people

What Was Your Best Summer Job?

By BCBusiness /

Victor de Bonis, John Neate, and Ed McLaughlin on making a buck in their teens.

Victor de Bonis (l), COO, Canucks Sports and Entertainment 


“I sold cars for my cousin and one day I sold a Rolls-Royce for a $25,000 profit. I was 19 and a gentleman walked onto the lot and looked at the sticker. I walked over and, with a smile, asked if I could help and he said, ‘I’ll take it,’ just like that. Easiest commission I have ever made.”


John Neate (c), CEO, 
JJ Bean Inc. 


“One summer, when I was 19, I worked with street youth at Ambleside beach, where there was a lot of semi-gang activity. Our goal was to get them involved in activities that took them away from Ambleside Beach. Every day we met at McDonald’s, so I ate at least two meals a day at McDonald’s.”


Ed McLaughlin, CEO, Hollyburn Country Club

“I was an instructor at the UBC hockey school when I was 17. We lived with the kids and would work a week on, basically 24 hours a day, and then have a week off. When you were on, you were really on, but in the off weeks the other instructors and I did a lot of fun things.”