Vancouver business leaders often lament the city’s reputation as a branch plant town.
According to a study conducted by PwC, the number of head offices in Vancouver dropped by 19% between 2001 and 2009. Head office jobs fell even further, by 28%, compared with increases in Calgary (7%) and Toronto (3%) (See “Head office losses erode city stature” – issue 1097; November 2-8).
While Vancouver may lag other cities when it comes to official head offices, there are under-the-radar companies such as Irvine, California-based SMC Networks Inc., which generates more than US$100 million annually and is quietly and effectively run out of Vancouver.
“Technology has evolved to the point where executives need not be in a particular building,” said Fred Di Blasio, who is based in Vancouver and joined SMC as its chief strategy officer on October 19. SMC president Todd Babic is also based in Vancouver.
“With the advent of high-speed Internet networks, mobile phones, laptops and video conferencing, you can be [anywhere,]” Di Blasio told Business in Vancouver via cell phone while walking his son home from the dentist.
SMC has offices in
Its more than 100 employees put voice services, data services, home automation and networking equipment into boxes that cable companies such as Comcast Corp., Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. put in subscribers’ homes.
Di Blasio said that SMC has “undergone enormous growth” since 2002 when its revenue was less than US$10 million.