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JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF NORTHERN AB AND NWT
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT OF NORTHERN AB AND NWT HONOURS THREE EDMONTON BUSINESSMEN FOR INSPIRING GREATNESS Harold Roozen, Allan Olson and Frank Spinelli are Junior Achievement Inductees.
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nce again, Junior Achievement of Northern AB and NWT has the honour and the pleasure of introducing you to this year’s Junior Achievement Hall of Fame induct-
ees. Nominated and selected by their peers, each of these outstanding citizens has earned the gratitude and respect of Edmonton’s business community. These are their stories.
Harold Roozen, Chairman & CEO of CCI Thermal Technologies Inc. Harold Roozen never contemplated being in anything else but business. “I remember growing up I was always going to be a businessman of one kind or another,” he says. It was a family tradition. His grandfather and father were in the flower bulb business in Holland before the war. “They spoke many languages, and my father and his brothers worked on the farm and travelled around Europe selling bulbs and tulips to every country you can think of.” After earning a commerce degree and a MBA from Queens, Roozen made what was likely the best business education decision of his life. He went to work for Dr. Charles Allard as his executive assistant. Working with Allard was like going to graduate school in business for 12 years, says Roozen. “He owned probably 60 or 70 companies. Broadcasting, satellites, real estate development, car dealerships, you name it. I had a great opportunity to work with a great man who taught me a lot.” Roozen put the business imparted upon him by the legendary Dr. Allard to good use, becoming president of his company, Allarcom, in 1991. Broadcast operations for Allarcom at that time included ITV, which is now Global. One of the last things Roozen did before the company was sold was integral to our city’s cultural heritage. He built Allarcom Studios, home of SCTV. “It was a good business, but after it sold my wife and I decided we should look at other opportunities,” Roozen
HAROLD ROOZEN
www.businessinedmonton.com | Business In Edmonton Magazine | May 2013
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