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JOHN COTTON: PROUD TO BRING ALBERTA INDUSTRY TO THE WORLD
“When one’s talking about leadership, it’s not only about how you lead your organization, it’s about how you lead a cause, and it’s about the role you play in the larger community, too. I’ve had the pleasure of working in the industry for so long in the area of helping with exports, and now that I’m only working part time I’m taking some of that broader skill set and using it for non-profit organizations.” ~ John Cotton
the first of two such awards for Cotton – his second was for spearheading the annual Global Petroleum Show the following year, a project similarly designed to enhance the profile of Alberta’s oil industry and serve as a concentrated networking and learning environment for companies interested in emerging petroleum markets. When Cotton took on the job of assistant deputy minister for the province in 2009, he became very active in public advocacy work. “We thought that Alberta was being cast in a negative light regarding the environmental record,” he says. So, once again bringing government and industry together, he and his colleagues developed a very sophisticated advocacy program. “You need to get your message out, but you can’t wait until it’s an issue and just react. You need to get out in front and to engage the communities. People will decide for themselves, but when we’re talking about public policies it’s important that we base our discussions on what we know to be accurate.” As much as John Cotton is a champion of Alberta enterprise and its place on the world stage, he’s just as bullish on its government. “The government here is very supportive of the private sector in Alberta. A lot of people see government’s role as that of a regulator, but by creating the right kind of business environment, it can be an impetus to the entrepreneurship and innovation that already exists here, encouraging expansion and encouraging exports,” he says. “The Alberta government has done that very successfully. There’s a lot of mutual respect between government and the private sector in this province. That’s something that I think is really worth noting.” People often think of government and industry as having an adversarial relationship, Cotton says, but he’s learned that government and industry working together can accomplish more in concert than they can alone. “Government can play a supportive role when it comes to industry in the international arena. It can open doors and make it easier for a company to break into a particular market,” he says, adding that this is one of the many reasons he feels honoured to receive the Export Leadership Award.
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June 2014 | Business In Edmonton Magazine | www.businessinedmonton.com
“Because it’s not just about me, John Cotton. It’s about what I was able to do while I was in government. I think it’s a recognition of the role the Alberta government has played and all the people that have worked with me over the years. It’s a recognition of all those efforts, and the role the government plays in promoting exports and consistently supporting the export needs of Alberta companies.” The leadership component of the award holds particular significance for Cotton at this stage in his career. “When one’s talking about leadership, it’s not only about how you lead your organization, it’s about how you lead a cause, and it’s about the role you play in the larger community, too.” If you have leadership or management skills, he believes, you should try to utilize them as much as you can. “I’ve had the pleasure of working in the industry for so long in the area of helping with exports, and now that I’m only working part time I’m taking some of that broader skill set and using it for non-profit organizations.” Today, Cotton lends his leadership and management expertise to a number of non-profit organizations like E4C, where he sits on the board as vice president. “They run the school and snack program in the inner city and the Kids in the Hall Bistro. They also provide low-income and transition housing and run the Head Start program for kids up in the northeast.” In addition, he is involved with the Rotary Club and the Alberta Charity Support network, a group of retired and semi-retired individuals who help charity organizations with leadership or management issues. It seems that Cotton couldn’t be more pleased about his life’s work, or about picking up that portentous copy of the Globe and Mail on that chilly morning more than 30 years ago. “With any job, you want to be good at it, you want to have a passion. You want to believe that what you’re doing makes a difference,” he says. “We’re very fortunate with the quality of life we have here in Alberta. That’s because we live in a prosperous part of the world. And exports are a very key element of that prosperity. That’s something we should never lose sight of.” BIE