Stargetic Leader
.Analysis.
Four Seasons Hotels was founded by Isadore "Issy" Sharp, born on October 8, 1931.Sharp's father, Max, emigrated from Poland to Palestine in 1920, where he helped build one of the first kibbutzim. Relocating to Toronto five years later, Max worked for a few years as a journeyman plasterer; he married and began a family that would include his son Issy and three daughters. Drawing on his home renovation experience, Max Sharp soon began purchasing houses, repairing and decorating them, and then selling them at a profit. Issy Sharp had lived in 15 houses by the time he was 16 years old. He married Rosalie Wise and they have three sons, Jordan, Gregory and Anthony. They lost a fourth son, Christopher, to melanoma cancer in 1978. [Iverson,1996.]
In 1952, he graduated from Ryerson Institute of Technology with a diploma in Architectural Technology. He founded the Four Seasons Hotel in 1960 and opened the first hotel on Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto in 1961.He helped start and is the director of the Terry Fox Run. Sharp invited Fox to rest in one of the city's Four Seasons hotels for a week before resuming his run, helped pay for his medical treatment, and later pledged to contribute to research funds on his behalf.[Staley 2007]
Five years later, in 1961, Sharp did open a hotel of his own, in what was then the seediest district in Toronto. Everyone said it was a bad idea. Still requiring over $700,000 in capital, Sharp approached one of his father's business acquaintances, Cecil Forsyth, who managed the mortgage department at Great West Life Insurance Company. Sharp's plan was to raise the rest of the necessary funds through a mortgage. [Weber 1997]
From the time the Four Seasons opened for business, Sharp created a climate that fostered professionalism and devotion among his employees. One of the more notable examples of employee dedication involved Roy Dyment, a bellboy at Four Seasons since 1967. Dyment discovered that a dignitary had left his briefcase
Four Seasons Hotels was founded by Isadore "Issy" Sharp, born on October 8, 1931.Sharp's father, Max, emigrated from Poland to Palestine in 1920, where he helped build one of the first kibbutzim. Relocating to Toronto five years later, Max worked for a few years as a journeyman plasterer; he married and began a family that would include his son Issy and three daughters. Drawing on his home renovation experience, Max Sharp soon began purchasing houses, repairing and decorating them, and then selling them at a profit. Issy Sharp had lived in 15 houses by the time he was 16 years old. He married Rosalie Wise and they have three sons, Jordan, Gregory and Anthony. They lost a fourth son, Christopher, to melanoma cancer in 1978. [Iverson,1996.]
In 1952, he graduated from Ryerson Institute of Technology with a diploma in Architectural Technology. He founded the Four Seasons Hotel in 1960 and opened the first hotel on Jarvis Street in downtown Toronto in 1961.He helped start and is the director of the Terry Fox Run. Sharp invited Fox to rest in one of the city's Four Seasons hotels for a week before resuming his run, helped pay for his medical treatment, and later pledged to contribute to research funds on his behalf.[Staley 2007]
Five years later, in 1961, Sharp did open a hotel of his own, in what was then the seediest district in Toronto. Everyone said it was a bad idea. Still requiring over $700,000 in capital, Sharp approached one of his father's business acquaintances, Cecil Forsyth, who managed the mortgage department at Great West Life Insurance Company. Sharp's plan was to raise the rest of the necessary funds through a mortgage. [Weber 1997]
From the time the Four Seasons opened for business, Sharp created a climate that fostered professionalism and devotion among his employees. One of the more notable examples of employee dedication involved Roy Dyment, a bellboy at Four Seasons since 1967. Dyment discovered that a dignitary had left his briefcase