Laurier Grads Soar is a multi-part series that returns for it's third installment during the 2018-19 season. The segment features former Wilfrid Laurier University athletes and student-leaders in the Athletics and Recreation Department, and the success they have enjoyed since leaving Laurier. Written by award-winning journalist David Grossman, different features will be released throughout the year that will emphasize the role Athletics and Recreation played in helping them achieve success.J.R. Edwards: General Manager/Country Director, Carlsberg USAJ.R. Edwards is quite discrete about it.
He doesn't get intimidated easily.
Ever since he was a youngster growing up on a farm outside of London, Ont., thinking that he would one day play baseball for the Detroit Tigers, Edwards has made it clear, from those teenage years to now, that he is the kind of individual who likes to take risks.
While the pro baseball career didn't happen, his call on where to attend university was a huge step towards his current day success.
Edwards grew up in a family surroundings loaded with graduates of the University of Western Ontario, but he chose to break with tradition and shuffle off to Wilfrid Laurier University to earn a Degree in Business Administration.
“For me, at a young age, I became very comfortable taking risks,” said Edwards. “I got comfortable with constantly being uncomfortable – and also learned from mistakes. My entire family just bleeds (Western) purple, they went to school there and I grew up listening to Mustangs football on the radio.”
While Edwards admits his parents encouraged him to go to Laurier, he also liked the smaller campus and the School of Business and Economics. Everything just fit his plan of one day becoming a white-collar worker in the corporate world.
Anything but insecure, Edwards has done well, and with maturity comes a sense of confidence and poise.
Quite skilled in his career, articulate and well-versed, he has made some gutsy calls since those teenage days at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary, when he fast-tracked in grade school, graduated at age 16 and entered Laurier at the age of 17.
“I was one of the youngest, and my age, in many ways, turned out to be a disadvantage – but I just embraced the situation and moved on,” he said. “At Laurier, playing baseball, I remember I couldn't legally go out with the guys for a few beers, but had the responsibility of striking out grown men on the ball diamond.”
Edwards inched closer to the career in the world of suds after taking on a job as a bouncer and at age 20, when he was 6-foot-1 and tipped the scales at 230 pounds.
Well, Edwards can now have his share of cold beverages as his knowledge, ability to get the job done well, and tenacity, led him to a senior executive position with the third largest brewer in the world with $10 billion in sales and headquartered in Denmark.
Edwards, who lives in the Boston area, is General Manager/Country Director for Carlsberg USA. What often brings him across the border is his loyalty to Laurier and the sponsorship package with Somersby Cider – made by the Carlsberg group.
“I give back to things that are important to me – and Laurier is in that group,” said Edwards. “My university, my Laurier fraternity (Lambda Chi Alpha) – they are among the groups that really had an impact on me – a positive one.”
Edwards, optimistic and fueled with determination to excel, speaks highly of Laurier's Mentorship Program and his alumni involvement with the BBA program's ICE week.
“It's big to me and I take pride in it,” he said. “There is so much that can be learned from being involved in this kind of association with people. It got me involved with many Golden Hawks and Laurier classmates and alumni and it has been big in building friendships and bonds.”
From his first job after graduation at Pitney Bowes in Toronto and different stops throughout his career from Mars Inc. to Labatt/AB-InBev to Carlsberg, he has always been able to bring Laurier alumni and/or Golden Hawk athletes into these organizationa either directly reporting to him or in other capacities
Back in his youthful days, Edwards played elite level baseball, along with football and AAA hockey. That was also the natural spot to find him, when he wasn't focused on his studies at Laurier from 1999 to 2003. Taking risks continued on the ball diamond with the Golden Hawks.
“Imagine, you're a closer in a high stress situation – and, while you may not be comfortable, people are looking at you to get the job done,” said Edwards who, when you get to talk with him, has this winning personality. “You've got the baseball in a high leverage situation and the odds can be stacked against you – but it's also possible to be successful.”
Edwards, primarily used as a closer, remembers starting a game in 2000 – back in London against Western – when he struck out 11 batters in a key game.
“It's been my best memory and was the game of my life,” said Edwards, who was then the youngest player in the Conference. “We lost 2-1, but what I took away was learning a great deal from losing – and how to bounce back.”
Laurier was the place that Edwards built life-long friendships.
“We were a bunch of small town guys that got together for baseball, learned from each other – we knew each other and valued athletics and how it fit in to our education and life,” said Edwards. “For me, Laurier delivered on my expectations.”
For Edwards, his thirst for education continued after graduating from Laurier with an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration degree in April, 2003. He attended some prestigious schools, benefitting from executive studies, and his business knowledge got richer from days at New York's Columbia Graduate School of Business, the Kellogg School of Management in Evanston, Ill. and the Stanford Graduate School of Business in Stanford, Calif.
“I have drawn on the experience of others, surrounded myself with people of experience who influenced and inspired me,” he said. "You can't go wrong with that. Now, I work in sports and beer – what a great job!”
But Laurier has always been the special place in his growth from student to professional.
“At Laurier, it was balancing unattainable schedules of class, sports, fitness, paid work, and extensive volunteer work on campus ever year – and now it's balancing work-life, frequent travel, long hours, leading large teams – and taking bold risks to grow your business,” he said.
“You have to get comfortable and be confident in challenging scenarios and embrace being in a constant state of discomfort pushing yourself to get stronger. The lesson I learned, was the experiences from my time at Laurier, and as a Golden Hawk, to success in the global corporate world.”
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David Grossman is a veteran award-winning Journalist and Broadcaster with some of Canada's major media, including the Toronto Star and SPORTSNET 590 THE FAN, and a Public Relations professional for 40+ years in Canadian sports and Government relations.Previous FeaturesSteve Griggs - Chief Executive Officer and President, Tampa Bay LightningSophie Kotsopoulos - Senior Director of Integrated Marketing, National Hockey LeagueMike McKenna - Former Director, Telecom, Media and Technology Investment BankingNicole Lee - Director of Integrated Marketing, National Hockey LeagueMike Bartlett - Executive Director, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment FoundationRebecca Watts - Manager, 2017 World Junior Hockey ChampionshipHugh Lawson - Director of Business Development, Staples Promotional ProductsCheryl Pounder - Former Canadian National Women's Hockey Team MemberJohn Morris - 2010 Olympic Men's Curling Gold MedalistBill Burke - Chief Executive Officer and Owner, Niagara Ice DogsTania Pedron - Manager of Administration and Operations, Maple Leafs Sport and EntertainmentWayne Kemick - BMO Wealth AdvisorDenise Burke - President, Niagara Ice DogsKevin McDonald - Vice President of Football Operations and Player Safety, CFLDr. Megan Yaraskavitch - NeurologistAndrew Agro - Director of Corporate Sponsorship and Business Development, New York JetsMarcia Powers-Dunlop - Senior Manager of Professional Support Services, Toronto District School BoardJoe Vernon - Lawyer, Miller CanfieldEmily Rudow - Founder, Oneiric HockeyTodd Cooney - Vice President and Broker, CBRE LimitedJennifer Elliott - Sports Information Officer, uOttawa Gee-GeesRohan Thompson - Social Worker and Professor, Conestoga CollegeDr. Fiona Aiston - Family DoctorJeremy Hedges - Founder and President, InksmithSadie Anderson - FirefighterAndrea Elliott - Sports Information Specialist, Ryerson RamsAlyssa Lagonia - Professional Soccer PlayerAshley Stephenson - Teacher and member of Canada's national women's baseball program
