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Hamilton Spectator

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh business beat: Meet one of the women behind Nch'ḵay̓

'You don't need big budgets to have a big impact': Squamish Nation member returns home to lead brand marketing for Nch'ḵay̓. She has come happily home, bringing all she has learned along the way with her. A Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) development corporation appointed a new marketing lead last month, who is also a Nation member. Brandi Halls brings to the role not only her professional expertise, but her cultural values, enabling her to implement plans for long-term prosperity. Halls has over two decades of brand-building expertise. She previously worked across North America as brand director and chief ethics officer at Lush Cosmetics, and has now been appointed executive vice-president of brand, marketing and community engagement for Nch'ḵay̓ , the Nation's economic development arm based in West Vancouver, that was established in 2018. Nch'ḵay̓'s 'mandate' is to manage business separately from politics, all the while continuing to uphold traditional values and cultural teachings. Specializing in finance and real estate, Nch'ḵay̓ strives for holistic economic impact on Indigenous as well as non-Indigenous communities. Their projects involve transforming Vancouver's skylines, such as Sen̓áḵw , as well as developing facilities such as gas bars and RV parks. Squamish Valley Gas Bar is an Nch'ḵay̓ business. Mindy Wight, CEO of Nch'ḵay̓ , said of Halls' appointment: 'Brandi's leadership will be instrumental in strengthening our brand and market presence, [her] deep connection to our values makes her the perfect fit to help us achieve our goals in alignment with the Nation's guiding principles.' The Squamish Chief spoke to Halls last week to discuss her new role and professional journey. What follows is a version of that conversation edited for length and clarity. A: I always knew I wanted to bring 20 years of experience in the corporate world back to my Nation. I just really didn't see a pathway there until Nch'ḵay̓ was formed, and I haven't looked back. It's been a tremendous welcoming back home. In my new role, I really get to bring my whole self to work every day. I get to lean into my Sḵwx̱wú7mesh teachings and my passion around Indigenous sovereignty. The cherry on top of all that is that I get to do this with my own community. I'm following in the footsteps of those who walk before me. My grandfather, the late Chief Simon Baker, was an ambassador of Indigenous culture. He was on council for the Nation, and spent his career working for the Nation. My mom, Faye Halls, followed in his footsteps. And now my sisters are both Indigenous educators, so it feels like I found my way back to where I'm meant to be. I don't think I'm alone in that. There are other Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people that [with] the formation of Nch'ḵay̓ [have benefited] their community. A: We [are] 100% owned by the Nation, so that means everything we do [is] always going to be rooted in values and teachings. That's where that inevitable crossover is really natural and feels like the right approach. The separation of business and politics is intentional. It's standard practice for Indigenous economic development arms now, and it really does allow Nch'ḵay̓ to operate at the speed of commercial businesses, and most importantly, allows our council and our Nation to focus on governing its 4,100 people. It works for us. We've got some really standard governance practices in place to ensure that the separation of business and politics [is maintained], but that the foundation of everything we do is the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh way. A: Sen̓áḵw is a brilliant example of short-term strategy for long-term gain. Right now, we have three towers rising from the ground at the foot of the Burrard Street Bridge on our traditional Sen̓áḵw lands. The short-term plan there, of course, is to welcome over 1,000 residents over the next 24 months into our purpose-built rental towers. But the long-term goal here is building that generational wealth for the Nation. That project is enormous in scale for the Nation. Specifically, I am very excited about bringing that story to life. We want folks who choose to live there to feel connected to the land and to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people. We are deep in the creative process of bringing the Sen̓áḵw brands to life, imagining 'what is that ad going to look like on the side of buses in the weeks to come?' We're working really closely with Nation artists and knowledge-keepers to ensure that the representation of Sen̓áḵw is authentic and true. I can honestly say that it feels like a once-in-a-lifetime project that I'm really honoured to be part of. [I] get to stretch my creative muscles and lean into the branding work, [and] stay super true to who I am as a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh woman. A: It's a super fine balance [but] our traditional knowledge-keepers can ensure the history we're showing [is] up on our screens, and [that] our mock-ups are accurate. Bringing in young Indigenous artists is another way [to retain that balance]. They've got a more contemporary, modern flair to their work. We're pairing them with knowledge-keepers, other art workers, and designers, so you do really get this beautiful collaboration. We are learning as we're doing. And so far, the process has been really beautiful. Every time we see another version of the artwork that's about to go live externally, we kind of gasp. There have been some tears, and I think we are doing a beautiful job of honouring the past, whilst also celebrating the future. A: The beauty industry that I came from was heavily female, [but] the leadership team in the North American entity of Lush was more male-dominated. I certainly make note of this shift, but also worth drawing attention to is just how lucky I am to work for Nch'ḵay̓, because this organization is led by strong, experienced women in an industry that is typically led by men. Our CEO is Mindy White, our chief development officer who looks after our real estate is Jennifer Podmore Russell, and our board chair is Joy MacPhail. These are all incredibly accomplished women who are really well-known in the industry, and our executive team, which I am a part of; the majority are women as well. Despite the greater housing and real estate industry being more male-dominated, I feel we've done a really great job of lifting women up in our space. 50% of the staff [at Nch'ḵay̓] are also Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people, and 61% of our staff are Indigenous. I've never felt more at home anywhere else, being amongst my people, my community. A: I spent seven years in New York, in Manhattan; I was kind of in the heartbeat of all things brand marketing. The greatest lesson I learned from that time, that I will be bringing into Nch'ḵay̓, is this concept of growing your brand through a really organic grassroots approach. Stepping out of my office door in Manhattan, I was experiencing brand activations in all forms every single day. Niche community building is what I saw, and that's all the way across the West Coast now. You don't need big budgets to have a big impact. What you really need is a team and a community who are super passionate about purpose, and there's definitely no shortage of that passion at Nch'ḵay̓. Being able to nurture this human-to-human approach, building relationships and rapport, that's what's going to result in growing your brand. You just have to lean heavily into building community connection, which transfers beautifully to a brand like Nch'ḵay̓ where our sole purpose is to serve, and build wealth and prosperity for the community of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people. Everything we do in our team is around connection to our community, and informing [them.] It means that engagement and communications are central to our strategy. We need to ensure, within the way we're operating our businesses and within the way we're marketing them, that our people feel seen and heard. I'm excited to grow the enterprise brand, and the business brands within it. A: You have to have a good product, and you have to have good people, and you have to have purpose. It's really easy to come into a place like Nch'ḵay̓ that is so rounded in purpose, filled with people who are passionate about the work and community. Now all we've got to do is tell the stories, and we need to tell them in a real and authentic way. That's going to be a really powerful marketing tool, but also a community-building tool. *Please note that this story was updated after it was first published to correct some grammar and spelling errors, including the spelling of Mindy Wight's last name. The Squamish Chief apologizes for these errors. Ina Pace is The Squamish Chief's Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) Reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the LJI. The Squamish Business Beat was developed in response to local demand for more business-focused news. To be considered, please reach out to news@ . While funding for this coverage was provided, The Squamish Chief maintains full editorial control over all content.