Jim Estill

Last updated
Jim Estill
CM OOnt
Jim Estill - Entrepreneur & Philanthropist.jpg
Born (1957-04-08) April 8, 1957 (age 67)
Nationality Canadian
Education University of Waterloo
OccupationCEO of Danby Appliances Inc. (2015–present)
Website
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimestill/

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] , an Everyday Heroes Award from the Global Hope Coalition in 2017 [5] , and was named to the Order of Canada in July 2018. [6] In 2019, Estill was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® in Ontario. [7] In October 2024, Estill was awarded the prestigious King Charles III Coronation Medal, a significant recognition of his outstanding contributions to doing the right thing as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. [8]

Contents

Education

Estill studied engineering at the University of Waterloo, graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Design Engineering. While at the University of Waterloo, he started the first recycling program on campus at Waterloo Cooperative Residence Inc (WCRI). He received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Guelph in 2018 [9] , an Honorary Degree from Humber College in 2023, [10] and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waterloo in 2024. [11]

Business career

1980-1999

In his final year of university, he started his first company, EMJ Data Systems. Operating with very modest means, Estill sold computer equipment and software, soon transitioning into distribution. [12] The business grew quickly, became publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, and withstood that era's downturn in the IT industry.

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. [13] That same year, Estill joined the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) [14] , co-founded the Great Lakes Chapter of YPO, and remains a member of the CNBC-YPO Chief Executive Network. [15]

In 1997, Estill acted as one of the founding members of Communitech., [11] an organization devoted to helping tech companies grow and find their place in the market. That same year, he served as a founding board member of Research in Motion/BlackBerry, before the company went public. He remained with the organization until 2010.

2000-2009

In 2003, EMJ purchased the Canadian operations of DaisyTek Canada, doubling their distribution size to more than $350 million in consolidated revenue. [16] At its height, EMJ had 350 employees and $350 million in annual sales. [17]

In June 2004, Synnex Canada purchased EMJ Data Systems for $56 million. [18] 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. [15]

Estill entered the world of blogging in the spring of 2005 with CEO Blog—Time Leadership, which documented his philosophies on leadership and time management.

2010-2020

In 2010, Estill 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. During this time, Estill also served on the advisory board of OMERS Ventures, one of Canada's largest pension funds.

In April 2013, Estill spoke about his success in the business world in a TEDx Talk called "Zero to $2 Billion" in New York City.

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.

In 2015, Estill came out of semi-retirement to assume the post of CEO at Guelph, Ontario-based Danby Products. [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. [19]

2020- present

In August 2023, Jim Estill announced the purchase of the Valcom Companies ("Valcom") including Valcom Manufacturing, a distinguished manufacturing business specializes in antennas for military and commercial applications, and Valcom Consulting, a provider of professional placement services to the Canadian Public Sector. This acquisition reinforced Valcom's long-standing presence both in Guelph and Ottawa. [20]

In January 2024, Jim Estill officially became the owner of Arctic Snowplows, a 55-year-old manufacturer of plows, plow-related equipment and spreaders, with facilities in London, Burlington, and Pointe-Claire, Que. [17] This acquisition strengthened Estill's presence in the manufacturing sector, aligning with his commitment to keeping skilled trades in Canada.

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, [8] Printeron, Miovision, Clearpath Robotics, Postrank, Touch Bistro, Spicer, Inex, and Border Networks.

Patents

Jim Estill has been granted 10 patents, mostly in the appliance area. [21] This online listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Author

Jim has written two ebooks:

Time Leadership – Lessons from a CEO. The 77-page eBook provides the necessary tools to master efficiency and effectiveness skills.

Zero to $2 Billion: The Marketing and Branding Story Behind the Growth, the ebook is a compilation of marketing articles and blog entries written by Estill over many years.

Philanthropy

In 2015, Estill grew distressed by the humanitarian crisis in Syria. Frustrated by the Canadian government's slow response, Estill decided in November 2015 to sponsor the immigration of 50 Syrian families to Guelph, Ontario. This worked out to a personal cost of about $1.5 million Canadian. [22] He rallied church groups and 800 volunteers across the city and worked closely with the Islamic community. [23] Estill has now sponsored 87 families for resettlement. [24]

When asked why he decided to pursue this, Estill replied "Imagine going to work and discovering that your office isn't there anymore. Imagine going home from work and your home isn't there and you've heard that a cousin has been killed. People were living in fear and helping them come to Canada, a place of safety, was the right thing to do." [7]

To achieve his ambitious goal, Estill decided to use the organizational skills he had developed over his long business career. After meeting with local clergy and related organizations, he budgeted that each Syrian family would need between $25,000-30,000 Canadian for life essentials over a one-year period. [25]

For assistance, Estill called upon the Lakeside Church, the Salvation Army, Guelph's Roman Catholic community, the Muslim Society of Guelph [26] and Welcome In Drop-in Centre, as well as friends and business associates. Arrangements were put in place to provide apartments, clothing, and English language instruction. Using his business network connections, Estill also helped to arrange employment and career counselling. More than 800 local volunteers were registered and donated their time to the project. [27]

Although it was hoped that the Syrian families would begin arriving by the end of 2015, this stalled by February 2016 when the Canadian government met its announced quota of bringing 25,000 Syrian refugees into the country. This led to problems storing donated items as the spaces would soon become unavailable. By the end of June, only 13 of the 50 planned families had settled in Guelph. [28]

However, things soon improved and 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. [29]

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. [30]

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. [6]

In 2021, Estill founded Circle Home Furniture Bank, a charity organization that accepts donations of gently used furniture and housewares that are distributed to newcomers to Canada that are settling in Guelph and surrounding area. From 2021-2023, Circle Home provided support to hundreds of newcomer families from Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Syria with the furniture and housewares they needed. Estill currently sits on the Board of Directors.

Awards and recognition

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Waterloo</span> Canadian university, predecessor founded 1956

The University of Waterloo is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on 404 hectares of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates three satellite campuses and four affiliated university colleges. The university offers academic programs administered by six faculties and thirteen faculty-based schools. Waterloo operates the largest post-secondary co-operative education program in the world, with over 20,000 undergraduate students enrolled in the university's co-op program. Waterloo is a member of the U15, a group of research-intensive universities in Canada.

<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">Cambridge, Ontario</span> City in Ontario, Canada

Cambridge is a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, located at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers. The city had a population of 138,479 as of the 2021 census. Along with Kitchener and Waterloo, Cambridge is one of the three core cities of Canada's tenth-largest metropolitan area.

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

Wellington County is a county and census division located in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The county consists of two towns and five townships, with its seat in the City of Guelph, which is geographically within the county but administered independently. According to the 2021 census, the population of the census division was 241,026.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conestoga College</span> Public college in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning is a public college located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

The Brampton Board of Trade is a business organization founded in Brampton, Ontario, in 1887. It engages in government lobbying, member discounts, and networking. It previously organized the Brampton Santa Claus Parade (1985-2017).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ted Arnott</span> Canadian politician

Theodore Calvin Arnott is a Canadian politician who was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on September 6, 1990, representing the Riding of Wellington. He is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and represents the Riding of Wellington—Halton Hills in the Ontario Legislature. Arnott has served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario during the 42nd and 43rd Parliaments of Ontario.

<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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Guelph</span> Public university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada

The University of Guelph is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald Institute (1903), and the Ontario Veterinary College (1922), and has since grown to an institution of almost 30,000 students and employs 830 full-time faculty as of fall 2019. It offers 94 undergraduate degrees, 48 graduate programs, and 6 associate degrees in many different disciplines.

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">Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League</span> Canadian junior ice hockey league founded 2007

The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL) is a Canadian junior ice hockey league based in Southern Ontario, Canada. The league is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association, Ontario Hockey Federation, and Hockey Canada. The league is considered Junior B by the OHA, although it has attempted several times to be promoted to Junior A.

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">Mike Schreiner</span> Canadian politician

Michael John Schreiner is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Green Party of Ontario since 2009. Schreiner sits as a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP), representing Guelph; his 2018 election made him the first Green Party member elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Tri-Pride, stylized tri-Pride, is an annual non-profit lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Pride festival in the Waterloo Region of Ontario, encompassing the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo. Prior to the launch of Guelph Pride in 2003, the event also included the city of Guelph.

The Ontario University Athletics (OUA) came into being in 1997 with the merger of the Ontario Universities Athletics Association and the Ontario Women's Intercollegiate Athletics Association. This is similar to what would be called a college athletic conference in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverside Park (Guelph)</span> Park in Ontario, Canada

Riverside Park is an 80-acre (32-hectare) park located by the northern part of Woolwich Street in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It is built around a portion of the Speed River that runs through Guelph.

Cam Guthrie is a Canadian politician serving as the 60th and current mayor of Guelph since December 1, 2014. In the 2022 Ontario municipal elections, he was re-elected mayor for a third term.

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.

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.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  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 3 "The 2016 Appointees to the Order of Ontario". news.ontario.ca. December 14, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Everyday Heroes". Global Hope Coalition. September 18, 2017. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "Guelph's Jim Estill, Peter Irwin named to Order of Canada". Guelph Today. July 1, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Ball, Vincent (June 15, 2016). "Successful CEO no fan of meetings". brantfordexpositor.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  8. 1 2 "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.
  9. ↑ "Jim Estill shares his secret to his happiness during U of G convocation ceremony". Guelphtoday.com. June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Honorary Degree Recipients".
  11. 1 2 "Three distinguished individuals to be honoured at Fall 2024 Convocation".
  12. ↑ "Fail Often. Fail Fast. Fail Cheap". businessviewmagazine.com. July 6, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  13. 1 2 "Canada's Top 40 Under 40". uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  14. ↑ Richards, Sue (March 2004). "Better leaders through education and idea exchange" (PDF). exchangemagazine.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  15. 1 2 Estill, Jim (September 12, 2016). "How did I grow sales from zero to billions? Simple, really". cnbc.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  16. ↑ Sutton, Neil (August 25, 2003). "EMJ buys Canadian Daisytek operation". itbusiness.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  17. 1 2 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.
  18. ↑ "SYNNEX and EMJ Announce Business Combination to Create New Distribution Leader". synnex.com. June 14, 2004. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  19. ↑ O'Flanagan, Rob (July 28, 2016). "Danby to make products in Canada again". guelphtoday.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Patents by Inventor James Estill". December 31, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Patents by Inventor Jim Estill".
  22. ↑ McQuiggie, Michelle (November 27, 2015). "Jim Estill, Guelph Businessman, Sponsoring 50 Syrian Families, Rallies Town". huffingtonpost.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  23. 1 2 Silverberg, David (2019-10-07). "This boss paid $1m to bring refugee families to his town". BBC News. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  24. ↑ La Rose, Lauren (2019-10-13). "Guelph's Jim Estill giving hundreds of refugees a fresh start in Canada". UNHCR Canada. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
  25. ↑ O'Flanagan, Rob (November 24, 2015). "Guelph businessman funds 50 Syrian refugee families". therecord. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Muslim Society of Guelph". Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  27. ↑ Coorish, Karolyn (January 2, 2017). "58 families, 800 volunteers: How one man runs refugee sponsorship like a business". ctvnews.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  28. ↑ Estill, Jim (July 5, 2016). "The Sponsors Built It, But The Refugees Didn't Come". policyoptions.irpp.org. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  29. ↑ 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.
  30. ↑ Rutledge, Lisa (January 7, 2016). "Cambridge family reaches threshold to sponsor Syrian refugees". cambridgetimes.ca. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Recipient gallery of the Alumni Achievement Medal". uwaterloo.ca. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Everyday Heroes | Global Hope Coalition". globalhcoalition.org. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
  33. ↑ GuelphToday Staff (July 1, 2018). "Guelph's Jim Estill, Peter Irwin named to Order of Canada". guelphtoday.com. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  34. ↑ "Faculty and alumni honoured by CAE | Engineering". Engineering. 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  35. ↑ "Jim Estill of Danby Appliances named EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2019 Ontario winner". www.ey.com. Retrieved 2022-12-02.
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.