Over 600 guests packed the Hotel Vancouver Wednesday afternoon to listen to business titan and philanthropist Anthony von Mandl, the proprietor of the award winning Mission Hill winery and beverage conglomerate The Mark Anthony Group. It was the who’s who of business, from Bob Lee , Michael Audian, New UBC Chancellor Lindsay Gordon and high power friends like former Attorney General Wally Oppal and even ex-prime minister Kim Campbell and former BC Premier Mike Harcourt. There was a large contingent of Indo-Canadian business leaders including new Dragon’s Den judge Vikram Vij, Lt. Col Harjit Sajjan, who is a close friend of von Mandl’s and who’s legacy of being an Afghanistan war hero and first Canadian Sikh to commandeer an army regiment was acknowledged to the sold out crowd. Others present at the event were businessman and LINK group owner Munish Katyal, restaurateur Iqbal Grewal, business genius Hari Vashney, Developers Daljit Thind and Gurdev Sandhu and last but not least LINK editor R. Paul Dhillon. All these guest were exclusively invited to this Vancouver Board of Trade special event.
Anthony von Mandl’s keynote address: Realizing the Impossible – An Entrepreneur’s Private Success Story, took the audience on a journey reminding the high powered crowd to continue to chase their dreams even when they are faced with what at the time seems like impossible roadblocks. Here are the ‘Key takeaways’ from the career of Anthony von Mandl:
• You can realize your own audacious dream. Never let anyone take it from you.
• Scour the earth for the best talent.
• Have a relentless focus on quality.
• Find mentors who have achieved what you dream.
• When you hit a roadblock, invent something new.
• What looks like failure is actually learning.
• It’s all about making a difference, not just money.
• A small team can change the world.
von Mandl’s truly great career has seen some great highlights including winning top international awards for his wines, including last year for his Pinor Noir, which has put BC wine country on the map around the world. Mission Hill is also the first ever Canadian company to have its wine served in Buckingham palace – including the award winning Martin’s Lane Riesling and the award wining world’s best pinot noir for Martin’s Lane Pinot Noir.
