer who now focuses his immense energy and passion into helping other lawyers uncover their natural traits and skills so that they are more successful and feel happier in their careers. A gifted and articulate speaker, Chad’s passion for helping others comes through in...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , our first official podcast of Season 3, we sit down with Rosa Rivero  from Responsibility Matters for a primer on all things ESG. Think of it as ESG 101, a great level-set for the season ahead where our focus will be on the emerging topic of Environment, Social, and Governance as it impacts organizations public and private, large and s...

Send us Fan Mail We are back!! In this brief teaser episode, co-hosts Adam and Kiara hint at the season to come, our new theme music debuts and the usual hilarity ensues. Tune in to find out what to expect in the season ahead! Want to stay connected with us? Follow us on our  LinkedIn !

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , we visit with our very own Kate Spencer for a highly enjoyable conversation about her role at our firm, how she arrived at Pekarsky & Co. after having known Adam for 25 years. We share stories about the firm, Kate’s views on equity, diversity and inclusion and have a proper conversation about Taylor Swift. As you can easily tell fr...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , we sit down with Pekarsky & Co.’s newest hire, Shannon Leo. Shannon will be leading and building the Toronto office of Pekarsky & Co. She listened to all of our podcasts as part of her due diligence on us; now’s your chance to listen to Shannon and learn about her background, her move out of law and her decision to join our hum...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , we were honoured to be joined by Wes Hall, Founder of the BlackNorth Initiative, Dragon and Founder of Kingsdale Advisors; and Dr. Chika Onwuekwe, Vice President, Legal, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Trican Well Services and ENMAX Board Member.  Join us as Wes and Chika share their very personal immigrant stories, Wes from...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with Susan Reckseider, Director of Interpretation at Heritage Park and Cheryl Foggo, Canadian author, documentary film director, screenwriter and playwright. We dive into a fascinating conversation about history, generally, and black history in Alberta, specifically. Where we’ve been, where we’re headed and why it all matters...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , we sit down with Deborah Yedlin, President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce. Deborah shares with us her views on why “silence is violence,” why you can never take no for an answer and the irrevocable gift of education. We talk about breaking the “pale, stale and male” stereotype as both a Chamber and as a city and we talk abo...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged, Kiara and Adam sit down with two of Canada's most respected and oldest professional services firms and their leaders. Brian Thiessen, Managing Partner of the law firm Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt and Kent Kaufield, EY Canada's ESG Markets Leader & Chief Sustainability Officer join the Pod to talk about all things EDI. They...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged , we sit down with two incredible women – Beba Svigir, CEO of the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association and Shannon Doram, CEO of the YMCA Calgary – to unpack the very du jour and critically important topic of diversity, equity and inclusion. We discuss diversity as a state of mind. We dissect what it means to feel included versus truly...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, co-hosts Kiara Marika and Adam Pekarsky discuss their plans for the season ahead as well as look back at the lessons learned from their inaugural season of hosting The Ampersand: Unplugged .  A candid conversation where Kiara puts her boss on the hot seat about returning to work, and the two have a funny, honest conversation about the season ahead and even sprinkl...

Send us Fan Mail In this, our final episode of Season One of The Ampersand: Unplugged, our co-hosts, Kiara Marika and Adam Pekarsky spill the tea on what worked, what didn’t, how Podcasts are made and their plans for Season 2. This at times giddy second-take recording of our big finale is a must listen as Adam and Kiara compare life in Alberta to the Lord of the Flies, opine on the art of being a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with another member of the Pekarsky & Co. team, Client Partner, Erin Dand. We have a great chat about growing up on a farm outside a small village in Saskatchewan, heading to the "big city" (of Kindersley!) for school, chores on the farm, getting into trouble, and much more. We sort of geek out on what the whole...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with Mayoral candidate, Jan Damery. Jan, presently on leave from her role with the YW of Calgary, is seeking the Mayor's chair after a lifetime of involvement in political and community matters. We have a wide-ranging discussion about the pros and cons of being an outsider, how Jan's life experiences have prepared h...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged, we sit down with our very own Cam McDonald (or, Cameron, when we're being serious). Originally hailing from Sydney Australia, Cam chased his wife to Canada and has been living in Calgary ever since. He shares stories about fatherhood, raising his two young kids while balancing a busy career. We also share some hilarious Vegas stori...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with another of Calgary's Mayoral candidates, Brad Field. A lifelong Calgarian and business owner, Brad is the 'outsider' candidate, not from City Hall and bringing the perspective of a business owner and community member to the Mayor's Chair. Join us as we discuss trains from Calgary to Banff, doing polit...

Send us Fan Mail Having worked in 9 different industries and across Canada, Bob Sartor, CEO of the Calgary Airport Authority, joins us on this episode of the podcast to discuss all things airport. Who’s Bob’s customer? Why does it even matter? Why passengers are guests and why that matters. Bob candidly discusses the challenges of managing through the pandemic and the virtues of never reading a bo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with the owner of Murrieta’s West Coast Bar & Grill. Not only is Murrieta’s the long-time neighbour and friend of Pekarsky & Co. in the old Alberta Hotel Building, but its owner, Ron Salverda, is a truly fascinating person with lots to say. Having studied architecture in school and growing up with one of the top 10 ch...

Send us Fan Mail On this episode of The Ampersand: Unplugged we sit down with City Councillor and Mayoral candidate, Jeff Davison.  Jeff shares his views on Calgary “the Mecca of opportunity,” a “hand up, not hand out city,” how he plans to “expand the base, not the rate” and how “he can, and will” bring the city through its Covid recovery. If the Mayor’s chair doesn’t become Jeff’s, we are certai...