Vancouver - Dr. William Sauder has been named the recipient of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004 Pacific Lifetime Achievement award. The prestigious award was presented to Mr. Sauder at a ceremony and banquet in Vancouver on September 27.
As chairman and former CEO of International Forest Products (Interfor) and Sauder Industries Limited, Mr. Sauder has directed his companies' growth in logging, sawmill operations, wood product innovation and marketing. His business experience has also included membership on the board of directors of TD Bank Financial Group, the B.C. Development Corporation and B.C. Hydro.
In the community, Mr. Sauder and his family have provided significant long-term funding to a number of initiatives related to childhood disease and heart research. As a graduate of the University of British Columbia, the university has been the focus of much of Mr. Sauder's philanthropy. UBC's Faculty of Commerce was, last year, renamed the Sauder School of Business in recognition of his making the largest donation ever to a Canadian business school. A former chancellor and chairman of the board of governors, Mr. Sauder received an honorary Doctor of Laws from UBC in 1990.
Now in its 11th year, in Canada, the Entrepreneur Of The Year program was founded by Ernst & Young to celebrate great entrepreneurs and to heighten awareness of the economic impact of entrepreneurial ventures. The program is nationally sponsored by Global Television Network, National Post, La Presse and RDI. Pacific region sponsors are: Western Economic Diversification Canada , BC Business Magazine and, The Vancouver Sun. More information on the program is available at www.eoy.ca.
