John Bragg (businessman)
John L. Bragg | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 3, 1940 |
| Nationality | Canadian |
John L. Bragg, OC ONS (born May 3, 1940) is a Canadian businessman and former Chancellor of Mount Allison University.
Early life and education
The Bragg family has called Nova Scotia home for 180 years.[1] John was born in Springhill, Nova Scotia, he received a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Bachelor of Education degree from Mount Allison University.
Career
He is the Chairman, President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Frozen Foods Limited, a food manufacturer which he founded in 1968 and operates the largest fruit farm in the world, with over 12,000 acres (49 km²) of wild blueberries.[2] He also founded a cable television company in the 1970s which became known as Bragg Communications and was subsequently expanded to become EastLink.
Bragg built his first blueberry-processing factory in 1968, and the business is still experiencing double-digit growth today. In 2015, Bragg opened a new facility in Saint-Isidore, New Brunswick, that is considered to "the most modern blueberry processing facility in the world." It can process up to 1.5 million pounds of blueberries per day.[1]
Bragg had a net worth of $1.11 billion CDN in 2015.[3]
He was ranked No. 86 in Canadian Business's list of Canada's richest people in 2017.
Community involvement
He is a director of TD Bank Financial Group, Canada Bread Limited, Empire Company Limited and Sobeys Inc.[4]
Recognition
In 1996, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.[5] In 1994, he was awarded the National Entrepreneur of the Year Award by the Governor General of Canada Ray Hnatyshyn.[6]
Bragg and his business empire were the subject of a lengthy interview/profile in The Globe and Mail, which observed that "Beneath the veneer of the rural blueberry baron, there is one tough, risk-taking tycoon with an ardour for growth, game-changing technology, and debt financing."[7]
Personal life
He and wife Judy have four children: Lee, Matthew, Carolyn and Patricia, all of whom have worked or now work in the business.
References
- ^ a b "Canada's Richest People: John Bragg". Canadian Business. December 24, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ "About Oxford Frozen Foods". Archived from the original on 2006-03-22. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "TD Bank Financial Group - Corporate Directors". Retrieved May 29, 2006.
- ^ Order of Canada citation
- ^ "House of Commons Hansard". Archived from the original on April 21, 2005. Retrieved May 29, 2006.
- ^ "Blueberry and fibre optic tycoon John Bragg: The Oracle of Oxford, N.S." Toronto Globe and Mail. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
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- 1940 births
- Living people
- Canadian businesspeople
- Canadian university and college chancellors
- Canadian people of English descent
- Mount Allison University alumni
- Officers of the Order of Canada
- People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
- Directors of Toronto-Dominion Bank
- Agriculture in Nova Scotia
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