LARRY ANDERSON

Larry Anderson is a second generation Albertan, born and raised in Edmonton; his mother was born in Edmonton and his father in Three Hills, Alberta.

He grew up in a modest working class home in the Ritchie district of south Edmonton and attended Ritchie School and then Bonnie Doon Composite High School. Due to family financial hardship he dropped out of school and left home, at 16, after grade ten.

He worked at a series of jobs. In his early twenties after reading How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie his perspective changed and Larry decided to return to school. He went to Alberta College, now part of Grant MacEwan University, and completed his high school and then in the fall of 1971 he attended the University of Alberta in the Faculty of Commerce for one year.

At University he met Wayne Berg and Lewis Nakatsui, who were in the MBA graduating class. They shared their dreams of starting a business and made a pact to support each other in achieving their mutual dream. Wayne said, “ Larry, with your street smarts and our book smarts we can’t lose.”

In the spring of 1972, Larry got a job selling photocopy equipment and quickly became the top salesman in Canada. At the same time he continued to meet with Wayne and Lewis.

In 1974, Larry founded Growth Marketing Inc. to conduct sales training programs in the evenings and weekends responding to requests based on his continuing success at sales and his growing confidence from his winning performances in Toastmasters public speaking contests.

In 1978, Larry, Wayne and Lewis founded Lincolnberg Homes. Larry focused on marketing and sales, Lincolnberg sold 12 homes in 1978 and in 1984 they sold 150 homes. This achievement is made more remarkable by the fact that housing starts in Edmonton declined from 17,065 in 1978 to 2,384 in 1984 a decline of 85%, due to the recession brought on, in part, by the National Energy Program.

In 1985, Larry and his partners Wayne and Lewis decided to found ManCap Ventures Inc. to implement a new business model that would segment the home building business by target markets and establish a homebuilding company for selected target markets.
Each homebuilding company would be focused on a specific target market, with its own branding and marketing strategy and its own president, drawn from key employees who were offered a partnership. Marketing and sales would be managed by Growth Marketing Inc., under Larry’s leadership and finance and accounting would be managed by ManCap Ventures Inc. Together the group is called The ManCap Group.

In 1995, after the passing of Wayne Berg, Larry took over as President and CEO of the ManCap Group.

The ManCap Group includes: Lincolnberg Homes, Lincolnberg Communities, Challenger Homes, Carriage Custom Homes, Growth Marketing and ManCap Ventures. In over three decades of business the Mancap Group has built thousands of homes for Edmonton families. In 2009, The ManCap Group sold 352 homes making ManCap one of the largest home building groups in Edmonton.
Larry has never forgotten how a change of perspective improved his life dramatically. He believes every child is gifted, important and powerful. Through his speeches and writing he passionately carries this message to youth groups and individuals with practical suggestions about how they can discover and live their dreams.

In 1996 Larry and his partners in the ManCap Group founded the ManCap Foundation to foster leadership, education and entrepreneurship. In the years since, the ManCap Foundation has raised over $1,000,000 distributing over half the funds to worthy local charities. The Foundation has also awarded 73 Education Grants to young entrepreneurs and established a Legacy Education Grant Endowment at the Edmonton Community Foundation to fund $18,000 in entrepreneurial education grants annually, in perpetuity.

Larry has also chaired successful fund raising initiatives in the home building industry contributing to the construction of non-profit housing and establishing a trades scholarship endowment.

Larry and his wife Jan have supported local and national charities personally for decades and in 2009, they established the Life is A Promise Philanthopies, creating three initiatives and funding them with $2,000,000.

In 1984, Larry received the Edmonton Small Business Person of the Year Award from the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce. In 2002, Larry was Awarded the Queen’s Jubillee Medal, for service to youth. In 2003, Grant McEwen University College appointed Larry as the Dr. Charles Allard Chair in Business. In 2004, Larry was awarded the Presidential Award by the Canadian Homebuilders Association, Edmonton Region.

Larry and his wife Janet love to travel, golf and spend time with family and friends. They have two adult children, Jennifer and Stephen.