CEO of the Year 2010

Colemans, explains Joyce, is a business where the people on the front lines frame the customer service experience. “Our profitability is tied to the engagement of our employees, and Frank really gets that.”

The employees get it too, ‘it’ being formal Respectful Workplace and Guaranteed Fair Treatment policies, an Employee Family Assistance program (to support staff in times of crisis), an Employee Caring program (to recognize joyful and tragic moments), a Wellness Program for health promotion, Reward and Recognition and Something to Look Forward To programs (to recognize employee contributions in a concrete manner). Wages are competitive, orientation and mentorship programs are in place, there’s flexible scheduling, recruiting bonuses and even a Colemans scholarship. Not to mention the regular training in food preparation and presentation.

The most effective weapon in Joyce’s recruit and retain arsenal, however, is often Frank himself. “I was in his office this time for a meeting, and a bakery assistant who was leaving the company came up to his office to say good-bye. She said she couldn’t go without shaking his hand. This was someone who worked in the basement of the building, and we were on the top floor. It’s not like he passed the bakery on his way to the office every day, but he had obviously made an effort to meet and talk with the people who worked there. That made a powerful impression on me.”

Gentlemanly Behavior

Indeed, the character of the man is integral to the story of the CEO. Frank Coleman’s worst faults (brace yourself) are playing Andrea Bocelli at full volume first thing in the morning, using every pot in the house whenever he cooks and occasionally showing up late for meetings.

Family is always his top priority. He can be forceful and direct, but he doesn’t get mad – ever. Anger, he says, is counterproductive. He is consistently respectful of the people around him: family, friend and co-worker alike. Both the current and former mayors of Corner Brook (Neville Greeley and Priscilla Boutcher) affirm the City is fortunate to have such a civically-minded company in their community. They couldn’t even report a single development or tax-related dispute with the company. He is reliably charitable and selfless, a man his admirers report is defined by his ability to serve others. Childhood friend and president of Rocky Mountain Liquor, Peter Byrne, describes him as having the moral authority to be a CEO.

In conducting the interviews for this story, subjects invariably asked what the angle and purpose would be. At first, it appeared there must be something to hide. Soon, it became apparent that people were genuinely concerned that the story do Mr. Frank justice. In a reversal of the mafia code of silence, word of the story soon got around. Before long, potential subjects were emailing and calling with offers to do interviews – a first for this scribe.

The obvious and only conclusion is that Frank Coleman is truly one of a kind–but not entirely. Even as he forges ahead with growth, the father in Frank carefully nurtures the next generation Coleman clan. Son Aidan, in particular, appears to have inherited his father’s talent with paint. He plans to redecorate the family home some night after his unsuspecting parents have gone to sleep. He says the current uniform vellum-toned hue is “driving him crazy.” His plan is to get hyped up on coffee, and assign each room its own vibrant shade. In the Coleman family, painting is the equivalent of sleeping with the fishes.