Jim goes all-in when it comes to taking a business risk. After starting his career with Johnson & Johnson, Jim decided to “chase the dream of owning a business”. As co-founder and now owner of Office Interiors, a company founded 33 years ago, Jim notes that “It turned out to be the best move I ever made”.
Jim shares advice a senior J&J boss once gave him “If you have a good plan for the year, and work very hard every day, you will likely not accomplish all you set out to do in just 12 months. But, if you do that every year, what you accomplish in 10 years will blow you away.”
Jim has taken this advice to heart and built Office Interiors into the largest office furniture and office equipment company in the Atlantic Region with offices in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Office Interiors also provides extensive fiscal and non-monetary support for community organizations every year and has helped thousands of businesses to ‘Love the Way They Work’.
While building Office Interiors, Jim incorporated his own personal Core Values into the essence that is the company’s culture. He has led by example, exemplifying the values of taking care of the individuals who form the organization, the customers who support it, and the communities in which those people live and work. Decisions are never based on what is “required,” but instead on what is the right thing to do. This style of decision making, of doing right by your colleagues, customers, and community stakeholders, has become the norm across the organization, regardless of whether Jim is personally involved in a particular decision.
Jim is also involved in several affiliated companies. He is the Chair of the Board and partner with Cabco Communications, a partner with Lakeview Electric Ltd and a partner of Tommy’s Commercial Flooring and Window Treatments. These businesses have all seen strong growth since becoming part of the group which now employ, along with Office Interiors, well in excess of 200 people.
Jim has won several awards including Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 by Caldwell Partners International in 1998, the Ernst Young B2B Products and Services Award Winner – Atlantic Region – in 2004, Atlantic Business Magazine’s CEO Hall of Fame in 2006, and Volunteer of the Year – Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in 2019. Office Interiors has also received Haworth’s ‘Best in Class Award’ for 10 consecutive years.
Jim has volunteered with, fund-raised for, and played a leadership role in, dozens of community organizations in Nova Scotia. His current support includes Board Chair of NS Sport Hall of Fame, a member of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia Board of Directors, a member of the Organizing Committee for the 2025 Arthritis Roast and a Member of the Trustees with Ashburn Golf Club.
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