Jim Beingessner
From The Waterloo Way Wiki
James (Jim) Beingessner (born in Kitchener in 1939) is a retired entrepreneur and active philanthropist. Jim is the former president of B&W Heat Treating and the founding Chair of Canada’s Technology Triangle. Jim prides himself in his contribution to the community.
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Personal & Education
Jim and his wife Sandy have 5 successful children and 9 grandchildren. Jim received his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto in Math and Physics. He followed up his undergraduate degree with an MBA in finance and economics from the University of Toronto in 1962.
B&W Heat Treating
B&W Heat Treating was founded in 1945 in Kitchener by Jim’s father. Jim took over the company in 1965 after completing his MBA. Beingessner was a driving force in the success of B&W Heat Treating, expanding the company to 20 times its initial size and making B&W into Canada’s largest commercial heat treater. In 2002, Jim sold B&W to an international industry player based in the United States.
Volunteering
As a native to the Kitchener, Waterloo area, Jim has been actively involved in many local organizations allowing him to bring his years of formal business expertise and personal passion to assist these organizations in their development and prosperity:
• St. Mary’s Hospital : 10 years
• Kitchener Chamber of Commerce
• Children’s Aid Society: 3 years
• Canada’s Technology Triangle – Helping promote and develop the Tri-City area as one of the premier places for current and future business in the technical field.
• Government; Industry Labour Adjustment Practice : 3 years
• Federal Government Grants Commission
• Regional Chairman’s Task Force on Local Economy
• Laurier Board of Governor’s : 15 years, 9 years as the Vice – Chair
• President of Local Rotary Club
• Waterloo Region Social Resources Council
• Family and Children’s Services of Waterloo Region
Philosophy of Business, Motivations, and Entrepreneurial Advice
Jim believes that the foundation of business is understanding risk and managing risk. In order to grow, every firm must take risks in one way or another and to succeed companies need to evaluate the risk versus reward to put it in their favour. Jim believes a distinct line exists between gambling and risks, and those that effectively evaluate risk and avoid a pure gamble are those which succeed.
In addition to taking risks, Jim firmly believes the success of a business lies in the passions of the leaders. The leaders of a firm must have a passion stemming from something within, and must genuinely care about the success of the firm. All the education in the world cannot insulate a business leader who does not have a passion for his or her ideas and company goals. Jim acknowledges that this passion can arise from a variety of sources, perhaps wealth, status, freedom or common good, whatever the root of a leader’s passion is, good or bad, it must be present to succeed. In the end Jim says that his motivations are simply having fun and taking advantage of life. Being his own boss has allowed Jim to have a presence in many other areas of his life important to him, such as family and volunteering.
The Future for Jim Beingessner
Even with an extensive history in the business world, a decorated record of prestigious awards, and years of invaluable local volunteering, Jim has no intentions of stopping in the foreseeable future. Currently Jim sits on the boars of directors for Spirited Investors, a Tri-City venture capital firm aiming at developing local business in the Waterloo area. In addition to Spirited Investors, Jim is also spear-heading his own investment company which supports businesses that foster his own personal interests.
Awards and Designations
• Beingessner is the recipient of a variety of awards:
• Distinguished Governor Award – Wilfrid Laurier University (2008)
• Canada’s 125th Anniversary Commemorative Medal (1998)
• Queen Elizabeth 50th Anniversary Commemorative Medal (1998)
• Commercial Heat Treater of the Year - North America (1998)
• Entrepreneur of the Year Ontario- Socially Responsible Category (1991)
• Wilfrid Laurier University Business Person of the Year (1991)
• Lion’s Club of Kitchener-Waterloo Citizen of the Year (1986)
