NCBA - National Cooperative Business Association
09/04/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/04/2024 05:18
Cooperative Hall of Fame inductee spotlight – Tony Bedard
Tony Bedard, CEO, Frontier Co-op
- Hard WorkerBorn in Waterloo, Iowa, Tony is the 8th child in a blended family of 16 children. Hard work was expected of all of the Bedard kids. They worked as farm hands, cement pourers, roofers, and carpenters. At nine years old Tony started a mowing business with his brother. He brought that ethic to Frontier Co-op, a manufacturer of globally sourced and sustainably produced herbs, botanicals, and plant-based products. As Director of Operations and then as CEO, he joined the work and set the tone-every job is important and every worker is a professional.
- Conscientious Business LeaderDoing good in the world as well as at home has always been a part of Frontier Co-op's DNA. In his 30 years of leadership, Tony demonstrated how well doing good can work. Sales grew from $35.5 to $235.9 million. $53.3 million in patronage was paid out to Frontier's more than 50,000 member-owners. Meanwhile, the co-op contributed more than $10 million to socially responsible causes worldwide.
- Pragmatic InnovatorInspired by a visit to a business class at a prison and faced with an alarming worker shortage in the state, Tony had a typically innovative idea-to train, support, and hire formerly incarcerated Iowans-people looking to rejoin society after serving their time. Frontier hired their first returning citizen in 2017. Now, 20 percent of the co-op's production employees are graduates of the Breaking Dow
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Tony Bedard is among five outstanding cooperative leaders who will receive the cooperative community's most prestigious honor on October 3, 2024, when they are inducted into the Cooperative Hall of Fame at the Hamilton Hotel in Washington, DC.
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Tony Bedard
CEO, Frontier Co-op
By championing the idea that doing good in the world and growing a financially successful business is not mutually exclusive, Tony Bedard has been instrumental in realizing Frontier Co-op'sstated purpose; that "Doing Good, Works." Tony started his career with Frontier Co-op as Head of Operations in 1991 and became its CEO in 2003. Under his leadership, Frontier Co-op grew from $36.5 million in net sales to $235.9 million in 2023 and contributed more than $10 million to philanthropy worldwide.
A leading manufacturer of globally sourced and sustainably produced herbs, botanicals, and plant-based products, Frontier Co-op is committed to sourcing high quality products while creating life-changing opportunities for its growers, employees, and communities. From their facilities in small-town Iowa to sourcing communities around the globe, Tony has dedicated his 30-year tenure at Frontier Co-op to growing a purpose-driven cooperative that maximizes value and positive impact in the communities it serves.
Tony's commitment to ensuring that Frontier Co-op has a lasting, positive impact on its partners led to the formation of the Well Earth impact sourcing program. Through this program, Frontier Co-op has led dozens of community and business building projects around the globe, including a recent collaboration with the U.S. Overseas Cooperative Development Counciland USAID's Cooperative Development Program.
For Frontier Co-op, doing good starts internally. To address systemic challenges related to employment and economic mobility, Tony spearheaded the Breaking Down Barriers to Employment program implementing second chance hiring practices. Alongside partners, they designed an apprenticeship program to provide training needed for success at Frontier Co-op or other manufacturing companies. Since its inception in 2018, the company has adopted and advocated for second chance hiring practices and built out a transportation program to support their employees. To date, 20% of Frontier Co-op's production employees have been hired through their Breaking Down Barriers to Employment program.
With a global vision and a personal dedication to creating positive impact through the cooperative business model, Tony's leadership at Frontier Co-op exemplifies doing good by people and planet.