2017 Business Laureates of British Columbia Hall of Fame Inductees

Over two decades, Mr. McLernon guided Colliers through some 60 acquisitions, mergers, and start-ups in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe. Ritchie was seen by his contemporaries as a business man with uncanny intuition and instinct. This knack proved invaluable in an industry notorious for its variability and uncertainty.

John McLernon

Honorary Chair and Co-founder, Colliers International

John McLernon is co-founder of Colliers Macaulay Nicolls Group of Companies (now Colliers International) and currently serves as its Honorary Chair. He served as CEO from 1977 to 2002 and Chair from 1985 to 2004. Over two decades, Mr. McLernon guided Colliers through some 60 acquisitions, mergers, and startups in the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe. By his retirement in 2004, Colliers had grown from a single city, province, and country business to a global business operating in 65 countries.

Mr. McLernon started his career with Canadian Pacific in Montreal before moving to Vancouver in 1970 to eventually head the Western development arm of its real estate subsidiary, Marathon Realty. He joined Macaulay Nicolls Maitland in 1977.

Mr. McLernon is currently Chair of A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund, City Office REIT and Village Farms International, all public companies. Mr. McLernon was also Chair of BC Rail (2001-2010) and BC Lottery Company (2006-2013) both Provincial Crown Corporations. He has also served as a director of The Vancouver Opera and the Vancouver Art Gallery. He is Director and Advisor to many private companies including Canadian Urban Limited and the Mark Anthony Group as well as non-profit organizations. He is currently Chair of StreetoHome Foundation, and is a past vice Chair of the Vancouver Foundation and a past Chair of Brentwood College School.

Mr. McLernon has been awarded two Queen Elizabeth Jubilee medals and the Province of BC Community Achievement Award for his work with StreetoHome Foundation. He is a graduate of Bishops College School and McGill University.

Richard “Ritchie” Nelson (1898-1983) Founder and Chairman, Nelson Bros. Fisheries Ltd.

Richard Nelson was born in northern Norway to a family of fishermen and farmers. Around the 1890s the cod fishery collapsed, creating financial hardship in the region. The Nelson family immigrated to Canada and arrived in British Columbia in 1910, settling in the Sunbury area of Delta on the shores of the Fraser River.

Mr. Nelson (Ritchie) was drawn to the Fraser River from the outset. Beginning with net repairs, he quickly gravitated to fishing. At age 14, using a makeshift net and an old rowboat he had repaired, he started gillnetting on the river. He and his brother Ralph spent summers gillnetting salmon in and around the river while Ritchie attended school the rest of the year.

After studying Business at Pacific Lutheran College in Everett, Washington, Ritchie scanned the coast for opportunities. He was drawn to fish buying--the ability to make a cent or two per pound between buying and selling.

By 1920, Richie and his brother Norman owned and operated two packing vessels, buying troll salmon on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, and packing and selling them in Seattle. The operation soon moved ashore, as fish-buying stations were established in Bamfield and Kyuquot on the West Coast. This was the real beginning of Nelson Bros. Fisheries Ltd.

By the early 1930s Nelson Bros. had added a pilchard processing plant on the West Coast and four seine boats. The business was growing, with Ritchie serving as President and business manager, while Norman focused on the fishing grounds. A Howe Street office was established. Ritchie was seen by his contemporaries as a business man with uncanny intuition and instinct. This knack proved invaluable in an industry notorious for its variability and uncertainty.

By the 1950s the Nelson Bros. fleet, including company-owned vessels and those owned by independent fishermen, numbered about 1,000. Approximately 3,000 fishermen operated these boats. A fleet of packing vessels transported the catch of salmon, herring, pilchards, and other species to the company’s major processing plants on the Fraser River, in Port Edward (near Prince Rupert), and in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The “Paramount” label was established to differentiate and value-add Nelson Bros.’ canned salmon in the Canadian market.

Amongst the Nelson Bros. corps of fishermen were many First Nations harvesters, whose fishing acumen was obvious to Ritchie. His support for First Nations fishermen--both appointing Natives to skipper company boats and provision of financial support to independent Indian fishermen-earned him an honorary Chief distinction by the Tlingit Nation of Alaska: Chief Big Fin.

While steering Nelson Bros., Ritchie also contributed to resource conservation, acting as Commissioner on both the International Pacific Halibut Commission and the International Pacific Salmon Commission. His substantial community involvement included serving on the Boards of the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, the Pacific National Exhibition, and the New Westminster Police Department. He was also highly active in the Shriners of North America, an organization providing free medical care for needy children.

In addition to business and community work, Ritchie was an avid outdoorsman and a devoted family man. He made a mark on countless fishermen, plant workers, family, friends, and all who crossed his path. His boundless energy and engaging personality helped make him the industry icon he became.