Father’s illness drove young sisters to take over Calgary’s Britt Radius

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There is no one path for next generations in enterprising families. In this series we talk to members of next generations, whether they choose to take on a role in the family business, or its wealth stewardship, or to carve their own path. Sometimes, it is all of the above. In addition, it can be a unique path for women in Canada’s enterprising families. This story is also part of our Women and Canadian Business Families series.

Young as they were, there was no other option for sisters Brittney and Breanne Ramsay than to pick up the reins of their father’s business when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at 48.

Ray Ramsay had founded Britt Resources Ltd., now Calgary-based Britt Radius, in 1986 as a response to tight economic times, building it into a successful business offering surface land acquisition services to the energy sector.

Brittney was 26 when she became president (now CEO). With Breanne as CFO and Dayna Morgan as COO, they rebranded in 2021 and expanded their services from their father’s original land services firm.

In addition to helping companies navigate risks and opportunities to projects, such as engaging stakeholders (including the public and Indigenous communities), meeting regulations and access to land, expanded services include full scale engagement services, compliance management, and project management in both Canada and the United States.

Britt Radius and their women-owned and operated company are rare in the land acquisition and engagement space. They are the only female-owned and operated company of their size and scope within Western Canada.

How did your father come to found the family business?

Brittney Ramsay: “Our Dad started Britt [originally Britt Resources Ltd.] in the 1986 recession [aftermath]. He was working as an employee at a large firm and his hours were cut and cut.

He was a young father and husband, I was 2 years old, and he decided he wanted to take control of his life and fate and decided to go out on his own.

He started as the landman, admin, sales, accountant, everything … and slowly grew from there. Our Mom was with him every step of the way and filled whatever role she could to help. A ton of our family members have worked at Britt Radius throughout the years.

My sister and I spent many hours in the back of a truck going to landowner’s houses with him in the early years.”

How did your father’s experience shape your own work ethic?

Brittney: “He worked very hard and made time to play and have fun. He approached everything as ‘figureoutable’ and knew one key aspect of that was surrounding himself by the very best people.

He showed up daily at work bringing his very best and expecting that of others. We put a lot of emphasis on the people we work with, ensuring they are aligned to us and our values, and us to them.

We also know we are in service to our team, our clients, and our business – Dad was very service oriented. So much of the foundation of our business is still built around his work ethic and values.

One of our core values is one plus one equals three, which is something he used to tell us all the time; you can create more, do more when you bring more brains into the mix. Teamwork, with the right people, is invaluable.

Because our dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s when he was 48, very young, he also put a big focus on spending time with your family and loved ones. We work hard and give our best at work, and also show up and give our best to our families.”

What was it like growing up in a family business environment?

Brittney: “We joke that Britt is our third sister, we talked about her at the dinner table, she joined us on vacations … always present. We learned organically about running a business, building culture, and engaging with people.”

When did you become leaders of the family business, and how did your father support you?

Brittney: “I became president at 26, way before I was ready. Due to our dad’s health, I was thrust into that situation years before we had ever thought it would happen. I was lucky to be mentored by our dad for a couple years before he had to exit.

And living and growing up with our dad he instilled in us that we are strong, smart women. We can figure anything out if we give it our best.

And screwing up is ok, needed, and what matters is what we do with it.

He loved and cherished us deeply and we knew that he believed we could do this. Even when we didn’t. He would tell us and anyone and everyone else. To have that level of belief and trust was huge.”

What supports and training other than your formal education did you find valuable in leading you to your business milestones?

Brittney: “Having business coaches and peer mentors has been huge for us. Spending time focused in the business and on the business.

To execute some of the big ideas we had we needed to get very clear on our core values, where we were going and why and then how to execute it.

Having skilled coaches mentor and hold us accountable along the way was transformational.”

As you were developing the business, did you turn to any advisors along the way?

Breanne Ramsay: “Over the last 10 years we have had a handful of advisors that we lean on which has been amazing. They have been able to shine a light on opportunities and threats for us that we may not have been looking out for when in the day to day of the business.”

How do you cope with the pressures of taking over the family business?

Breanne: “When we took over the business and re-evaluated our values, mission, and purpose, it really alleviated the pressures we put on ourselves to be doing things the way our dad did.

We made minor tweaks to how the business was run, our core values and the culture we wanted to create and work in. We were extremely fortunate in that our mom and dad always believed in us and watched from the sidelines as our biggest fans and advocates. They always knew we could do great things with the business, which helped with any internal and external pressures that were put on us.”

Do you have any advice for next generations in a family business, whether they become involved in it or go their own way?

Breanne: “Truly take the time to reflect on your inner happiness, purpose and what will provide you with a life of fulfillment. The pressures and expectations of being a part of or taking on a family business can be a lot. Unless you are truly passionate about your family business and see how you can create your own unique evolution of the business and brand, I can imagine it would be quite hard living in the shadows of the previous generation.”

Responses have been lightly edited for clarity and length.

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