Lessons learned on the path to success

Over 200 students gathered at the Asper School of Business Drake Centre on May 30th to meet face-to-face with a business icon, industry giant, prairie powerhouse and 2024 International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award (IDEA) recipient, Gerry Price [BSc/70, MSc/72, LLD/17]. The IDEA award is the premier event for The Associates of the Asper School of Business and celebrates entrepreneurial excellence internationally and locally.

Gerry Price, 2024 International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award (IDEA) recipient

The annual IDEA Student Presentation, hosted by the Asper School of Business and sponsored by The Associates, is a special event that brings remarkable award recipients to speak with students directly, recounting career success, challenges and stories. Or, as Price himself described it “lessons learned on the path to success.”

After an engaging presentation of Price’s journey from the beginnings of the company to North American expansion and becoming a leader in the market, students had the floor to ask about encouraging innovation, economic growth in a competitive landscape and why Price Industries’ home office lives right here in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

To the last, Price responded, “it’s my home. We support out home.”

He shared the tenets of the Price Way—how he does business—emphasizing that innovation is fundamental, service comes first and people come before profit. “Business is wealth creation where everyone—customers, employees, communities—wins,” he explained.

Above all, he advised students to balance that responsibility to with an unwavering commitment to innovation.

“Don’t shy away from the challenges that might cause a setback. It’s in the setback, the stumble, that you learn. The lessons learned aren’t at the end of the path; they’re on the path,” he said.

As the 2024 IDEA recipient, Price was selected for his impressive business achievements, dedication to philanthropy and steadfast support of student success at the Asper School of Business, the Price Faculty of Engineering and the University of Manitoba.

This year, the fortieth IDEA celebration, is marked by a special focus on the Price Student-Managed Investment Fund (PSMIF). The fund is part of an important campaign to raise $5M to support student success and experiential learning at Asper—an initiative that will have an immediate and lasting impact on students.

Through the PSMIF, Asper students will have the chance to put their knowledge into practice, gaining hands-on investment experience that will prepare them for career success. They will have the opportunity to network with accomplished alumni and industry leaders through the fund’s Board of Directors and Advisory Committee.

Beyond the experience of managing the fund, students benefit from the fund’s distributions, with 4% of the asset value reinvested in the Asper School of Business and going toward additional experiential learning opportunities, scholarships, bursaries and improvements to facilities.

Says Bruno Silvestre, Dean of the Asper School of Business, “Today and for years to come, investments in the Price Student-Managed Investment Fund will have a lasting and transformative impact on our students, on the province and the country as we train business leaders of the future. A gift to the fund is an amazing tribute to its namesake, Dr. Gerry Price. As Gerry himself said in his presentation: ‘Business should be for the greater good.’”

Whether in prestigious events and rooms of over 1,600 of Manitoba’s top business executives, to a packed classroom full of 200 eager students, success stories come from connecting and building pathways to success for the next generation, a mission that the Asper School of Business, The Associates and the 2024 IDEA recipient Gerry Price all support.

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Learn more about supporting experiential learning at the Asper School of Business through the Price Student-Managed Investment Fund here.

Emily Wilson