As a young man, John Anderson dreamed of flying. To finance that dream, he took a detour into the food services industry, where he soared with success. Now the University of the Fraser Valley is recognizing that success with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. John will be honored at UFV’s morning convocation ceremony on June 10 at 9:30 am.

John earned his pilot’s licence while still in his teens, flying a plane before he could drive a car. He had already set a goal of becoming a commercial pilot. Until then, he had to work to earn money to pay for his flight lessons and fuel.

John joined The Oppenheimer Group (dba Oppy), a 167-year-old worldwide agriculture distribution services company based in Vancouver, at the age of 18. His beginnings with the company were humble.

“My dad set me up with Oppenheimer,” he recalls. “They needed help to unload a rail car loaded with cabbages and covered in a layer of ice.” It was tough work, but he dove in, and before he knew it, he was moved into the warehouse.

Within a year, he transferred into sales. John  took time to learn the business of agriculture. He learned about produce from far off lands — exotic fruits and vegetables from New Zealand, Peru, and Mexico, new varieties of crops from Asia and Africa. Kiwifruit and gala apples? He helped introduce them to the Canadian market.

He developed relationships with the farmers; he negotiated with governments; he worked with media and industry to promote the new products; and he engaged the distributors in Canada, encouraging them to carry new-to-market products. In short order, Oppy sourced products from 27 countries and today has 19 offices around the world.

He was promoted to Chief Operating Office in 1988, became CEO and President in 1993 and by 2001, at the age of 45, John Anderson became 100% owner, Chair and CEO of the Oppenheimer Group. A decade later, John sold controlling interest in the company to Dole; today, he retains 35% ownership of Oppy.

John attributes his success, and the success of Oppy, to having the right people in the right places at the right time — people who provide strong leadership and who encourage teamwork.

“You have to have a team of people, and you have to make them successful,” he explains “You have to lead by example, build a culture in your team, measure it on a regular basis, and ask yourself ‘Do I emulate that culture?’

“You have to be prepared to do it yourself.” John carries that philosophy to all of the people with whom he works, inside and outside of Oppy. “One of the things I’ve always stressed is that it doesn’t matter what type of person you’re dealing with, you need to adapt to the way they do things,” he says. “Adapting to a situation as it comes is key. You need to be flexible and adaptable.” That way, he says, “when you build a good personal relationship, when things go wrong, you can have a conversation about how to fix the situation.”

Throughout his five decades with Oppy, John has been a trailblazer in making sustainable farming, food security, ethical trade, and green energy sources top priorities for the company and the partners they work with. Oppy gives back to the communities where its agricultural products are grown through special funds, encourages water recycling in agri-production, and has reached the 90 percent level in biodegradable packaging,

Never lose sight of the dream

Although his career took a sharp turn, John’s goal of becoming a commercial pilot never disappeared. HIs path simply took a detour.

Back in the early ’80s, just a few years after he started with Oppy, one of his flight instructors introduced him to some business people who wanted a plane that could be leased when not in use by them. He helped the company buy a plane and from there, started a business with a single plane of his own. Today, Anderson Aviation boasts a fleet of a dozen jets and jet helicopters, serving everything from industry to medevac flights. John now flies himself to many of Oppy’s connections around the globe.

And he’s kept it in the family. Son Ryan is Anderson Air’s President and COO, and he’s a pilot too, as well as a proud UFV alumnus, having earned his Aviation diploma in 2001.

That detour into agriculture Anderson took more than 50 years ago has brought him to where he is today. And he’s eager to share what he’s learned with the students graduating this year.

“Life doesn’t go in a straight line,” he says. “You can plan, but you need to be able to adapt. When you build a flight plan, you know where you want to go. But there might be another airplane in the way, or there might be a weather system.

“You never know what’s going to happen. You need to have a vision in life, but there are going to be a lot of things in your way. People will throw up roadblocks.

“You have to have passion, dedication, and adaptability.”