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Peter H. Thomas

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Peter H. Thomas
Occupation(s)Philanthropist, Entrepreneur, Author, Public Speaker, Educator
SpouseRita
ChildrenTodd (deceased), Leanne

Peter H. Thomas, (born September 14, 1938, London, England) is a successful Canadian entrepreneur, author, public speaker and educator in the areas of entrepreneurship, leadership and values-based living. Thomas has three books to his credit, including Windows of Opportunity, Never Fight With a Pig, and LifeManual: A Proven Formula to Create the Life You Desire. Thomas was Founder and Chairman of Century 21 Real Estate Canada Ltd., Samoth Capital Corporation (now known as Sterling Centrecorp Inc.), and LifePilot [1].




Career

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Thomas served with the Canadian Army for seven years, from 1954 to 1961, seeing action at the Suez Canal as a member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons Reconnaissance Squadron.

Thomas is said to be credited by associates as being one of the world brand developers for Century 21 Real Estate. He was the Founder and Chairman of Century 21 Real Estate Canada Ltd., which developed into the largest real estate network in the country. At the time he sold the company in 1987, it had achieved $9 billion in annual sales and employed 8,500 sales representatives with 450 franchises.

In 1984, Thomas founded Samoth Capital Corporation (SCC), a North American real estate financial services company now known as Sterling Centrecorp Inc. He served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the publicly traded Toronto Stock Exchange Company from 1984-2001. In 2001 Thomas retired from active management of the company but still remains a major shareholder.

Thomas also led the development in year 2000 of the Four Seasons Resort and Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona facilitated through his US Real Estate Company, Thomas Pride International.

Inspired by a Young Presidents' Organization University in Hawaii in 1975, Thomas learned the power of recognizing what is important in life and setting one's priorities in accordance with that. Thomas has enjoyed one huge success after another, buying, selling and operating high-profile businesses. He has also experienced the challenge of almost losing it all in the early eighties when one of his major partners declared bankruptcy leaving him on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in loans. Thomas says he learned what the word “humility” meant when he worked for five years just to get his net worth to zero. He did not go bankrupt, paid all the loans off satisfactorily and considers these years the best “learning” times of his life. Thomas’ amazing existence was marred by a tragedy in 2000, when he lost his son, Todd, to suicide. Thomas focused his grief in a positive direction, and created a charitable organization called The Todd Thomas Foundation [2].

Thomas has given presentations on sales, entrepreneurship and leadership internationally all throughout his career. After his son’s death in 2000, Thomas decided to galvanize his method of values-based goal setting and share it with others. In 2001, Thomas started navigating his LifePilot workshops, teaching a self-directed process that empowers people to live a life in alignment with their values. The LifePilot Corporation was officially incorporated in November 2002 and LifePilot not-for-profit in March, 2004.


Presentations & Workshops

As an international motivator, public speaker and educator, Thomas has taught a variety of audiences including highly successful entrepreneurs, CEO’s, corporate staff, university students, university faculty and staff, high school students, athletic teams, military personnel, prisoners, married couples and families.


Corporate Highlights


• Lead Navigator: LifePilot Workshop - Families in Business Conference Campden Publishing, New York, NY
• Guest Lecturer: LifePilot Workshop - WCG International – Senior Management Vancouver, BC
• Guest Lecturer: LifePilot Workshop - The Keg Restaurants - Senior Management Vancouver, BC

Institutional Highlights


• Keynote Speaker: LifePilot Keynote - Leadership Through Values Royal Roads University – Victoria, BC
• Keynote Speaker: LifePilot Keynote - Leadership Through Values Entrepreneurs’ Organization European Conference - Lisbon, Portugal
• Guest Lecturer: LifePilot Workshop for Presidents’ Organization, Young Presidents’ Organization and Entrepreneurs’ Organization in HongKong, Hamburg, London, St. Moritz, Maui, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Phoenix, Dallas, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles
• Guest Lecturer: LifePilot Workshop - University of Victoria, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Arizona State University
• Guest Lecturer: LifePilot Workshop - Alberta Business Family Institute


Community Service Highlights


• Lead Navigator: LifePilot Workshop - Homes of Hope (http://hoh.ywamsandiegobaja.org) - San Diego, CA
• Lead Navigator: LifePilot Workshop for prisoners - Lower Buckeye Jail - Phoenix, AZ


Foundations

Thomas is the founder and chairman of the following foundations:

Thomas Foundation
The Thomas Foundation is a privately endowed foundation that financially supports the activities of children's causes throughout the United States and Canada

Todd Thomas Foundation [3]
The Todd Thomas Foundation is a foundation organized to celebrate and honor the life of Thomas' son Todd (1964-2000) who committed suicide by leaping to his death from the fourteenth floor of the New York Plaza Hotel. The goal of the foundation is to raise the awareness of the magnitude of mental illness and the effect it has on individuals as well as our society, to erase the stigma associated with it and to search for effective treatments.


Public & Community Involvement

• Current Chairman of the International Advisory Committee of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) 1985
• Current Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Thomas Foundation
• Current Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Todd Thomas Foundation
• Past Member of the Board of Directors of the Worlds Presidents' Organization (WPO)
• Past Chairman of the British Columbia Housing Commission
• Past Chairman of the British Columbia Building Corporation
• Past Chairman of the British Columbia Government Privatization Review Committee
• Past Director and Chairman of the Fundraising Committee for St. Michael's University School, Victoria, British Columbia


Bibliography

• Windows of Opportunity: 21 Steps to Successful Selling - 1984
• Never Fight with a Pig: A Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs - 1991
• LifeManual: A Proven Formula to Live the Life You Desire - 2005

Thomas has also written Passport to Business Success (1985) a small handbook to assist in charitable fundraising activities, and he has produced The Peter Thomas Sales Course, a sales training cassette program (1977)


Personal Life

Born in London England on September 14, 1938, Thomas came to Canada at age seven and was raised on a remote farm outside Perryvale, near Athabasca in northern Alberta.

Thomas had two children, Todd and Leanne, from his marriage to Donna Thomas from 1961 - 1986. Todd committed suicide at the age of 36 in 2000.

Thomas met Rita Thomas in 1987 and they married in 1995. The couple lives in Verbier, Switzerland and spends the balance of their time in British Columbia, Canada, and Phoenix, Arizona, USA.


References

http://www.sterlingcentrecorp.com
http://www.century21canada.com
http://www.lifepilot.org
Thomas, Peter, Never Fight with a Pig: A Survival Guide for Entrepreneurs, Macmillan, Toronto, ON, 1991.
Thomas, Peter, LifeManual: A Proven Formula to Live the Life You Desire, LifePilot Publications, Victoria, BC, 2005.


The Todd Thomas Foundation (http://www.toddthomasfoundation.org)
LifePilot (http://www.lifepilot.org)
LifeManual (http://www.lifemanual.com)

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