Calgary officials, business leaders on the transition to becoming a tech hub

Calgary wants to establish itself as a global hub for tech talent, and city and business leaders stopped at a Toronto tech conference this week to discuss challenges and efforts underway to attract and retain workers.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek was among the speakers representing the Alberta city at a Wednesday session hosted by the Collision conference in Toronto – calling herself a “shameless non-techie” but a passionate supporter of the industry.

She said she trusts industry leaders to come up with innovative business ideas, and as mayor, she is working on the broad question of “how to build a city people want to move to and stay in.”

“You need people to work in your organizations and you need people to be your customers. That’s what I’m focused on,” Gondek told the session. “Retention is very important.”