DANNY CHASE WINS BIG
When Danny Chase received an email this past September telling him he’d been selected for Business in Vancouver’s Top 40 Under 40, he thought it was spam and deleted it. The following day, congratulations started arriving from friends and associates. “It’s an honour to be part of such an elite group,” he says of the recognition, but he doesn’t relish the spotlight. “We have fifty employees and I’m just one of fifty. It’s not about me.”
Danny is the owner and operator of Chase Office Interiors, a West Vancouver-based business specializing in office design and furnishing. Danny is a member of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation in Whitehorse, and started Chase Interiors in 2003. The company that began as a one-man-show now boasts over 50 employees and does business across the country.
“I’m proud to say I’m the only 100% Aboriginal-owned and -operated company in my industry in Canada, and intend to stay so,” says Danny. To date, his biggest client has been Shaw Communications. According to Danny, Chase has designed and furnished call centers and Shaw facilities “from Victoria to Nova Scotia.” Chase’s team includes IDIBC registered designers, AutoCAD planning and specification abilities and LEED Green Associate certification, as well as the CAMSC certification, but Danny says that the core of his company’s success is its commitment to customer service. “My employees and I have a passion to do things better,” he says. “We try and separate ourselves from the industry and not just compete within it.” Providing services for the marine industry will be no different. Chase is equipped to help Seaspan and other Tier 1 companies with office, administration and facility requirements. At this stage in the contract, Danny agrees that the most effective approach for him are the networking and conference sessions with industry reps. He looks forward to concrete commitments from the corporate groups that have so far expressed interest in working with Aboriginal businesses like his own.
When Danny accepted his award from Business in Vancouver on January 28th, it was on behalf of everyone at Chase Office Interiors. “I love my team and seeing them be successful. I know that when they’re successful we as a company are successful.”
‘Get Your Ship Together’ is a Special Project Initiative run by the Industry Council for Aboriginal Business (www.icab.ca) with support from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca).
