“We support all the food and beverage manufacturers in the province of BC, and it was crazy, but we just stayed focused on helping industry,” Arondus said. “This is a nice capstone to that work we’ve done.”

The Workplace Safety and Prevention Services Award for CEO of the Year recognizes a CEO who drives successful safety strategies from the top by putting people first and championing innovative safety values.

The Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC is a not-for-profit that supports more than 3,000 member manufacturing and food processing businesses across B.C. The Alliance supports manufacturers with safety guidance, training, and specialized support. 

“Our manufacturing sector is facing headwinds,” Arondus says. “We are here to help them protect the health and safety of their people even in the most challenging environments,” he explains. “I’m incredibly proud of the work we’re doing together,” he adds, “That we’re seeing more companies come to us for help, and coming back again, is a sign that our support is making an impact.”

Under Arondus’ leadership, the organization’s Make It Safe event and webinar series has expanded to educate and connect thousands in Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, northern B.C., the south coast—and outside the province via industry partnerships and the country’s largest virtual safety conference, Make It Safe Canada: Online.

After a long career in senior manufacturing leadership role, giving back is a consistent tenet for Arondus—helping bridge the gap between what schools teach and what industry needs as an instructor at BCIT’s School of Business for 20 years, serving as Vice Chair on the Advisory Board for the BC & Yukon Chapter of Make-A-Wish-Canada, and as a past president of the CMHA, Vancouver-Fraser Board of Directors. Arondus is an alumnus of the 8th Governor General’s Leadership Conference of Canada.