RICK ANTONSON

This Billy Joel fan's borrowed mantra is: "You can get what you want or you can just get old."

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Self-proclaimed "accidental executive," Rick Antonson habitually opts for the path less wandered - or sometimes where there's no path at all. In his travels, Rick chooses countries seldom referred to as bustling tourist destinations, including Belarus, Mongolia, Tibet, Libya, Algeria and North Korea.

 

This love of travel coupled with his passion for writing has led to eight books that Rick has authored or co-authored.

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As the former president and CEO of Tourism Vancouver, Rick had his hand in some of Canada's most renowned accomplishments including the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games for which Rick served as an Ambassador. He also held international posts such as vice chair of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (based in Bangkok, Thailand), president of Pacific Coast Public Television, and chair of Destination Marketing Association International (based in Washington, D.C.). In earlier days, he was vice president at Rocky Mountaineer, and vice president and general manager of Douglas & McIntyre publishing.

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It's safe to say that, despite his own description, Rick's career can't only be chalked up to inadvertent chance. He has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Capilano University, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and has been inducted into the Canadian Tourism Hall of Fame. In 2020, he received the BC Tourism Industry Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Rick periodically accepts speaking engagements on the philosophy of Cathedral Thinking, and the importance of how “we should all be involved in unfinished work.”