Clive John Beddoe

Clive Beddoe was born some 25 miles southwest of London in Surrey, England, to his parents Kathleen and Kenneth. His father flew with the Royal Air Force as a navigator/bomb aimer on Beaufort torpedo-bombers during the Second World War, flying for coastal command on submarine patrols over the Atlantic Ocean.

While attending Epsom College in Surrey, Clive joined the air force cadet corps at the college, which provided the opportunity to fly a glider. A member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors after graduation, he emigrated to Canada in 1970 to pursue new challenges.

Clive continued his interest in soaring with a Calgary-based gliding club. This was followed by earning a Private Pilot Licence, then a multi-engine endorsement, then a helicopter endorsement. Aircraft he owned included Cessna 172 and 340 types as well as a part interest in a stunt plane, a Decathlon.

In 1978 Clive started his commercial real estate business, Hanover Management, in Calgary. Later, the company included property development, manufacturing and recycling. With purchase of a plastics company in 1994 having operations in Edmonton and Vancouver, Clive and his associates were making frequent trips to those cities, buying full-fare commercial air flights, so Clive bought a twin-engined eight-seater aircraft, a Cessna 421 Golden Eagle, to cut down on travel costs. When the aircraft wasn't full, he sold flights for the empty seats, and from the experience, an idea was born. Ownership of that aircraft made apparent the economics of larger aircraft that led to the creation of WestJet.

Incorporated in 1994, Westjet was launched in 1996 under Clive Beddoe and co-founders Donald Bell, Mark Hill, and Tim Morgan. By 2013, WestJet had a fleet of more than one hundred Boeing 737 jet aircraft serving 35 Canadian cities. WestJet Airlines Ltd. first offered service across western Canada, expanded to eastern Canada in 2000, then added flights to the United States and Mexico, followed by flights to vacation destinations beyond.

WestJet's employee share-ownership program was developed to involve employee's responsibility for customer satisfaction and cost control, and to give employees a sense of ownership. "I always felt for the working man and and have been pleased to be able to find a way to let the people of WestJet participate in the business through profit sharing and a very generous stock purchase plan," says Beddoe. The airline's gift of flight has been provided for many charities, and Clive Beddoe is personally involved in numerous organizations, most notable the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada. In 2007 he was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Youth Business Federation.

In 2000, only four years after WestJet's first flight, the four co-founders were honoured with the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur of the Year Award at ceremonies in Monte Carlo. In 2004, Clive received the Canadian Business Leader Award from the University of Alberta Faculty of Business. In 2008 he received an honorary doctorate of laws from the University of Calgary. In the same year, the University of Victoria named Clive Beddoe as the UVic Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year, honouring someone "who has had a significant and positive impact on the community through his or her business leadership."

In 2009 he was named as one of 10 Entrepreneurs of the Decade by PROFIT Magazine. Also in 2009 Clive received an honorary doctorate of laws from Wilfrid Laurier University. In his convocation address he said, "I would like to point out that the success of WestJet came about as the result of the incredible dedication and commitment of a whole team of people who shared our vision for the company and that I am but one member of that team." In 2012 he was inducted as a member of The Canadian Business Hall of Fame.

Clive Beddoe was inducted as a Member of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame at a ceremony held in the WestJet Hangar in Calgary, Alberta on May 29, 2014.