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Jim Estill
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] EducationEstill studied engineering at the University of Waterloo, graduating in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems Design Engineering.[citation needed] Business career1980–1999In 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. 2000–2009In 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–presentIn 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 InvestorIn 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. PhilanthropyIn 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] References
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