At Ally Emergency Management, we want to be more than just a faceless organization to our clients. So, in this series, we’re offering an in-depth look at Ally’s key personnel, not just as experienced emergency management practitioners, but as people too. 

Our Founder and CEO, Paul Ursich, is a man who strives to embody everything Ally stands for as a company, in his leadership and his commitment to helping others.
For the majority of his life, Usich has been guided by his sense of responsibility and his drive to guide others, joining the Army Cadets at 14, eventually becoming a full Colonel and Commander of 39 Canadian Brigade Group. Outside military life, Ursich continues to foster growth in others as an instructor of Finance and Organization at BCIT. 

“That need to serve is important to me, it’s been built into me since I started in cadets back in the 80’s,” said Ursich. “I’ve been lucky enough to be in leadership roles, and having those guidelines in my life have really kept things on track for me.”

Ursich founded Ally Emergency Management in 2013, following his departure from active service. Originally a general management consulting company, Ursich found that his client base instead knew him as the man to see to organize drills and projects.

“I did help a few [companies] out, but my phone would ring from people who knew me as someone that could put together a project and make a thing happen on a specific date,” said Ursich. “So I said, ‘why should I fight it?’ The phone rings to get engaged with that kind of stuff, why would I not just switch from general business consulting into emergency management?”

From then on, Ally truly grew into the company it is today. Ursich’s dedicated work ethic quickly garnered attention from clients, and the company’s reputation for commitment grew through word-of-mouth. According to Ursich, the best way for a company to grow and gain notoriety is by not only impressing clients, but also the client’s network. 

“The next client is in the room. If we do a good job, the word spreads, and then the next client is going to emerge, that’s proven true for Ally in a lot of cases,” said Ursich.  “I wouldn’t say that I would have expected that we would one day run 700-person exercises with 40 different agencies for YVR, or become trusted to the point where (companies) openly tell us they feel that they’re in some trouble, so that’s been really rewarding to see how Ally’s grown and morphed over the years.” 

Today, Ally organizes and conducts exercises and training for major corporations across the Lower Mainland. Despite the notoriety, Ursich refuses to compromise the ethics of commitment he considers to be Ally’s way of operating. 

“We don’t quit before the job’s done,” said Ursich. “We come from a military background where the mission comes first, and for our clients, (their) mission becomes our mission.”