Keith Beedie is the Beedie Development Group founder, chairman and CEO. But when you interview him at the NAIOP "Lunch with an Icon," people are hungry so titles must be dropped; instead, the man interviewing him just called him "dad."
Don't worry, it made sense, because the man with the mic was company prez Ryan Beedie. At the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, the chat explored Keith's career, as the company celebrates its 60th anniversary. "People got a solid glimpse of a man who lacks ego and pretense, who is as happy and curious as he was when he was a little kid,"says Ryan. Says NAIOP executive director Darlene Hyde: "What emerged was a picture of an honest, hard-working individual with a vision."
Keith talked about starting his business in Burnaby in the 1950s. He also conveyed many lessons--one of the themes was good old hard work, that his word was his bond, and the importance of loyalty and trust. Some Beedie employees have been with the company for 40 years. There was a live Twitter feed throughout the proceedings where people could also participate. (Someone claimed to have been Beedie's Twitter monitor 40 year ago, but for some reason we're skeptical.)
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