Jim Estill

Last updated

Jim Estill
CM OOnt
Jim Estill.jpg
Born (1957-04-08) April 8, 1957 (age 67)
Nationality Canadian
Education University of Waterloo
OccupationCEO of Danby Appliances Inc. (2015–present)
Website Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

James Andrew Estill, CM OOnt (born April 8, 1957) is a Canadian technology entrepreneur, executive, and philanthropist who has been serving as CEO of appliance manufacturer Danby Products Ltd since 2015. [1] During the course of his career, Estill has invested in 150 start-up companies [2] and received international attention in 2015 for offering to sponsor the resettling of 50 Syrian refugee families in Canada. [3] In recognition of his philanthropic efforts, Estill received the Order of Ontario in June 2017 [4] and was named to the Order of Canada in July 2018. [5] He also received an Everyday Heroes Award from the Global Hope Coalition in 2017. [6]

Contents

Education

Estill studied engineering at the University of Waterloo, graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Design Engineering.[ citation needed ]

Business career

1980–1999

In his final year of university, he started his first company, EMJ Data Systems. Estill sold computer equipment and software, soon transitioning into distribution. [7] The business grew quickly, became publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and withstood that era's downturn in the IT industry.[ citation needed ]

His accomplishments at such a young age were recognized in 1996 when Estill was added to the ranks of Canada's Top 40 under 40, the second person to receive this honor. [8] That same year, Estill joined the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) [9] and remains a member of the CNBC-YPO Chief Executive Network. [10]

Estill served as a founding board member of Research in Motion/BlackBerry in 1997, before the company went public. 1997 also found him acting as one of the founding members of Communitech, [11] an organization devoted to helping tech companies grow and find their place in the market.

2000–2009

In 2003, EMJ purchased the Canadian operations of DaisyTek Canada, doubling their distribution size to more than $350 million in consolidated revenue. [12] At its height, EMJ had 350 employees and $350 million in annual sales. [13]

In June 2004, Synnex Canada purchased EMJ Data Systems for $56 million. [14] As part of the deal, Estill took over as CEO of Synnex's Canadian division. During the five years that he ran Synnex from 2004 to 2009, sales for the company grew from $800 million to $2 billion. [10]

In 2008, Estill was granted patent number 8244567 for gamification in ERP systems. [15]

2010–present

In 2010, Estill left BlackBerry Limited[ citation needed ] and published his first book, Time Leadership – Lessons from a CEO and followed that publication three years later with Zero to $2 Billion: The Marketing and Branding Story Behind the Growth.[ citation needed ] Estill also serves on the advisory board of OMERS Ventures, one of Canada's largest pension funds, which began operations in 2011.[ citation needed ]

In late 2014, Estill founded DDE Media, a Guelph, Ontario-based digital multimedia company. DDE merged two years later with TrafficSoda, a digital marketing firm, founded in 2013 by Jessica Chalk. Estill serves as chairman of the combined organization, with Chalk as president and CEO.[ citation needed ]

While continuing on in this capacity, Estill came out of semi-retirement to assume the post of CEO at Guelph, Ontario-based Danby Products in 2015,. [1] In 2017, Estill purchased Danby Products and its subsidiaries from John Wood and his family. Under his guidance, the company resumed manufacturing some of its products in Canada for the first time in a number of years. [16]

Seed Investor

In addition to the businesses he started on his own, Estill also served as a seed investor for over 150 companies, including well.ca, [17] Printeron, Miovision, Clearpath Robotics, Postrank, Touch Bistro, Spicer, Inex, and Border Networks.

Philanthropy

In November 2015, Estill decided to sponsor the immigration of 50 Syrian families to Guelph, Ontario; [18] He rallied church groups and 800 volunteers across the city and worked closely with the Islamic community. [19] Estill has now sponsored 87 families for resettlement. [20] 47 families had relocated by the end of 2016. By that point, the total number of families Estill committed to help had also grown to 58 and totaled more than 200 people. [21]

In addition to his own project, Estill also contributed his finances to help a nine-year-old local boy realize his family's dream of sponsoring a Syrian family in Canada. [22]

In recognition of his philanthropic efforts, Estill received the Order of Ontario in June 2017. [4] and was named to the Order of Canada in June 2018. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guelph</span> City in Ontario, Canada

Guelph is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly 22 km (14 mi) east of Kitchener and 70 km (43 mi) west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wellington County Road 124. It is the seat of Wellington County, but is politically independent of it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Balsillie</span> Canadian businessman

James Laurence Balsillie is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the former chair and co-chief executive officer of the Canadian technology company Research In Motion (BlackBerry), which at its 2011 peak made US$19.9 billion in annual sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sleeman Breweries</span> Japanese-owned Canadian brewery

Sleeman Breweries is a Japanese-owned Canadian brewery founded by John Warren Sleeman in 1988 in Guelph, Ontario. The company is the third-largest brewing company in Canada. Along with its own Sleeman brands, the company produces under licence the Stroh's family of brands, Maclays Ale and Sapporo Premium beers for sale in Canada. The company's parent Sapporo owns 4.2 per cent of Ontario's primary beer retailer The Beer Store.

Founded in 1907, Electrohome was Canada's largest manufacturer of television sets (TVs) from 1949 to 1987. The company was also involved in television broadcasting, and was a leader in data, video, graphics displays and projectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guelph/Eramosa</span> Township in Ontario, Canada

Guelph/Eramosa is a township located in Wellington County, in midwestern Ontario, Canada. It partly encircles the city of Guelph, surrounding it in a continuous arc from approximately northeast to south-southwest of the city. It is part of the Guelph census metropolitan area.

Village Media is a Canadian media company, which operates a number of hyperlocal online news and community websites throughout Ontario.

Ken Danby, D.F.A. was a Canadian painter who created highly realistic paintings that study everyday life. His 1972 painting At the Crease, portraying a masked hockey goalie defending his net, is widely recognized and reproduced in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farm Boy</span> Canadian specialty grocery store chain owned by Empire Company Limited

Farm Boy Inc. is a Canadian specialty food retailer operating in the province of Ontario. The company is based in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2018, the company is majority owned by the Sobeys grocery chain's parent company, Empire Company Ltd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tech Data</span> U.S.-based technology company

Tech Data Corporation was an American multinational distribution company specializing in IT products and services headquartered in Clearwater, Florida. It merged with competitor Synnex to form TD Synnex. Synnex is to be the primary owner. Tech Data provided a broad range of product lines, logistics capabilities and value-added services that enable technology manufacturers and resellers, such as Google, Apple, Cisco, Dell, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HP Inc., IBM, Lenovo, LG, Microsoft, Sony, Trend Micro, Viewsonic, TP-Link and VMware, to deploy IT solutions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Co-operators</span> Insurance company in Canada

The Co-operators Group Limited is a Canadian insurance co-operative, founded in 1945, owned by 46 members including co-ops, credit union centrals and representative farm organizations. It is one of the leading Canadian-owned multi-line insurers, offering auto, home, life, farm, travel and commercial insurance as well as investments. The company was started by farmers in Saskatchewan, in 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linamar</span> Canadian manufacturing company

Linamar Corporation is a manufacturing company serving the mobility, access, agriculture, and MedTech industries. The company has three operating segments: Industrial, Mobility, and eLIN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Presidents' Organization</span> Leadership community

YPO is a US-based organization of chief executives with more than 36,000 members in more than 142 countries.

Syrian Canadians refers to Canadians who claim Syrian ancestry and newcomers who have Syrian citizenship. According to the 2016 Census, there were 77,050 Syrian Canadians compared to the 2011 Census where there were 50,840.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wellington Brewery</span>

Wellington Brewery is a brewery in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1985 and was one of the first North American breweries to revive the ancient technique of brewing cask-conditioned cask ale. Phil Gosling was the founder. By 2011, the volume of sales required the company to expand its brewing capacity. Two new 150HL tanks were installed. In January 2013, four more tanks were installed to keep up with demand for Wellington products. In 2015, the company's facility was expanded with a 12,000-square-foot addition, including a 40-hectolitre brew house and new packaging line. At that time, the company employed a staff of 45. The company also has a distribution warehouse in Toronto.

Noah Dalton Danby is a Canadian actor known for his work in television, film, and video game motion capture. On television, he is known for his recurring roles as Cha'ra in Stargate SG-1 (2004–2007), Sukar in Defiance (2013–2014), Zachary Cain in Bitten (2014–2016), Russell in Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments (2017–2019) and Confessor in Titans (2022–2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lafarge (company)</span> French industrial company

Lafarge is a French industrial company specialising in cement, construction aggregates, and concrete. It is the world's largest cement manufacturer. It was founded in 1833 by Joseph-Auguste Pavin de Lafarge and is a part of the Holcim Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Sleeman</span> Canadian brewer, politician, and baseball pioneer

George Sleeman was a brewer, a major figure in Canadian baseball, and a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was mayor of Guelph from 1880 to 1882 and from 1905 to 1906. Sleeman was also the president of the Guelph Rifle Association for 20 years, president of the Guelph Turf Club, president of the Guelph Bicycle Club, and, for four years, president of the Ontario Brewing and Malting Association. He helped establish the Royal City Curling Club. His brewery also sponsored an amateur baseball team called the Silver Creek Club.

Danby is the brand name of a line of appliances marketed by Danby Appliances Inc. and Danby Appliances Ltd., led by President and CEO Jim Estill. Danby specializes in designing, manufacturing, and distributing small appliances through national and independent retailers in Canada, the US, UK, and Mexico. It is a privately held Canadian and US company headquartered in Guelph, Ontario, and Findlay, Ohio. While the company is well-established in Canada, more than half of its sales are outside the country. The company has additional locations in Tolleson, Arizona; Saraland, Alabama; and Foxboro, Massachusetts, as well as a location in Guangzhou, China. It is affiliated with manufacturers in China, Mexico, Turkey, Thailand, India and the United States.

Frank Hasenfratz was a Hungarian-born Canadian billionaire businessman, the founder and owner of Linamar, Canada's second largest auto parts manufacturer, with 26,000 employees at the time of his death.

Well.ca is a Canadian e-commerce retailer based in Guelph, Ontario that specializes in health, beauty, baby, home, and green and natural products. The company was founded in 2008 by Ali Asaria.

References

  1. 1 2 Del Nibletto, Paolo (June 19, 2015). "Jim Estill has a new CEO position". Computer Dealer News. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  2. ↑ Galang, Jessica (January 8, 2016). "Jim Estill Gives Entrepreneurs Their Inspiration in 2016". Betakit.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Guelph CEO Jim Estill sponsoring 50 Syrian refugee families". cbc.ca. November 26, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "The 2016 Appointees to the Order of Ontario". news.ontario.ca. December 14, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Guelph's Jim Estill, Peter Irwin named to Order of Canada". Guelph Today. July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Everyday Heroes". Global Hope Coalition. September 18, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Fail Often. Fail Fast. Fail Cheap". businessviewmagazine.com. July 6, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Canada's Top 40 Under 40". uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  9. ↑ Richards, Sue (March 2004). "Better leaders through education and idea exchange" (PDF). exchangemagazine.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  10. 1 2 Estill, Jim (September 12, 2016). "How did I grow sales from zero to billions? Simple, really". cnbc.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  11. ↑ Reinhart, Anthony (November 22, 2012). "Communitech at 15: A parent's (a.k.a. board chair's) perspective". communitech.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  12. ↑ Sutton, Neil (August 25, 2003). "EMJ buys Canadian Daisytek operation". itbusiness.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  13. ↑ Ohashi, Kevin (May 6, 2010). ""…grew this business out of the trunk of his car to $350,000,000 in sales"". businessinterviews.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  14. ↑ "SYNNEX and EMJ Announce Business Combination to Create New Distribution Leader". synnex.com. June 14, 2004. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  15. ↑ "Patents by Inventor James Estill". December 31, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  16. ↑ O'Flanagan, Rob (July 28, 2016). "Danby to make products in Canada again". guelphtoday.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Well.ca Partners with Maple Leaf Angels to Solidify its Leadership in Canada's Online Drugstore Market". newswire.ca. April 17, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  18. ↑ McQuiggie, Michelle (November 27, 2015). "Jim Estill, Guelph Businessman, Sponsoring 50 Syrian Families, Rallies Town". huffingtonpost.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  19. ↑ Silverberg, David (October 7, 2019). "This boss paid $1m to bring refugee families to his town". BBC News. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  20. ↑ La Rose, Lauren (October 13, 2019). "Guelph's Jim Estill giving hundreds of refugees a fresh start in Canada". UNHCR Canada. Retrieved February 11, 2020.
  21. ↑ Mann, Mark (December 22, 2016). "Q&A: Jim Estill, who's sponsoring 58 Syrian refugee families, on what's next". torontolife.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  22. ↑ Rutledge, Lisa (January 7, 2016). "Cambridge family reaches threshold to sponsor Syrian refugees". cambridgetimes.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.