George Melville and Jim Treliving are both Chairmen and owners of Boston Pizza International Inc. (BPI) which was established in 1964.They set the corporate strategy for Boston Pizza and several other businesses which they have invested in, collectively known as the T&M Group of Companies. Starting from a single restaurant franchise in 1968, today the T&M Group has operations throughout North America in the retail, manufacturing, real estate and service sectors with annual system-wide sales exceeding $1 billion.
Their partnership has been recognized over the years with several prestigious awards including Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies Platinum Club, Canada’s 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures, the Canadian Franchise Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award and, most recently, the Fraser Institute’s T. Patrick Boyle Founder’s Award.
Jim Treliving became involved with Boston Pizza in 1968 and has been a director of the Boston Pizza Foundation since its inception in 1990, helping raise and donate over $16 million to Canadian charities over that time. Jim has also served on a number of volunteer boards including the Hockey Canada Foundation, the David Foster Foundation and the Richmond Hospital Foundation. In June 2012, Jim and his wife, Sandi, donated $1 million to the CAMH Foundation Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Currently, Jim divides his time between his home in Vancouver, British Columbia and Dallas,Texas. He stars as one of the five Dragons on CBC’s reality TV show, Dragon’s Den, where aspiring entrepreneurs secure a financial investment from the Dragons to start their own business. Recently, Jim released a book on business, “Decisions- Making the right ones and righting the wrong ones” published by Harper-Collins in the fall of 2012 with all proceeds from the book donated to Canadian charities. Jim is also the Chairman of Hockey Canada Foundation.