We are excited to announce that RCP will open its first international office in Vancouver, Canada, next month. We are also delighted to announce that our current Wellington Office Manager, Bevan Judge, will be our first Director of our Canadian operations. Bevan will commute between Wellington and Vancouver over the next few months to spearhead the establishment of our office.
RCP Managing Director Jeremy Hay is confident Canada was the right destination after evaluating several options, stating, "The international step was a logical one for us in terms of growth, and we identified Canada, particularly Vancouver, as an ideal fit due to its similarity in time zone, commercial and legal systems, property and infrastructure challenges, and socio-cultural dynamics."
"There's immense potential for RCP's consultancy and leadership offering in this market, and we believe our expertise can add immediate value across various property and infrastructure sectors."
RCP's Head of Advisory and Director, Cristean Monreal, expects that RCP's entry into the British Columbia market will help continue the flow of other New Zealand firms taking a similar leap, "We've watched other local consulting businesses establish themselves in Vancouver and successfully grow in North America, especially throughout the Pacific seaboard."
"The Kiwi culture is a breath of fresh air in this market, and our approach is naturally based on managing commercial and delivery risk through effective team building and establishing solid relationships. We are not naive about the differences between the two environments, but we think there is a strong appetite to do something a bit different."
When discussing specific opportunities, Cristean points to the similar challenges that the Canadian building and infrastructure market has to Aotearoa. "We know from our research trips and conversations with private and public sector clients that they are grappling with the same programming, commercial, and delivery constraints we have in New Zealand. They also have the same shortage of critical social and commercial infrastructure. So, we're not limiting our aspiration to just one or two key sectors; it's a multi-faceted opportunity for us."
Cristean also believes there is potential to help Canadian organisations improve their engagement with native First Nations peoples and communities. "We've taken a highly proactive approach to cultural engagement at RCP and improved our capability to engage with iwi as clients and valuable partners in local projects. While we still have more to learn and understand about the First Nations people, we feel we have built a genuine foundation to add real and immediate value in this area."
We expect the Vancouver office to be open and operational in April 2024.
For more information about or additional comments, please contact:
Cristean Monreal
cmonreal@rcp.co.nz – +64 21 345 557
Jeremy Hay
jhay@rcp.co.nz - +64 21 959 959
The new office looks amazing!