Alissa Fingold

Alissa Fingold

Though the average Canadian may not know who Don Schroeder is, most will purchase at least one of his company’s products during their lifetime. Schroeder, the CEO of Tim Hortons, gave a talk about his life in business on Friday in the Bronfman Building.

Describing how he became involved with the company, Schroeder said, “I’m not sure if I should really be telling you this story.”

As a law student in 1976, Schroeder was out drinking when it occurred to him that it would be an excellent idea to own a Tim Hortons franchise. At the time, Tim Hortons was only a small donut and coffee chain in Ontario.

“It still seemed like a good idea when I sobered up,” he said.

In 1978, he bought the 45th Tim Hortons. Schroeder continued to own his franchise while practicing law and eventually joined the company full-time in 1991. He became CEO in 2008.

Instead of making a speech, Schroeder opted to have a discussion with Alex Brzostowski, an MBA student, followed by a question-and-answer session with Management students. First, Schroeder and Brzostowski discussed Tim Hortons’ business model, which is a “partnership” between the corporate administration and franchise owners, unlike the traditional “top-down” style structure. Schroeder said this scheme is the source of the company’s success and that his top priority is, “to make Tim Hortons as attractive an investment for the next generation as it was for the last two.”

In the future, the company plans to continue expanding into the United States and possibly open franchises on other continents. Schroeder emphasized that this process would deeply involve Tim Hortons within the communities where it wants to sell its products. This should be done “not simply to sell more coffee and donuts,” he said, “but to genuinely give back.”

The question-and-answer period saw some students raise more specific concerns. Artem Luhovy, a MD/MBA student, asked about Tim Hortons’ refusal to buy fair trade coffee. Schroeder answered that it rejects fair trade because the company sees flaws in the fair trade industry. He cited the $1,000 fee a farmer must pay to become fair trade certified—money many coffee farmers do not have. Schroeder said Tim Hortons has instead focused on efforts to provide farmers with tools and information that will make them more productive, regardless of whether or not they ultimately decided to sell their coffee to Tim Hortons. He added that Tim Hortons also has invested money in education for the children of coffee farmers in rural areas.

“Tim Hortons has a history of trying to do the right thing without patting ourselves on the back,” he said.

At the talk, Schroeder tried to communicate his company’s principles on a personal level, patiently listening to each student, supplying free donuts and coffee prior to the session, and providing Tim Hortons gift cards to every student who asked a question as well as to the McGill cleanup staff.

On coming to McGill, Schroeder said it was an “honour to be here at a great school,” and advised students to “find a job that they loved.” He added that a professor once told him, “You haven’t lived until you’ve read a good book, seen a good play, and done something you loved.”