A former Moose Jaw district resident has landed a major position with Canada’s second largest private company.
Arthur Ward, president of Swift Current-based Pattison Agriculture since 2017, had been named vice-president of the Jim Pattison Group of Vancouver.
The Pattison Group, with $10.6 billion annual sales, owns a wide range of businesses including automotive, broadcasting, advertising, food retailing, entertainment, agriculture, packaging, finance and real estate operations.
Ward was raised in the Secretan district west of Moose Jaw and attended public school in Chaplin. He will continue to develop new opportunities for the Pattison Group from his base in Swift Current.
Pattison Agriculture owns 18 John Deere dealerships in the Prairie provinces, starting in 1964 with purchase of a Yorkton dealership.
The Pattison Group donated $50 million to build the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon and continues support through a foundation.
Raised in Luseland, Sask., Pattison bought his first business, an auto dealership, at Vancouver in 1961.
He had a reputation for firing the lowest producing salesperson every month. His dealership became one of the largest media advertisers in the Vancouver area.
