Junior Achievement Inducts Four Community Leaders To Business Hall Of Fame
MONCTON – Junior Achievement New Brunswick (JANB) inducted Steve Burns, Gaëtan Thomas, the late Woody Craig and his son John Craig to its Business Hall of Fame at its annual gala at Casino New Brunswick Tuesday night.
“They’re nominated for their business success first and foremost. But equally important is what they do for the communities in which they live and work…They’re great role models for what we’re trying to instill in our young people that go through JA,” said Connie Woodside, President and CEO of JANB.
Burns is a founding member of Bulletproof Solutions Inc., a cybersecurity company that employs 180 people. Leadership is Burns’ forte, having been named one of Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEOs for five consecutive years (2008-2012). He was also named the magazine’s Top 50 CEO Hall of Fame in 2008 as one of its youngest members.
Burns remains the CEO of Bulletproof after American firm GLI acquired it in 2016.
He said good leaders have to lead by example and learn from others.
“Never think you’re the smartest person in the room because if you are, then you’ve probably missed the whole idea of what a leader is,” he said. “Really, it’s about what you would want your people to do. If you’re prepared to put the effort in, they will follow you. You can’t buy trust and loyalty. You have to do that through hard work.”
He says his induction is a reflection of his team’s work.
“I’m really up here because of all the hard work the people I’ve worked with have done. I’m a small part of that at the end of the day.”
Also inducted is the late Woodford “Woody” Craig, who founded Craig Manufacturing Ltd. in Hartland in 1946, and his son John, who joined in 1976 and serves as the company’s CEO today.
Craig Manufacturing, with its 200 employees in Canada and the U.S., makes heavy equipment attachments for wheel loaders, excavators, dozers, and backhoes, among other things. In 2018, the company won a $25-million contract to build truck bodies for the Department of National Defense.
John Craig says having a long-lasting company takes commitment from the leadership team and the staff.
He says in entrepreneurship, it’s important to find something “you really are passionate about and you can feel good about yourself getting up.”
“And the other thing is, just never give up…We’re all going to have ups and downs, rainy days in our lives, so just be persistent and stay with it.”
The third inductee, Gaëtan Thomas, has served as NB Power’s president and CEO since 2010. But he started his career at NB Power as an employee.
As CEO, he was named one of Atlantic Business Magazine’s Top 50 CEO in 2015, 2016 and 2018. He wants to see a made-in-New Brunswick smart grid backed by customer-centric technology and workforce aimed at creating a greener province.
“Being creative and innovative works in any company even when you start from where I started. And what I keep reminding people is that an innovation culture is the only way you can be sustainable over time,” he said. “Be open-minded to changes. Be open-minded to learning – that’s key. I learn every day and I learn more from my mistakes than from my successes.”
“You have to do a lot of trial and error even in a corporation…because things change, and customer expectations change all the time. And there’s no business without customers,” he adds.
JANB is part of a national non-profit organization that aims to prepare and inspire youth to succeed in a global economy. It offers business education programs related to work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy for free to elementary, middle and high schools.
Nearly 800 people attended the gala, which is expected to raise around $250,000 to support JANB programs administered to more than 15,000 youth in the province.