I know as the company started to grow
bigger, they wanted a corporate name to
cover all the different factories and
one of the suggestions was Lang Company.
And he said they will never call
this business after my name.
I always respected that.
Well he was extremely charismatic and
had the best smile. They always called
him Gord, it was not Mr. Lang. He'd
wander around the plants and talked to
people. He knew every single employee
and he knew everything about their
family and that speaks volumes for the
type of person my father was. He didn't
see himself any different than anybody else. His kindness, his generosity, that's what
I remember I mean that's Gordon, he was a perfect gentleman. Well it started from
an idea and it started small started in
the back of the factory of another
business. We did 26 acquisitions in 26
years. In all cases Gordon would do
business on a handshake. So we became a very large company. Not only has he built
the business, he's built it always and
always been true to his boundaries. He
was such a remarkable man, an incredible
business leader, who led with integrity
and took a Canadian business and made it a global powerhouse.
Canada's public universities have a
great reputation around the world and
University of Guelph in particular. Private donors play a huge, huge role.
Through this gift we'll have the
opportunity to search the world for four
amazing faculties that will join us in
finance, in marketing, and leadership and
sport, and event management. There is
going to be a remarkable gifts for
scholarships, funds that are going to
allow our students to participate in
competitions provincially, nationally and
internationally, but on top of that the
gift is going to do so many other things. I couldn't be more excited about having
a brand and the recognition that that
brand will bring us. Here at the
University of Guelph we sincerely
believe that business can and in fact
must be a force for good in the world. We
strongly focus on making sure that the
business we do is making everyone better
so our investors are making money but
our community is improving, people have
been lifted out of poverty and all the
key UN SDG goals are being ticked off and checked off. Having gone to the
University of Guelph and understanding
what the University of Guelph stands for, it's the
bigger picture, business is a part of
society as a whole.
Universities lift communities and
communities lift universities and in
many ways the Gordon S. Lang vision
and values reflect that.
This isn't just about a name. This is
about the right name. This is about a
business leader with who our values
align. In all respects, this gift will put
business at Guelph on the map.
I personally want to do work in the world that brings about good
and that's
something that the University of Guelph
stands for as a whole.
We would hope that, you know, having his name Gordon S. Lang
on the building would provide
example to Business Economics students
what can be done in this country. If my
father was here today and was speaking
to the students he would tell them that
it's so important to find your passion
and follow that dream and not be afraid
of failure.
Be soft-spoken, be humble work, work hard, take risks. One of the most important things
he taught us and he would say to the
students is leave this world
a better place.
Dad was always supporting us to
achieve our dreams and even though he
may feel embarrassed to have a business
school named after him he would still
pat me on the back and say well done son
