35 Issue 1 | Spring Edition | 2026 BUILD MANITOBA IMPACT BUILDERS BM: What have you learned from leaders you admire? PB: Arnold Frieman, who founded Advance Electronics in 1953 and hired me in 1996, had these key traits: honesty, integrity and recognizing people are imperfect. You’re going to screw up; people around you will screw up. That’s fine – learn from it. More importantly, look in the mirror: how did I contribute to the problem, and what’s the plan to address it? Our motto is, we know mistakes will happen – we never walk away. We always fix them, even if it’s financially painful and time-consuming. BM: What motivated you to get involved with the association? PB: I served as president of the Manitoba Electrical League, which later became the Electrical Association of Manitoba, before that association dissolved and merged. After my tenure, I had this thought that I could give back some of the fruits I’ve earned by getting involved here. It’s also camaraderie, fellowship, networking. It’s a good bunch of people, and I enjoy it. BM: As incoming chair, where do you see the greatest opportunity to make an impact? PB: Skilled labour is a major one – broadening the appeal to young people and finding ways to grow the skilled labour pool in the province. I also see a real challenge with advocacy and government. There’s been new legislation, programs and policies that are contentious, and I think I’ll need to play a role in ensuring our membership’s views and approach to doing business are accurately reflected with government representatives and helping influence policy-making. BM: Tell us about your family. PB: I have a wife and two children – a son and a daughter, one year apart. Both are athletes, both are divers and both landed NCAA Division I scholarships. For mom and dad, that’s like winning the lottery. My son is in his second year at the University of Utah on the swim and dive team. My daughter started at the University of Iowa on the swim and dive team. My son focuses on the 10-metre board. My daughter did something even more intense – she was recruited by Red Bull and did cliff diving for a couple of years. She trained in Austria and dove off 21-metre platforms – about seven storeys in construction terms. She dove off the Mostar Bridge in Bosnia into a flowing river and competed in Turkey, diving into the Mediterranean Sea off a 21-metre platform. BM: What have you learned from watching them compete at that level? PB: Commitment, work ethic, discipline – and the life skills that come with it. They had no time to get into trouble. It was school, study, diving and then a bit of time with friends – usually diving friends. And as parents, we didn’t set expectations. We just said, do your best, have fun and the rest will fall into place.
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