14 UBC alumni
named among
VanMag’s 2026
Power 50 List

Ryan Beedie | MBA 1993 (Ranked No. 1)

Reason for award

For building communities and giving back in equal measure

President, Beedie Development Group

When Ryan Beedie took the helm of his family’s namesake business in 2001 at the age of 33, he didn’t just expand it—he transformed it into something his late father Keith could hardly have imagined. Today, Beedie stands as one of British Columbia’s largest commercial property managers and one of Canada’s leading real estate developers, with a footprint that extends across Western Canada and into Nevada. Operating through three divisions—Beedie Industrial, Beedie Living and Beedie Capital—the company has completed development on more than 35 million square feet of industrial space and manages a portfolio of more than 200 properties.

The company’s “Built for Good” motto isn’t just marketing language; it’s a guiding principle embedded in both its urban developments and its resource-sector partnerships. The ambitious Fraser Mills master-planned community in Coquitlam—5,500 homes across 96 acres of reclaimed waterfront—demonstrates long-term city-building: environmental remediation of a former mill site, major investments in public infrastructure and the creation of a complete community with parks, jobs and public waterfront access. Likewise, Beedie’s partnerships with six First Nations on the Blackwater Mine project near Prince George reflect a commitment to equitable development. By working with Indigenous governments as genuine partners (not mere stakeholders), the company supports shared economic opportunity, local employment and community-led stewardship.

But Ryan Beedie’s impact extends far beyond construction sites and balance sheets. Together with his wife Cindy (a regular on the Power 50 list herself), he’s committed over $140 million to more than 350 charities, with education emerging as a cornerstone of their giving. Beedie Luminaries, the scholarship program he launched for his 50th birthday with a $50-million investment, has now granted over 1,000 scholarships totalling $6.9 million to students facing financial barriers—so far, the program has seen a 95-percent graduation rate. And then there’s his biennial Stanley Park concerts, which have become legendary fundraisers: 2025’s Def Leppard-headlined event raised $2.5 million for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, surpassing even his previous record.

In 2025, Beedie was inducted into the Business Laureates of British Columbia Hall of Fame—just as his father once was—and was given the Order of British Columbia, too. It’s appropriate acclaim for a local boy who has spent a career building a legacy not just for his family, but also for his home province. For Beedie, building for good means building communities—and investing deeply in the people who live in them.

Fred Lee, BA 1988 (Ranked No. 4)

Reason for award

For supporting just about every charity in town

Man About Town, Auctioneer

Does a charity event exist in 2026 without the enigmatic Fred Lee, the man whose magic on the mic coaxes dollars out of guests’ pockets and into the cause du jour? His skill at warmly revving up a crowd—who inevitably clap along as he calls out raised paddle numbers in joyful rhythmic count—sees charities clamouring to lock him in as early as they can (and literally scheduling an event around his availability; sometimes he’ll stack up two fundraisers in one night).

He’s shockingly tireless in his contributions. Even though he holds a day job with UBC’s Alumni Engagement, he serves as a partner for each charity he hosts, advising them on success strategies well in advance of the big day. And while he’s seemingly on the auction floor every night of the week, he finds the time to amplify causes close to his heart too, serving as an advisor for UBC’s CampOUT, a summer leadership camp for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and their allies.

Ross Beaty, BSc 1974, LLB 1979, LLD 2018 (Ranked No. 11)

Reason for award

For leading the charge to protect B.C.’s wild spaces

Founding Chair, BC Parks Foundation

Ross Beaty built his fortune in mining—founding Pan American Silver Corp., now the world’s second-largest silver producer, and building his Equinox Gold into a top-15 global gold producer. But his most ambitious project is rewilding British Columbia. “All my life, I’ve been interested in preservation,” he said to Business in Vancouver. “The only thing that has changed is my wealth.”

As founding chair of the BC Parks Foundation since 2018, Beaty is leading one of the most ambitious land protection efforts in Canadian history: a $500-million campaign to help B.C. protect 30 percent of its land mass by 2030, aligned with global commitments to address biodiversity loss and climate change. In under a decade, the foundation has already raised over $350 million, protected more than 114,000 hectares across 75 projects and developed programs in nature-based health, education and stewardship that reach hundreds of thousands of British Columbians annually.

His philanthropic reach extends further through the Sitka Foundation, which he leads with his wife, Trisha. Since its inception, Sitka has distributed over $70 million to more than 225 environmental organizations, making it one of Canada’s leading environmental foundations. Most recently, the Beatys donated to the $45-million expansion of UBC’s Beaty Biodiversity Centre, creating new research space to tackle biodiversity loss—demonstrating that global business leaders can channel their success into transformative action for their home communities.

David Sung, BA 1992 (Ranked No. 16)

Reason for award

For proving that real power is the kind you share (alongside Tassan Sung)

Executive Vice-Chair and President of Institutional, Nicola Wealth Management

David and Tassan Sung spent 2025 showing how influence works when money meets community. Nicola Wealth’s expansion into real estate—including the acquisition of a prime Coromandel property—signalled that the firm isn’t just managing assets, it’s shaping the city’s future. Being named one of B.C.’s Top Employers didn’t hurt the momentum either.

Off the balance sheet, the Sungs doubled down on culture. David remains a key force behind Arts Umbrella and the Vancouver Police Foundation. Tassan, newly honoured with a King Charles Medal, continues to champion women’s leadership (primarily as chair of Women’s LEAD) and next-gen philanthropy. Their ongoing support of the Audain Art Museum puts action to their belief that a thriving city needs thriving arts. Two years after first appearing together on this list, the Sungs return as a duo, still setting the tone for what civic-minded leadership looks like in Vancouver.

Tassan Sung, BA 2020 (Ranked No. 16)

Reason for award

For proving that real power is the kind you share (alongside David Sung)

Chair, Women’s LEAD

David and Tassan Sung spent 2025 showing how influence works when money meets community. Nicola Wealth’s expansion into real estate—including the acquisition of a prime Coromandel property—signalled that the firm isn’t just managing assets, it’s shaping the city’s future. Being named one of B.C.’s Top Employers didn’t hurt the momentum either.

Off the balance sheet, the Sungs doubled down on culture. David remains a key force behind Arts Umbrella and the Vancouver Police Foundation. Tassan, newly honoured with a King Charles Medal, continues to champion women’s leadership (primarily as chair of Women’s LEAD) and next-gen philanthropy. Their ongoing support of the Audain Art Museum puts action to their belief that a thriving city needs thriving arts. Two years after first appearing together on this list, the Sungs return as a duo, still setting the tone for what civic-minded leadership looks like in Vancouver.

Tamer Mohamed, BASc 2011, MASc 2014 (Ranked No. 22)

Reason for award

For making sci-fi medicine feel suddenly real

CEO and Co-founder, Aspect Biosystems

Tamer Mohamed spent 2025 turning heads in one of the toughest biotech markets in years. Aspect Biosystems—the company he took over before he hit 30—landed a $115-million (USD) Series B round, one of the biggest private financings in Canadian biotech that year. Add in major federal and provincial backing, and it’s clear investors and governments see the same thing he does: bioprinted human tissue is no longer a moonshot. Under Mohamed’s lead, Aspect is pushing toward implantable, functional tissues that could one day treat chronic disease in ways medicine hasn’t caught up to yet. In a sector full of maybes, Mohamed delivered momentum—and put Vancouver firmly on the map for next-generation regenerative tech.

Esther Rausenberg, MA 2004 (Ranked No. 25)

Reason for award

For creating (and protecting) Vancouver’s artist spaces

Artistic Director, Eastside Arts Society

The influence of Esther Rausenberg’s work reaches back decades. The contemporary photographer was one of the founding artists of the Eastside Arts Society—the group that’s been helming the wildly popular Eastside Culture Crawl for nearly 30 years. The four-day crawl sees artists open their homes and studios to share their creative wares, from paintings to jewellery to ceramics and textiles. The event is “literally a mob at 1000 Parker Street during the crawl,” writes one of our Power 50 advisory committee members, but that alone isn’t what has Rausenberg making the list: she also co-leads the Creative Cultural Collaborations Society, which launched the Blue Cabin floating artist residency and continues to initiate new cultural projects and festivals.

This year, she pushed the fight to preserve artists’ space even further as an outspoken advocate for arts support with the City of Vancouver, expanding the Culture Crawl’s territory and earning the Eastside Arts Society a rare honour: a Canadian Institute of Planners Award for Planning Excellence. It’s an unusual but telling recognition of how vital her work has become to the city’s cultural planning.

Lori Daniels, MSc 1994 (Ranked No. 28)

Reason for award

For steering us through the smoke, to the future

Chair of Wildfire Coexistence, UBC Faculty of Forestry

As B.C.’s wildfire season stretches into a year-round threat, Lori Daniels is leading the charge to help communities prepare, respond and rebuild. An internationally recognized expert in forest ecology, she’s conducted close to 300 media interviews as a wildfire specialist and participated in the UN General Assembly’s Expert Roundtable on Wildfire and Forest Resilience.

As inaugural chair of wildfire coexistence at UBC Forestry, Daniels launched the Centre for Wildfire Coexistence with a $5-million donation, bringing together research on historical fire regimes, post-fire recovery and society’s relationship with fire. Her work emphasizes Indigenous-led approaches: a recent $790,000 grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation supports collaborative research with four First Nations on prescribed and cultural burning practices. Between climate, topography, vegetation and Indigenous land stewardship, “there are so many pieces to this puzzle,” Daniels said in the Vancouver Sun. Her centre is creating predictive tools to help communities respond faster and build resilience—addressing both how we got here and how to undo the unintended consequences of past fire suppression policies, all while helping us adapt to our climate-changed future.