In our “Shaping the Future With…” series, we delve into the experiences and insights of directors who are redefining governance. In this edition, Watson Partner Rachel O’Connor engages with Mark Podlasly, an Indigenous governance expert and economic strategist. Mark shares his perspectives on aligning board governance with societal values, the importance of long-term sustainability, and the critical role of Indigenous leadership in shaping Canada’s economic future.

Mark also introduces us to a great new word – tsundoku. Read on to find out if it applies to you.

Rachel O’Connor: Thank you for joining us, Mark. We’re looking forward to hearing about and sharing your perspective on governance. Let’s start with a big question: how do you define good governance?

Mark Podlasly: Good governance reflects the society in which it operates – not just in the diversity of board members, but in the diversity of ideas. A board should evolve with society. There have been times when board composition hasn’t reflected gender equity or broader perspectives. To me, governance is about ensuring that decisions are informed by a range of voices and up to date with the world around us.

To me, governance is about ensuring that decisions are informed by a range of voices and up to date with the world around us.

ROC: You’re a sought-after director. When choosing where to serve, how do you decide which boards are the right fit?

MP: I want to be part of a board that is pursuing a truth, whether it’s in a corporate sense, a governance sense, or in an audit sense. Are they doing the right thing? Are they curious? Do they ask tough questions – and, more importantly, are they willing to accept tough answers? Are they willing to act on them? A board that avoids difficult conversations isn’t serving the company or its people. It’s not going to be an effective board, and I don’t think that would be as interesting as a board that’s willing to push itself to find a truth.

ROC: Sustainability is a key part of your work. How do you define it? Do boards think about it too narrowly?

MP: My view on sustainability is shaped by my Indigenous heritage. It’s about thinking in generations – seven generations ahead – which can be quite sobering to think about.

The decisions we make today should be good not just for us, but for those who come after us. Sustainability isn’t just about the environment – it’s about economic and social resilience over time. Too often, businesses focus on short-term returns and fail to see the long-term impact of their choices. It can be difficult for some directors to think one generation out, never mind seven.

Sustainability isn’t just about the environment – it’s about economic and social resilience over time.

ROC: You’ve done significant work advancing economic and social outcomes for Indigenous people. Where are boards missing opportunities?

MP: There is a shortage of Indigenous people on boards across this country. Reports have shown that only about 0.4% of board members across Canada are Indigenous, despite Indigenous people making up 5-6% of the population, depending on how you define Indigenous. That’s a huge gap. Boards that don’t understand Indigenous rights, economic priorities, and governance frameworks are missing key risks – and key opportunities. Indigenous businesses are growing, and collaboration isn’t just good practice, it’s a competitive advantage. It seems odd to me that companies don’t embrace that.

Take for example the Net Zero Climate Challenge. Canada has the resources and the clean energy the world needs, and we will not be able to meet those world markets for critical minerals and clean energy if Indigenous people are not included right up front. Including Indigenous people in these projects is not just a domestic issue of being good to Indigenous people – it’s about being good to the Canadian economy.

Boards that don’t understand Indigenous rights, economic priorities, and governance frameworks are missing key risks – and key opportunities. Indigenous businesses are growing, and collaboration isn’t just good practice, it’s a competitive advantage.

ROC: Companies often hire non-Indigenous advisors to guide them on Indigenous people and their land rights. What’s your take on that?

MP: It’s one step removed. Why not go straight to the source of the opportunity or the risk? The reality is that companies that engage Indigenous people directly are better positioned for success. Canada’s economic future – particularly for land-based or resource companies – depends on Indigenous partnerships. Companies require access to resources that in this country are covered, every centimetre, by Indigenous rights in some form or respect. If Indigenous communities aren’t involved from the outset, projects will face delays, legal challenges, and lost opportunities. The smartest companies already recognize this.

First Nations are now part of a global supply chain in a major way.

ROC: Which probably means too that the that there’s a very sophisticated critical lens they’re applying to companies that approach them. They might be considering questions like “Did they invest in the relationship with us before they needed us for something that is entirely to their own benefit? Are they approaching us with a sense of mutuality?”

MP: Indigenous people are no longer passive bystanders to these things happening on their lands. This is different for each nation, it’s different for each company, and for each project, but there has been a zeitgeist shift in terms of what Indigenous rights mean, not just to companies, but to Canadian society and, increasingly, investors.

There has been a zeitgeist shift in terms of what Indigenous rights mean, not just to companies, but to Canadian society and, increasingly, investors.

ROC: One of the things that has changed in Canada is the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). How is that shifting governance practices?

MP: It’s a game changer. UNDRIP includes the requirement for free, prior, and informed consent from Indigenous people for developments that impact their lands and rights. This means boards can’t just consider Indigenous engagement a box to check; they have to integrate Indigenous perspectives into decision-making at the highest levels.

From the Indigenous side, this is a way to ensure equitable environment and economic returns for Indigenous people who have been pushed to the side for centuries in this country. So now you’re starting to see Indigenous businesses thrive with clean energy generation partnerships. Joint ventures are starting to happen because this is an opportunity for Indigenous people to become part of the mainstream Canadian economy like we never have been before.

ROC: Before we wrap up, let’s shift gears. If you could time travel to any era, where would you go?

MP: I’d love to see British Columbia before industrial development, when salmon were so plentiful that people said you could walk across their backs to cross a river. What did that abundance look like? What did Coast Salish territory look like when the trees were massive? I think about what the world was like before we reshaped it, and it fascinates me.

ROC: That’s a vivid image. And speaking of interests, what’s on your reading list?

MP: I read so many economic reports and financial statements that fiction is my escape. I’ve tried working through the Man Booker and Giller Prize lists, but I always get pulled back into financial reports, especially around audit season. One day, though, I’ll make it through ten years of prize-winning fiction.

ROC: I love that! It reminds me of a friend who shipped a set of the supposed 100 greatest books of all time to himself in Ecuador with the intent of spending months simply reading.

MP: There’s actually a Japanese word for that—tsundoku. It describes people who buy books with the intention to read them but never get around to it. I had it on a sticky note at my desk because it fits me so well!

ROC: That’s fantastic! Thank you for this conversation, Mark.

MP: Thank you, Rachel!

Mark Podlasly, a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation in British Columbia, Canada, is the CEO at the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, a national 175+ First Nations organization dedicated to ensuring Indigenous environmental and economic values are incorporated into major projects (>$100m) in traditional territories.

Mark’s international experience includes the planning, permitting and construction of large capital projects related to energy, resource development and community infrastructure around the world. He has designed and delivered corporate strategy, leadership and globalization programs for a client list that includes GE, Unilever, General Mills, Clorox, Goldman Sachs, and Praxair. He is also a frequent contributor on the subject of industry-Indigenous economic reconciliation, with writings covering a range of issues including ESG, climate change, economic wellbeing and governance.

Mark is a board director of Hydro One, serving on the audit and human resources committees, and a trustee of his First Nation’s mining revenue trust fund. He is also a board director at CIBC, one of Canada’s leading financial institutions. Mark serves on CIBC’s audit committee.

Mark holds a masters degree in public administration from Harvard University, and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor-General of Canada for the founding of Teach for Canada, a non-profit organization that works with northern First Nations to recruit and support committed teachers.

Mark and his family reside in Vancouver, BC