As CEO of Ronald McDonald House BC & Yukon (RMH BC), Richard Pass has redefined the organization and guided it through significant growth.
He is the recipient of a 2022 BC CEO Award in the non-profit category. Six B.C. business leaders will be recognized by BIV with C-Suite Awards on Feb. 3.
He led the capital campaign to build the world’s fifth-largest Ronald McDonald House, which supports more than 2,000 families annually. Before joining RMH BC as CEO in 2006, Pass spent more than 15 years in various roles at the YMCA of Greater Vancouver.
Your greatest business or career success to date?
I joined RMH BC in 2006 – it served 13 families at the time and had 2.5 full-time-equivalent staff. Over the next few years – planning, feasibility studies, dreaming of what could be, visiting as many other Ronald McDonald Houses around the world as possible and talking with countless families that have stayed at the house – we created the concept for the new house. With the incredible support of the community, the board leadership of Peter Snell and capital campaign chair Gary Segal, we raised $32 million and built the state-of-the-art Ronald McDonald House.
The House is the first of its kind (out of 378 houses worldwide): It’s built with cross-laminated timber, designed by Michael Green Architecture and has won a number of awards, including the Canadian Governor General’s Award for Architecture. The house was built by ITC Construction, which donated significantly and continues to support B.C. families with their donations. At the same time, we built and opened the first Ronald McDonald Family Room at Surrey Memorial Hospital, located just outside the neonatal intensive care unit. Opening both on the same day in 2014 was a great day.
Your toughest professional or career decision?
Making the decision to leave the YMCA of Greater Vancouver and taking the role as CEO of RMH BC was a tough decision. The YMCA is a tremendous organization and is where I spent the first half of my professional career. The opportunity to lead RMH BC was the only job that could pull me away.
Best piece of advice received?
Bill Owen was CEO of the YMCA when I joined and he encouraged me to follow my heart and keep my own style of leadership throughout my career, as it is key to being an authentic leader.
How do you lead?
My philosophy is to lead with inclusion, an open ear and to embrace the ideas of others. Colleagues at every level of the organization are valued, are encouraged to share ideas and challenge others and know they are integral members of the RMH team. A positive atmosphere creates an environment where people want to work and do everything they can to serve the mission of serving families. We also have a lot of fun.
Biggest areas of growth over the past year?
COVID has been incredibly hard for everyone. Managing through it all and supporting staff, volunteers and RMH families has reinforced to me that I (we all) need to look after ourselves first, so that we can look after others. Taking time to breath, regenerate and re-energize is key to being able to stay healthy and on the treadmill, so to speak.
Join BIV to celebrate three BC CEO Award and three BC CFO Award winners at the C-Suite Awards, Feb. 3 at the Terminal City Club. Tickets and event details are available at the link above.
