Laureates

These Laureates have demonstrated a Vision unique among their peers, provided Leadership to move others to achieve their goals, have demonstrated true Integrity and have built a Legacy that will enrich those who follow. The award presented to each Laureate acknowledges the spirit of the greatest leaders and mentors in our province.

Michael Audain, O.C., O.B.C., LL.D.

As a businessman and philanthropist, Michael Audain has demonstrated great vision in his business activities, his support of the arts, and his extraordinary community service. Born in 1937, he is a proud fifth-generation British Columbian and a descendant of James Dunsmuir.

Irving (Ike) Barber, O.C., O.B.C.

Mr. Barber, best-known for this twenty-three year stewardship of Slocan Forest Products Ltd., had been involved in all levels of British Columbia's forestry industry for nearly sixty years. He founded Slocan in 1978, and by the time he retired in February, 2002, it had become one of the leading lumber producers in North America.

Charles Bentall

Charles Bentall has been positively affecting his community ever since arriving in British Columbia in 1908. He was trained as a structural draftsman in England, and found employment with J. Coughlan & Sons in Vancouver. His first jobs included the design of the dome of the Vancouver Court House, now the Vancouver Art Gallery.

L.L.G. (Poldi) Bentley

L.L.G. "Poldi" Bentley and his brother-in-law John G. Prentice found great success in building a small mill on the banks of the Fraser River in 1938. From this mill, they formed a plywood and veneer company called Pacific Veneer that rapidly expanded after demand for their products soared during World War II.

David Black, MBA

Born in Vancouver, David Black is well known for his focus on community and building a company with the same values.

Peter M. Brown, O.B.C., LL.D.

A proud third-generation British Columbian, Peter Brown has made a lasting impact on the province and has played a vital role in financing hundreds of BC businesses. After attending the University of British Columbia, he entered the investments business with Greenshields Inc. in 1962. Today he is Chairman of Canaccord Financial Inc. which he founded in 1968.

Alex A. Campbell, O.B.C., LL.D.

Born in Victoria in 1941, Alex Campbell is known as a Vancouver Island business success story. He started in the grocery business at 15 years of age not as an owner but as an employee, bagging groceries and stocking shelves at Super Value.

Brian A Canfield, C.M., O.B.C., D.Tech. (Hon)

Brian Canfield presently serves as the Chair of the Board of TELUS Corporation. His distinguished career in the Canadian telecom industry, which began as an apprentice switchboard installer in 1956, spans 55 years of service to TELUS and to its predecessor, BC TEL.

Hon. John V. Clyne, C.C

A native of Vancouver, John V. Clyne began his career in the field of law, attending the University of British Columbia and called to the British Columbia bar in 1927. Twenty years later, he was appointed Chairman of the Canadian Maritime Commission, overseeing the transition of wartime shipping to peace-time use.

Jack Diamond, C.C., O.B.C., LL.D.

Jack Diamond has left an indelible mark on the history of British Columbia, as a businessman, sportsman, philanthropist and community-minded citizen.

William Farrell

Born in Ireland in 1854, William Farrell has been credited as consolidating virtually all of the telephone interests throughout BC to create the foundation of the BC Telephone Company/TELUS as we know it today.

Thomas James Foord, O.B.C.

Tom Foord is a tireless community volunteer and an exceptional business leader who, forty-six years ago, started Kal Tire in Vernon. Kal Tire is the largest independent tire dealer in Canada, with over 1,500 employees. Foord began his business with the purchase of a small garage, and after providing service to B.C.'s forestry and mining industries in the 1950s and 60s, his operations continued to successfully expand to a present day total of over 150 stores.

Frank A. Griffiths, F.C.A.

Following his purchase of CKNW in 1956, Frank Griffiths spent the next four decades acquiring the other radio stations and television interests that in 1983 became Western International Communications (WIC). In addition to these broadcast holdings, Frank Griffiths was also a sports entrepreneur.

Chester A. Johnson, C.M., O.B.C., B.Comm., F.C.A.

Chester Johnson is an inspirational leader who has accepted daunting challenges in both the corporate and the public sectors, and has always delivered results that exceed expectations.

Dr. Norman B. Keevil, O.C.

Starting out as a university professor, Dr. Norman B. Keevil would eventually harness his scientific and academic achievements into building a mining empire with interests spanning across Canada, from Newfoundland to British Columbia.

Dr. Norman B. Keevil, O.B.C., Ph.D., LL.D.

Dr. Norman B. Keevil is known for his legacy of economic growth, job creation and community leadership. Seeing an opportunity to create a major mining company through new mine development and strategic acquisitions, Dr. Keevil helped to grow Teck Corporation into a world-class mining entity that now employs more than 12,000 people worldwide. 

The Ketcham Family

The story of the Ketcham family and West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. is the story of three founders of the company, sons of Seattle lumber broker and forest industry pioneer Henry Holman Ketcham, and his grandson, who leads the company today.

Hassan Khosrowshahi, O.B.C.

Hassan Khosrowshahi was born in Tehran, Iran in 1940. He was educated in Iran and England and obtained his degree in law and economics from the University of Tehran. Hassan immigrated to Canada in 1981 and founded the Inwest Group of companies.

Leon J. Koerner, LL.D.

Leon J. Koerner and his brothers arrived in Vancouver in 1938 after fleeing Czechoslovakia, and established the Alaska Pine Company Ltd. The company was tremendously successful and their prosperity inspired Dr. Koerner and his wife to establish The Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation in 1955.

Robert (Bob) H. Lee, C.M., O.B.C., B.Comm., LL.D.

Long-term vision, entrepreneurial drive and a strong dedication to community - these are hallmarks of Bob Lee's life and career. Born in Vancouver in 1933, Lee attended the University of British Columbia (UBC), earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1956. Chinese tradition dictated that upon graduation, Lee should join his father's import business.

Tong Louie, C.M., O.B.C., B.S.A., LL.D.

Born and raised in Vancouver, Tong Louie’s involvement with his community was boundless and his contribution to its welfare exemplary.

John S. MacDonald, O.C.

Dr. John Macdonald, an eminent professional engineer, educator and entrepreneur, has enhanced Canada's reputation in the realm of high technology. A pioneer and leader in imaging technology, he has worked towards improving the policy environment in which industry and science collaborate.

H.R. MacMillan, C.C.

Harvey Reginald MacMillan was British Columbia's Chief Forester, developing international markets for British Columbia's lumber and instrumentally assisting in creating the British Columbia Forest Service. In 1919, he established the H.R. MacMillan Export Company Ltd.

G.W. Grant McConachie

Grant McConachie is a pioneer in the commercial airline industry, establishing his first one, Independent Airways in 1927. Through ingenuity and hard work, his business expanded and made valuable contributions to opening up British Columbia's northern regions in the first half of the twentieth century.

Wendy B. McDonald, C.M., O.B.C., LL.D., D.Tech.

Wendy Burdon McDonald is a dynamic entrepreneur and leader in the field of business in British Columbia. Since 1944, she has been building a highly successful enterprise on what began as a small machine shop in Vancouver.

William M. Mercer, B.Comm.

Owing to the foresight of William M. Mercer, founder of William M. Mercer Limited in 1945, benefits packages that are responsive to clients' and employees' needs have become normalized in today's world. As the first Canadian pension consulting business, it challenged the traditional corporate view of standardized employee benefit plans.

Jimmy Pattison, O.C., O.B.C.

As one of British Columbia's preeminent businessmen, Jim Pattison built one of the largest privately held companies in the country. His empire began when he purchased the Bow Mac car dealership in 1961, and since then, the Jim Pattison Group has prospered and diversified.

The Co-Founders of Phillips, Hager & North

Art Phillips, Bob Hager, Rudy North and Dick Bradshaw pioneered one of Canada’s most successful investment firms, Phillips, Hager & North (“PH&N”). PH&N was founded in 1964 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The founders are widely regarded as leaders within Canada’s financial industry, and also within their community, where they give generously of their time, money and energy.

John (Jack) W. Poole, O.C., O.B.C., B.Sc.

Jack Poole rose from relatively poor beginnings to become one of Canada's most successful builders and community leaders. He played the founding and lead role in the building of two major real estate development companies now readily acknowledged to be among Canada's most successful.

Dave Ritchie

Loyalty and integrity are two traits synonymous with Dave Ritchie. Right from the start of his childhood in Kelowna, BC his steadfast ethics instilled the characteristics that would propel him through an amazing career and lead him to the position as one of BC's top leaders in business. From the first auction Mr. Ritchie and his brothers would conduct to save the family business, O.K. Used Furniture Store, he was viewed as a visionary and a man of fair play in the business world.

Donald B. Rix, M.D., C.M., O.B.C.

Dr. Donald Rix was a widely recognized member of the medical profession, as evidenced by his fellowships in four medical colleges and societies. Dr. Rix was also a successful businessman, a generous philanthropist and a dedicated volunteer. He was active in provincial and national medical associations, was a member of several BC research foundations, and a Director of the BC Children's Hospital Foundation.

William L. Sauder (Bill), O.C., O.B.C., B.Comm., LL.D.

William Sauder was a leader in the forest industry, education and health; he has played a significant role in the social and economic development of this province.

Joseph Segal, C.M., O.B.C., LL.D.

Joseph Segal, an outstanding British Columbian and a Canadian merchandising legend, has given unstintingly of himself and his resources for the betterment of our province.

David W. Spencer

It was reported that David Spencer's greater satisfaction had come from two sources. The first was the growth of his stores from the 1870s, when he had one small shop and six employees, to the 1920s, when his stores occupied 462,000 square feet and employed 1,400 employees with an annual payroll of $2,000,000.

Dr. Ken Spencer, LL.D.

Born and raised in Burnaby, BC, Ken Spencer is a tech legend in British Columbia. Ken graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1967 with an electrical engineering degree and in 1972 with a PhD. In 1981 he received his MBA from Simon Fraser University.

Milton K. Wong, C.M., O.B.C., LL.D.

Milton Wong was an incredible visionary who sought out the impossible to make it possible. He had deeply rooted sense of social values and team player attitude in everything he did. He recognized that these steadfast, all-encompassing attitudes transcended every aspect of his life and positioned him as one of British Columbia's outstanding leaders in business, pioneers of social responsibility and generous philanthropists: a legacy established through the eyes of his many supporters and followers.

Charles Woodward

A luminary in the business community, Charles Woodward promoted commercial interests while maintaining a reputation as the workingman’s friend. He opened the first Woodwards store at the corner of Main and Georgia Streets in 1892, just three months after arriving in Vancouver.
 

 

 
 

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