Power, every business leader wants it. It allows us to fulfill our dreams, make friends and influence people, get our texts answered right after they’re sent and have our phone calls answered on the first ring.
It’s about getting access to people in positions of authority.
But not all power is the same. The head of a family-run business can wield power for much longer than the CEO of a publicly-traded company, who has to answer to shareholders every year. There are politicians on this list, too, but while they’re setting policies that have a direct impact on business in the province, it can all be undone after the next election if they or their party—or both—lose the next election.
So, who holds power in our province? Quite often, they’re excellent business people who have shown impeccable judgment and timing over their careers. They’re often very well off. Some could be accused of being born on third base but thinking they hit a triple.
This is our first edition of the Manitoba Inc. Power 30 but we’ll be the first to admit that it’s not an exact science. We have compiled this list in consultation with writers, editors, business people and other sources. It has been fluid since the beginning, with some people included in the first version, removed in a subsequent iteration and put back on in the final.
Are there problems with it? Sure there are. For starters, there aren’t enough women on it, nor are there enough people of visible minorities. Unfortunately, that’s a reflection of the business community, which sometimes moves at a glacial pace.
You might think we’re bang on with some of our choices and dead wrong with others and you’d be right. If we solicited the same list from 10,000 business people in Manitoba, we’d get 10,000 different lists. In our Summer issue, we’re going to have a couple more lists—the top five power couples in the province and the top five people up-and-comers to watch.
Mark Chipman, executive chairman, True North Sports + Entertainment
The man who spearheaded the return of NHL hockey to Winnipeg in 2011 has spent most of the last decade virtually walking on water. He first established his street cred in 1995 as part of the Save The Jets group and then buying the Minnesota Moose and moving them north. He has been called a saviour of downtown on numerous occasions, starting with the purchase of the Eaton’s building and subsequent construction of what is now the Canada Life Centre and most recently with True North’s purchase of the Portage Place Shopping Centre. The lustre has come off a little recently, highlighted by his comments to a Toronto reporter about attendance problems at Jets games the last couple of years but a 25-year honeymoon ain’t too bad.
Hartley Richardson, president and CEO, James Richardson & Sons, Limited
A cornerstone of the business community for decades, Richardson has rarely sought out the spotlight, preferring instead to wield his influence from his top-floor office in the Richardson Building or by sending a cheque to organizations in need. He is the seventh member of the family to run JRSL, one of the largest privately-run companies in the country, and he won’t be the last. He has reduced his public appearances in recent years but that doesn’t mean his phone calls aren’t picked up on the first ring.
Wab Kinew, premier of Manitoba
Fresh off his ground-breaking election in October, Kinew continues to enjoy his political honeymoon. The province’s first Indigenous premier is walking the walk with economic reconciliation while simultaneously rewriting history with the official recognition of Metis leader Louis Riel as Manitoba’s first premier. He probably has a few more months of being able to blame the spectacularly unpopular PC government for many financial and other problems but he’ll have to start owning things as he nears his first anniversary.
The Asper Family: Gail Asper, president of the Asper Foundation, and David Asper, owner of the Winnipeg Sea Bears basketball team
It has been more than two decades since the offspring of Izzy Asper were challenged with maintaining his widespread influence following his death in 2003 and they have definitely stepped up. Gail Asper is best known for her tireless fundraising work in getting the Canadian Museum for Human Rights built more than a decade ago. We might take it for granted because it has become such a recognizable part of our skyline, but remember that it’s the first national museum constructed outside of Ottawa. She is also the president of the Asper Foundation and noted philanthropist. Few people have the ability to inspire others the way she does, with her boundless energy, sense of humour and appreciation of all that is Manitoba.
David Asper first rose to prominence as a member of David Milgaard’s legal team, successfully having his wrongful murder conviction overturned in the early 1990s. He played a prominent role in the family’s media conglomerate for many years, has chaired the board of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and spearheaded the return of professional basketball to the city with the Winnipeg Sea Bears last summer.
Paul Mahon, CEO, Canada Life
The head of not only the biggest publicly-traded company in the province but the largest insurance company in the country, Mahon wields a big stick and regularly rubs shoulders with members of the legendary Desmarais family, whose wealth is well into the many billions of dollars through their holdings in Power Corp. and its subsidiaries, including Canada Life. He is one of the few business leaders who has worked his way up from the bottom rung, joining the company right after graduating from St. Paul’s High School in the early 1980s, working in marketing and with advisors.
Paul Soubry, CEO, NFI Group
Soubry has been at the helm of what used to be called New Flyer Industries for 15 years. He has led the charge on a number of acquisitions, including Winnipeg-based Motor Coach Industries in 2015. Today, the company has more than 7,500 employees in nine countries. A graduate of the Asper School of Business, Soubry spearheaded the school’s “Front and Centre” capital campaign, which raised $626 million. He is a director on a number of boards, including the one headed by the No. 1 person on this list.
Ash Modha, CEO, Mondetta Clothing
Sure, people of a certain generation continue to associate Modha with the uber-popular world flag sweatshirts of the mid- to late-1980s but the company has diversified into a number of other markets, including private label and its lifestyle brand, Mondetta Performance Gear, which is activewear for athletes and dancers. Over the years, Mondetta has outfitted a significant number of Olympic athletes and it designed the uniform program for Canada’s athletes at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
Scott Gillingham, mayor of Winnipeg
He doesn’t have the business credentials of his two more recent predecessors—Brian Bowman, a veteran lawyer, and Sam Katz, one-time music promoter and longtime minor league baseball owner—but he was very well received by the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce luncheon crowd for his State of the City address in February. He has called on the business community to step up with their support of the homeless problem in Winnipeg.
Jeff Goy, president and CEO, Wawanesa Insurance
Celebrating his 10-year anniversary as president and CEO of Wawanesa, Goy runs a company that is helping reshape downtown Winnipeg as it changes the city’s skyline. Wawanesa christened its new 21-storey environmentally sustainable office tower in True North Square last year. At the same time, it announced $500,000 in funding for downtown revitalization, including $450,000 for the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ’s environmental team.
Kevin Donnelly, senior vice-president of venues & entertainment, True North Sports + Entertainment
It took him a few decades but he finally landed his personal albino rhino—Bruce Springsteen—who will bring his three-hour show to Canada Life Centre in November. The highest-profile member of True North’s senior management team to work the room at virtually every event, Donnelly is responsible for bringing the biggest names in entertainment to town, including hometown boy Neil Young to Blue Cross Park in July.
And onto the next 20 in alphabetical order.
Michael Bennaroch, president, University of Manitoba
Benarroch could very easily have been on this list when he was the dean of the Asper School of Business from 2011 to 2017. When you’re running the largest post-secondary institution in the province, you’re overseeing the future. The present isn’t too shabby, either, as the U of M’s recent Economic Impact Study shows the total economic impact associated with the university was $7.3 billion in 2022-23.
Michelle Cameron, founder, Dreamcatcher Promotions
Cameron has built the largest Indigenous-owned promotional company in Canada and one of the largest promotional companies in Winnipeg with a staff of 55. Her sister company, Indigenous Nations Apparel Co. Is the first Indigenous-owned store at CF Polo Park mall. She is also co-chair of the Indigenous Chamber of Commerce.
Jerry Daniels, Grand Chief, Southern Chiefs’ Organization (SCO)
Daniels is overseeing one of the most crucial redevelopments in downtown Winnipeg’s history. Two years ago, SCO announced it had acquired the Hudson Bay Company’s iconic building at the corner of Portage Ave and Memorial Blvd. The Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn Project will transform the heritage building into a space for economic and social reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Mark Dufresne, CEO of the Dufresne Group
How many entrepreneurs can build a single store in Kenora, Ont. into an international behemoth with more than $1 billion in annual sales? We all know Dufresne’s presence in Manitoba but did you know the company is one of the biggest furniture retailers in Texas?
Carly Edmundson, president and CEO of CentrePort Canada
Edmundson oversees the largest inland port in North America, which connects from land adjacent to the Richardson International Airport to national and international trade corridors. It is the only port of its kind in Canada with direct access to truck, rail and air cargo. With hundreds of millions of dollars worth of building permits issued in the past few years, CentrePort is a major driver of the Manitoba economy.
Greg Fettes, co-founder and executive chair, IntouchCX
The company formerly known as 24-7 Intouch is perhaps the highest-profile non-traditional business represented on this list. Starting out as a small telephone answering service more than 20 years ago, it grew by leveraging web technology to service e-commerce clients. Today it provides “customer experience” services for large, brand name companies, including on the phone and via social media, in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
Benjamin Graham, president and CEO, Blue Cross Manitoba
Graham runs the Winnipeg-based not-for-profit health benefits company that provides health, dental, employee assistance, life, disability and travel coverage for more than half a million Manitobans. Blue Cross has donated more than $30 million to a variety of causes around the province related to wellness, mental health, diversity and community development. Graham may even throw out the first pitch at a Winnipeg Goldeyes game at the
newly-minted Blue Cross Park.
John Heimbecker, owner, Parrish & Heimbecker
If you ever doubted that there’s money in farming, remember that the 115-year-old grain giant is headquartered at Portage and Main. The company has branched out across every element of the industry—flour milling, feed milling, grain marketing, transportation and logistics—and has about 1,500 employees in Canada and the northern U.S. as well as trade links around the globe.
Tina Jones, owner, Jones & Company Wine Merchants, and chair, Health Sciences Centre Foundation
A high-profile entrepreneur, community contributor and philanthropist, Jones has had to invest in several trophy cases. Among her many accolades is being named one of Canada’s most powerful women by the Women’s Executive Network and she has also been honoured as one of the Nellie McClung Manitoba 150 Woman Trailblazers.
Pamela Kolochuk, CEO, Peak of the Market
Kolochuk replaced Larry Mcintosh as the head of the grower-owned business in 2021 following his 27-year run. As supply chains become increasingly important, Peak produces and markets vegetables to retailers through Western Canada and across the U.S.
Isha Khan, CEO, Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Khan runs the only national museum located outside of Ottawa in a building that makes a unique contribution to the Winnipeg skyline. With two major wars going on in different parts of the world plus many others that are no longer getting media attention, the need to preserve and celebrate human rights has never been greater.
Bob Mazer, president and CEO, Mazergroup
The farm equipment dealership company is a mainstay of the Brandon business community. Its 18 locations across Manitoba and southern Saskatchewan offer agricultural, construction and commercial turf equipment service to an often underappreciated sector of society—farmers. Mazer has been a long-term supporter of trades programming at Assiniboine Community College and isn’t one to sit on his chequebook.
Dan McConnell, CEO, The North West Company
McConnell heads up one of Canada’s most significant retailers with more than 160 locations across the country, many of which are in northern regions, plus more than 40 more in places such as Alaska and the Cayman Islands. North West is the largest employer of Indigenous people in Canada.
Gerry Price, chairman and CEO, Price Industries
Price has never been one to seek out the spotlight, as he built his company into the largest manufacturer of HVAC products in North America over the last 35 years. But it’s impossible to stay in the shadows when you’re about to be feted with the International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award by the Associates at the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba on May 30.
Mike Pyle, CEO, Exchange Income Corp.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a company that has diversified its operations the way EIC has—it provides scheduled airline and charter services and cargo handling on one hand and manufacturers stainless steel tanks and distributes pressure washing cleaning equipment on the other. It’s all combined for more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue and one of the most dependable dividend stories around.
Bob Silver, president and co-owner, Western Glove Works
The most likely member on this list to show up at a meeting wearing an Indian Motorcycle long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans, Silver prefers to keep a low profile compared to many of his counterparts. That was impossible when he was the chair of the United Way campaign and chair of what is now Economic Development Winnipeg, but as the co-owner of the Winnipeg Free Press, the largest independently-owned newspaper in Canada, you’ll mostly likely find him sitting near the back of annual general meetings than making presentations at the front.
Bram Strain, president and CEO, Business Council of Manitoba
With the exception of the premier and mayor, Strain has more public sector experience than anybody else on this list plus a Rolodex that would be the envy of anybody in the private sector. He runs the non-partisan advocate for economic activities and growth in the province. It has 100 members, including all of the largest private-sector employees in the province. His board includes three members on this list—Tina Jones, Ash Modha and Mike Pyle.
The Tallman family, owners of Princess Auto, TransCanada Brewing and Empty Cup coffee shops
Marc and Mathew Tallman, grandsons of Princess Auto founder Harvey, have operated in relative anonymity despite owning a tool and equipment retailer with some of the most rabid fans in Canada. But that’s all a thing of the past since they negotiated the naming rights for the home field of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. How long until TCB beer and Empty Cup coffee are available at Princess Auto Stadium?
Peter Tielmann, president and CEO, Palliser Furniture
It used to be that you’d rarely use the words “furniture” and “technology” in the same sentence, but the leader of the largest residential furniture manufacturer in Canada is changing that. Front and centre at Palliser’s new Studio concept is an interactive designer, allowing consumers to use 3D technology to create their own furniture. Family-owned Palliser’s head office is in North Kildonan, has more than 2,000 employees and operations in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
Curt Vossen, CEO, Richardson International
In keeping with the Richardson corporate culture, Vossen keeps a relatively low profile relative to his clout in the province. He has been a strong voice over the years on a number of organizations, including the Business Council of Canada, Manitoba Business Council and the Premier’s Economic Advisory Board. He runs Canada’s largest agribusiness and a worldwide handler and merchandiser of all major Canadian-grown grains and oilseeds. He oversees more than 3,000 employees around the globe.
