A successful entrepreneur, lawyer and former National Hockey League player agent, Pinder has served on the boards of more than 40 public and private businesses, crown corporations and non-profit organizations across the country, but the U of S alumnus has always made Saskatoon his home. On June 8, the U of S will pay tribute to Pinder when he is awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws at Spring Convocation at TCU Place.
“I’ve been involved in the hockey business and the energy business and I did it from Saskatoon. Why? Because I love living in Saskatoon and going to my office and looking across the river at that beautiful university every day that I go to work,” said Pinder. “I live in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan for a reason: I love it. This is my home and where my heart is.
“I think we have shown that in today’s world, you can build businesses and ventures in our city and our province that create national opportunities. So for me, this is a huge honour. I can’t imagine being more honoured than by the institution that you graduated from, in the city that you live.”
Pinder earned a bachelor’s degree with a major in economics at the U of S in 1967, while playing junior hockey for the Saskatoon Blades. Pinder was then recruited to join the national team and helped win a bronze medal at the 1968 Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, France, the last medal Canada would win in Olympic hockey until 1994. A serious ankle injury ended his hockey career, and Pinder went on to earn a law degree at the University of Manitoba and a Master of Business Administration at Harvard.
Pinder, who was inducted into the Saskatoon Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, became a successful NHL player agent and businessman, serving as president of Pinder’s Drugs, Goal Sports Corp., and the Regina Pats hockey club, and is currently the president of the Saskatoon-based Goal Group, a private equity management firm.
“We are honoured to recognize Herb Pinder Jr. as a pillar of the business community in the city, the province and the country, and as a highly respected director for multiple major national corporations, particularly in the agriculture and energy sectors,” said U of S President Peter Stoicheff. “The Pinder family has long been associated with the University of Saskatchewan, and Herb Jr. has continued to build on that tradition while making his own mark in business, as well as volunteering his time with a number of national non-profit organizations from the likes of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame to the Fraser Institute.”
Pinder is one of six individuals who will receive honorary degrees at this year’s U of S Spring Convocation, June 5-8 at TCU Place. He will be honoured during the 2 pm ceremony on June 8. For the full convocation schedule, please visit: https://students.usask.ca/events/spring-convocation.php
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For more information, contact:
Murray Lyons
Media Relations Specialist
University of Saskatchewan
306-966-1851
murray.lyons@usask.ca