Lyle Best

Lyle Best
Born July 31, 1953
Brantford, Ontario
Occupation businessman and philanthropist
Awards Order of Canada

Lyle Best (July 31, 1953) is a Canadian entrepreneur and corporate leader. He is the CEO of Quikcard Group of Companies. Best has spent more than 30 years in the Employee and Group Benefits Insurance industry.

Personal life

Lyle Best was born on July 31, 1953 in Brantford, Ontario to Robert Gordon Best and Merry Helene Beuerlein. He had one sibling Heather Barilla who was killed in a motor vehicle accident January 17, 1996. He moved to Hamilton Ontario in 1965 and married Priscilla Evelyn Sharples in 1976. In 1979 he moved to Edmonton Alberta. His first son Justin was born in 1978, followed by Brandon in 1981, then Aaron in 1983. His wife died in 2007. Lyle lives in Sturgeon Alberta .[1]

Business History

Best began his career as a private investigator for Equifax from 1975 to 1978. He then served in various management capacities at Travelers Canada for 11 years, from 1978 to 1989. He was the Group Marketing Manager for Northern Alberta when Travelers Canada was sold to Zurich in 1988. He has been the CEO of the Alberta Dental Service Corporation since April 1989. He developed a card system that was one of the first point of service delivery offerings for employee benefit claims transactions, named the product Quikcard and ultimately spun out the brand into its own company where he remains active in the day to day management of the business and the related companies as Chairman and CEO of the Quikcard Group of Companies. Mr. Best sits on numerous for profit and not for profit corporate boards around the world. He is Chairman of the Board of CDSPI in Toronto, Board Member of CSI in Ottawa, Chairman of the Board of Affinity Plan Advantage in Toronto, Chairman of the Board of CDSPI Advisory Services Ltd. in Toronto,and as a Board Member and Chairman of Compensation and Human Resources at Alberta Health Innovates Solutions in Edmonton, Alberta.

Quikcard Group of Companies

Best founded the Quikcard Group of Companies, that offers health plans, dental plans and medical benefits plans nationwide. He is currently the Chairman and CEO. The company has offices in Edmonton, Alberta and Halifax, Nova Scotia as well as regional representation in other Canadian cities. It also markets some of its services through a network of independent Insurance brokers. The companies consist of QSI ( Quikcard Solutions Inc.) QBCI ( Quikcard Benefits Consulting Inc. and QTI ( Quikcard Technologies Inc.) as well as a number of related companies. QBCI is licensed throughout Canada to offer insurance products from some of Canada's largest insurers. QSI was a pioneer in the developing of Health Spending Accounts in Canada and administers many thousands of these plans across Canada.

Canadian Army

HLCol Lyle Best was appointed HLCol of 1 Dental Unit (Ottawa) on 31 October 2014 by the Minister of National Defence.

HLCol Best, is the first person to hold the title of HLCol for 1 Dental Unit.

Duties of the Honorary include

Promoting Esprit de Corps in the unit; Advising unit Commanding Officers; Acting as an advocate of the unit in the community; Custodians of unit heritage; Advising the Corps Colonel-Commandant on matters of significance to the unit; Maintaining and establishing liaison with unit charities and associations; Assisting the unit in hosting parades and other unit functions; Leadership of the Regimental Senate; and, Other duties as befitting their station.

University of Alberta

From 2003 to 2010 Best was a Senator at the University of Alberta. The Senate is an independent appointed and elected advisory body of community leaders,faculty representatives, students, and staff of the Uof A which helps to engage with the community and enhance the reputation of the University of Alberta. While on the Senate he chaired the nominating committee and was a member of the Honorary degrees committee. He also served as the Senate liaison to the faculty of Medicine and Dentistry.[2]

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are a professional hockey team situated in Edmonton, since 1972. Best co-founded the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation in 2002[3] and was a director for five years, until 2007. The EOCF raises its funds through a variety of fundraising initiatives held during Oilers home games, as well as the contributions of Oilers fans and friends. The Foundation gives over $1 million annually to charitable organizations that are registered with Revenue Canada and who focus their activities on educational initiatives, health and wellness, and youth programs. Additionally with Wild Bill Hunter (Oilers Founder) and Patrick Laforge (Oilers President & CEO), Best co-founded the Copper Jackets, a group of business people engaged to help sell tickets and raise awareness of the community importance of the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club.

He has been the Executive Director of the Edmonton Oilers Alumni Association since 1990, served on the organizing committee of The Heritage Classic, Chaired the 1999 Boys on the Bus reunion, was the Chairman of the Legends Live in 2003 and Waiter there is a puck in my soup Gala also in 2003. With former Calgary Flames legend Jim Peplinski together, they acted as Chairmen of the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2012.

Civic Work

Mr. Best is on the Board of Directors of several not-for-profit organizations including Building Markets (formerly Peace Dividend Trust) where he serves as Chairman Emeritus for this non-profit foundation incorporated in Canada and the United States. The Trust works in countries such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Timor-Leste, Liberia, Mozambique, and Mynamar to make peace and humanitarian operations more efficient and equitable.

He recently joined the board of About Face headquartered in Toronto, whose mission is to promote and enhance emotional and mental well-being of individuals with facial differences and their families through social and peer support, information, educational programs and public awareness.

Mr. Best is one of the Founders of The Quikcard Charitable Foundation and serves as its Vice President. He is currently a Member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Capital Campaign for Wellspring Edmonton whose mission is to provide a comprehensive range of cancer supports, resources and programs for patients and their families so they can develop skills and strategies to improve their quality of life during and beyond cancer. Lyle is a Member of the Board of Regents at Grant Mac Ewan University in Edmonton, and is a member of the Edmonton Police Foundation.

Additionally Mr. Best is a Member Board of Governors/ Past Chairman of the Alberta Conflict Transformation Society which is a non-profit, charitable organization with the mission of transforming conflict to cooperation.

He has been the Chairman of the Board of Governors of Junior Achievement of Northern Alberta since 2000 and previously was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of JA. He has been a Director at the CNIB for the past twelve years and was recently the Director of sponsorships for the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games.

He is the Chairman Emeritus of the Kids with Cancer society, and was a cabinet member for the Mazankowski Heart Institute campaign. He was a director and Chair of Sponsorships for the 2001 I.T.U. World Triathlon Championships. He was the Chairman of sponsorships for the 2004 Juno awards.

Best has been a member of the Premiers Cabinet of Alberta's Promise since the programs inception in 2003, and he is the Chairman of the Edmonton Sports Museum and Halls of Fame. He is a member of the Board of Governors at Concordia University and is the Chairman of its future Initiatives Committee .

From 1991-2000 he was Chairman of the Board and Director of the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Edmonton|Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation. He has chaired numerous fundraising events for various charities across Canada.

Awards

Best was awarded the Order of Canada in a ceremony in Ottawa on September 3, 2010. He was inducted for exceptional contribution to Canada and humanity.[4]

Additional Honors and Awards

References

  1. ↑ University of Alberta Engineering Magazine
  2. ↑ The University of Alberta Faculty of Engineering
  3. ↑ Edmonton Oilers Official page on Lyle Best
  4. ↑ Kalen Qually Lyle Best Honoured Edmonton Oilers, retrieved Aug 9, 2010