The 2022 BC Region Family Enterprise of the Year Award Goes to Cove Continuity Advisors Inc.

OAKVILLE, ON – December 8, 2022

The 2022 BC Region Family Enterprise of the Year Award (FEYA) winner has just been announced. Congratulations to this year’s recipient, Cove Continuity Advisors Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia and the Geiss family!

Regional Family Enterprise of the Year Awards are given annually by Family Enterprise Canada to celebrate and promote the achievements of Canadian family businesses and the considerable contribution they make to both their local communities and our national economy.

“It’s always a pleasure discovering and honoring successful family businesses that serve as examples of how to integrate best practices that benefit the business, the family and their surrounding community. Congratulations to Cove Continuity Advisors and the Geiss family,” says Bill Brushett, President & CEO, Family Enterprise Canada.

Cove Continuity Advisors met all the criteria and more to win this year’s BC Region FEYA. The company was founded in 1990 by Bernie Geiss to provide accountable and transparent life, disability and critical illness insurance advice and products to Canadian individuals and businesses. Starting from a spare bedroom of the family home, “Cove” is now a highly respected leader in the insurance industry.

Cove’s family and business values are inseparable. As proof of this, Bernie’s wife Christie, a licensed insurance advisor and certified financial planner, joined Cove in 1998 to allow them to spend more time together and build their business close to home. Family values were at the core of the company moving to Deep Cove in North Vancouver in 1998 (hence the name “Cove” Continuity Advisors) to allow Bernie and Christie to make a hot breakfast for their three children every morning before school, and to be close enough for the kids and their friends to visit Cove after school to eat Famous Amos cookies and drink Koalas. In 2020, their daughter Nikki joined Cove fulltime, and in 2021 their niece and her husband joined as well.

Many of their family values have evolved out of their commitment to social and environmental responsibility with the conversations that started in their board room. Cove is involved extensively in their community, and many of the team members have engaged in volunteer work. Much of their focus is on values-based conversations related to how they can use business as a force for good. In 2015, Christie became an activator in Coralus (previously SheEO), providing financing for women-owned businesses. In 2016, Cove became B-Corp registered and a member of 1% for the Planet, verifying one per cent of top line revenue is given to grassroots environmental organizations. That same year, Cove established 1% for People, committing one per cent of revenue to support individual development of physical or emotional self-sufficiency.

In 2018, Warren Campbell joined Cove, as a non-family owner, providing objective mentorship to their next generation in a shared commitment to their seven-generation plan. In 2020, Cove established a women’s division to serve women entrepreneurs, professionals and individuals. In 2021, Bernie became Chair of Family Enterprise Canada’s Family Business for Sustainable Development (FBSD) Committee, spearheading that initiative.

To learn more about Cove Continuity Advisors Inc., please visit CoveAdvisors.com.

Each regional FEYA Recipient is considered for the National Family Enterprise of the Year Award chosen by a selection committee and presented at the National FEYA celebration held at Symposium in Ottawa, May 29-31, 2023.

Thank you to the 2022 BC Region FEYA Selection Committee:

• Gary Benson of Danica Brands
• Debra Avis Wilson of Avis Wilson Consulting
• Grant Conroy of Genus Capital Management

We appreciate your time and thoughtful consideration. 

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About the Family Enterprise of the Year Award

The Family Enterprise of Year Award (FEYA) was established in 1986 to celebrate and promote the achievements of Canadian business families and the considerable contribution they make to the economic and social fabric of both their local communities and Canada as a whole. Each year, business families across Canada are nominated and recognized at regional FEYA celebrations. Each regional Recipient is then considered for the National Family Enterprise of the Year Award, chosen by a volunteer selection committee and presented at the National FEYA celebration.

FEYA is unique among business awards in Canada, as it does not only focus on traditional business metrics. Instead, the selection committee also looks at how well the family enterprise integrates best practices that benefit the business, the family and their communities. Having demonstrated significant capabilities in these regards, FEYA recipients are examples of excellence and are integral to Canada’s economic future.

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