Peter H. Thomas, EO Chairman Emeritus

Peter Thomas has been involved with EO since its earliest days. He describes his childhood home as being raised on a gravel pit in Northern Alberta, Canada. Originally from London, England, he arrived in Canada at age 7 with his mother, Trude, who instilled in him an unshakable foundation of ethics and values that led to his great success, and has taken him to where he is today— from a serial entrepreneur to a social entrepreneur living an extraordinary values-based life with his soul mate, Rita, in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, and in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada.

Peter has been recognized as one of the leading franchisors, developers and lenders of his time in North America, and has developed billions of dollars in real estate projects, from shopping centers, apartments and condominiums to golf courses. He is the past chairman and founder of Century 21 Real Estate Canada Ltd; founded Samoth Capital Corporation (now known as Sterling Centrecorp, Inc.); and developed the Four Seasons Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. To ensure Peter is current and relevant in what is going on in business today, he and some partners have acquired a franchise company called Dogtopia, which they feel will revolutionize the Doggy Day Care business. Peter serves as chairman of this company.

In April 2000, after the suicide of his son, Todd, Peter decided to focus his time and energy on social entrepreneurship, and to share his experience and philosophy of values-based living and leadership. In the past decade, he wrote the book, “Be Great,” and founded (and remains chairman of) LifePilot, a coaching program that shows anyone how they can live a full, productive and values-based life. Peter developed the Todd Thomas Institute for Values-Based Leadership at Royal Roads University in British Columbia, Canada, named in honor of his son. For his work in developing the LifePilot Coaching Program, Peter was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree.