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CAN'T FIND SOMETHING? |
Rahim TalibPrincipal, president and CEO, Meadowfresh Dairy Corp.Age: 36 Colleagues at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP law firm were stunned when Rahim Talib announced he was swapping pinstripe suits for coveralls to work in a dairy business. Talib is milking a small fortune – but not exactly the cows, however. Meadowfresh Dairy Corp., the company he took over in 2004 after he put together a small, private, passive investor group to support the acquisition, buys all its raw milk from dairy farms and processes it into products like yogurt and sour cream at a high-tech manufacturing facility in Port Coquitlam. From revenues of $2 million in 2004 and a staff of nine, 38-employee Meadowfresh is now raking in $14 million annually. After four years as a corporate M&A lawyer at BLG, Talib left legal practice to act upon a strong desire to develop and progress in business. “I was finding myself in the legal realm being more fascinated with what my clients’ stories were and how they were doing in business than papering or driving them through their transactions,” said Talib. With no prior experience in dairy, food processing, distribution or manufacturing, he learned the business on the fly, driven by a personal goal of positively impacting a million people in his lifetime. Talib is also well connected within the Ismaili Muslim community, focusing his energy on caring for the underprivileged and marginalized as well as providing professional and business opportunities to youth and young entrepreneurs. Meadowfresh specializes in the wholesale dairy market, and its small size and flexibility allows it to cater to unique interests and tastes. “The world of dairy is very challenging,” said Talib. “It’s very intense and very difficult for a small dairy to survive unless, in my view, the dairy really emphasizes its niche business opportunity.” • Birthplace: New Westminster Where do you live now: West Vancouver Highest level of education: LLB from the University of Victoria Car or chosen mode of transport: I am waiting for RIM to develop a transport app for my BlackBerry Currently reading: NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman Last CD bought or music downloaded: Black Eyed Peas Favourite movie: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Shawshank Redemption and Slumdog Millionaire. It would be cruel to make me pick one Favourite local restaurant: Cactus Club Person you would most like to meet (living or deceased): Would love to golf Westwood Plateau with Tiger Woods and be able to carry on a polite and respectful conversation with him about world politics and world peace while “taking him to town” on the golf course Profession you would most like to try: Air-traffic controller at Heathrow Airport, but just for an hour or two Mentor: My brother, Malik. This guy brings new meaning to “hunger and ambition” Most memorable career milestone or event: Defending against two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash in high-school basketball and shutting him down (well, on one play). My basketball career ended shortly thereafter Toughest business or professional decision: Leaving Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, arguably one of the biggest and best law firms in the country, and the practice of corporate M&A law for the world of business and entrepreneurship, specifically the dairy industry – and being reminded constantly that this was a very “un-cool” move in a very “unsexy” industry and that it had financial doom written all over it What’s left to do: I’ve just started This article from Business in Vancouver December 29, 2009-January 4, 2010; issue 1053 Business in Vancouver (www.biv.com) has been publishing in-depth local business news, analysis and commentary since 1989. The newspaper also produces a weekly ranked list of the biggest companies and players in a wide range of B.C. industries and commercial sectors, monthly features and industry-focused sections that arm its subscribers with a complete package of local business intelligence each week. |
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