Gordon Schwark is one of the founding staff members of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR). Named after British Columbia’s first Nobel laureate, who donated half of his Nobel Prize money to medical research, the MSFHR relies on provincial grants to harness the power of health research. Since being funded by government in 2001, the Vancouver-based foundation has invested more than $318 million in B.C. research, training and projects.
But it was the 2008 economic crisis that proved the mettle of Schwark’s financial leadership. With the provincial treasury under intense strain, MSFHR’s funding was reduced, some years to nothing at all. Schwark’s reaction was private-sector swift. Program spending was cut dramatically, other sources of funding were sought and operating costs trimmed. Yet, with a leaner organization and continuing government support, MSFHR maintains its important work.
The payoff to the province and the public has been impressive. A recent analysis revealed that 304 of MSFHR’s funded scholars attracted more than $1.1 billion in additional funding to B.C. – a tenfold leveraging on the provincial funds invested that has helped support the education of more than 4,700 research trainees and the filing of about 140 new medical patents.
“Gordon’s steady financial hand is the main reason the [MSFHR] has survived the boom-bust cycle of the past decade,” said Diane Finegood, MSFHR president and CEO, who noted that Schwark also holds responsibility for the foundation’s human resources and information technology portfolios.
Schwark’s financial leadership extends far beyond Vancouver. He currently serves as chair of the audit committee of the Washington, D.C.-based Society of Research Administrators International (SRA), which has 4,500 members from 40 countries. Said Jim Hanlon, immediate past SRA president and CEO of TRIUMF, Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics, “Gordon is the ultimate professional, and his finance and accounting knowledge is acknowledged by his peers both within Canada and internationally.”
Nomination remarks from Sue Paish, president and CEO of LifeLabs
Gordon Schwark has led the financial function of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research since inception with foresight, a deep understanding of the business, confidence, motivation, empathy and great social and communication skills. With his dedicated staff, he has built the critical financial underpinnings for the foundation to achieve operational sustainability and financial accountability.
Schwark sees the bigger picture and adds significant value by bringing a positive, rational and influential voice to board and committee meetings. One major challenge is managing sporadic cash inflows against predictable and increasing cash outflows. Schwark understands this funding environment and works with investment counsellors to design a strategic laddered investment approach that has increased returns, managed portfolio mixes and matched cash flow requirements.
Under Schwark’s leadership, the foundation has built a reputation for trusted financial reporting, good financial governance and stewardship of public funds that has been vital in providing the B.C. government with the comfort necessary to provide project funding. This credibility has also helped attract investments amounting to $10 million from other organizations.
He has also developed and maintains a comprehensive management reporting system that has consistently provided the CEO, board and finance and audit committees with the timely information they need to make both long- and short-term strategic decisions.
Finally, his analyses have breadth and depth and he has an unprecedented ability to view issues from multiple stakeholder perspectives.
“Steady hand”
Diane Finegood, president and CEO, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, also commented on Schwark’s nomination.
“Gordon’s talents as a leader are not just in the area of financial management. He is also a leader who listens effectively, is empathetic to the feelings and perspective of others and has a deep awareness of his own feelings and values and the strengths and weaknesses of others,” Finegood said.
