An Evening of Celebration in Vancouver

On Thursday, June 13, we hosted a celebratory dinner in Vancouver to honor two extraordinary leaders in the Canadian business community. The event recognized the unparalleled commitment to excellence and innovation by Darrell Jones and Don Lindsay. The evening was marked by heartfelt speeches, captivating entertainment, and a room full of distinguished guests eager to celebrate these remarkable individuals.

Darrell Jones, Canadian Business Leader of the Year

Darrell Jones embarked on his 48-year career in the food business in Cranbrook, British Columbia as a retail grocery clerk at the local Overwaitea store. From there, his career advanced through a series of progressively senior operating roles in 23 stores and communities with Save-On-Foods. In 2012, Darrell was promoted to president of Save-On-Foods, where his frankness, charisma and business savvy guided the strategic development of the company, and in 2021, Darrell was named president of the newly-formed Pattison Food Group.

Darrell has culled a wealth of experience over more than four decades in the grocery industry, and he enthusiastically leads an increasingly diverse team of more than 30,000 people known for innovation, customer service and industry leadership in more than 150 Western Canadian communities and the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

He was joined for the evening by his wife and both of his children.

Don Lindsay, Canadian Business Leader Lifetime Achievement Honouree

Don Lindsay began his career as an underground labourer at a uranium mine in Northern Saskatchewan. After completing his education at Queen’s University and spending several years working in mining operations, followed by an MBA from Harvard, Don worked his way through the ranks of executive leadership with CIBC World Markets, then Canada’s largest investment bank, and ultimately was appointed President.

Don Lindsay joined Teck Resources Limited as President in January 2005 and assumed the additional responsibility of Chief Executive Officer in April 2005. He stepped down as CEO in September 2022 and remained as advisor to the Board and management until May 31, 2023 when he retired from the company. He is currently a Director of BHP Group Limited, Chair of the Board of Manulife Financial Corporation, as well as Chair of the Invictus Games Vancouver-Whistler 2025.

He was joined for the evening by his wife and three daughters.

We were privileged to have Dave Martone join us again to provide entertainment during our cocktail reception, and he was later joined on stage by Kadabra Band to provide instrumental entertainment as our guests enjoyed coffee and tea between award presentations.

We were thrilled to have Robin Gill join us as Master of Ceremonies for the evening! For 27 years, Robin Gill was on the airwaves as a journalist at both the national and local level. In her role as Global National correspondent and anchor, she served Canadians across the country in delivering major stories, which included the pandemic, the floods and fires in British Columbia, and countless federal elections. Her journalism career has taken her to reporting stints in Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. In 2022, Robin switched careers and took on the role of Vice President at Talk Shop Media where she consulted for major Canadian companies and non-profit organizations. Robin now spends her time communications consulting, media training and freelancing as a radio talk show host. 

We would like to extend a special thank you to the Fairmont Pacific Rim and all of our event sponsors.