Brenda Naylor is President  & CEO of Tippet-Richardson and A1 Moving & Storage, with locations in Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa. In honour of International Women’s Day, here’s a glimpse into Brenda’s life before the moving industry:

The early days

Brenda’s grandfather, Russell Naylor was Operations Manager at Tippet-Richardson, when the company began in 1927.  He became President in 1959 and was followed into the business by his sons, Peter and Bruce.  So, as a member of the third generation of Naylor’s to work in the moving industry, her first memories of the family business were when she was around 8 or 10 years old and went with her dad and brother Kevin to the Front Street office in Toronto on Saturdays.  She recalls her dad talking to staff and doing paperwork but the highlight for the kids was getting a pop from the T-R cooler, a rare treat as pop wasn’t usually allowed. The Front Street office in downtown Toronto is a Historical site to this day.

Career goals

Pop or no pop, Brenda wasn’t that interested in the moving industry at first, and regarded it very much as a guys’ occupation.  Instead, she had interests in animals and criminology. Putting the two together, she would have loved to work with a police canine team.  This will make sense to anyone who knows Brenda, as she usually has Zowie and Chilli in tow, two beautiful and very well-loved pups.

One of Brenda’s first careers was as a Private Investigator.  She gained her license and enjoyed the amazing adrenaline rush that came when the race was on but these moments were too few and far between and she quickly became bored and sought out a more interesting career.

An independent soul, Brenda made two personal rules for herself when growing up:

• Never ask her father for money
• Never ask her father for a job

Though she did end up borrowing money from her dad during University (don’t we all?), she got a job and paid him back with interest before the year was up.

Taking the reins at TR

Brenda had done a couple of summers at T-R helping out on the trucks in Toronto, as had all of her siblings, but that was the extent of her involvement with TR until 1995.  Her brother asked her to move to Vancouver to help as Operations Manager and she never moved back.

Arriving in Vancouver on Labour Day weekend, Brenda’s first day was 14 hours long and her second day was 16 hours long.  Needless to say, she was seriously reconsidering her decision at that time!

Now, here’s what modern-day Brenda would say to her sweet, youthful self:

“The Moving & Storage industry can provide many hills to climb and finding your ‘sweet spot’ in the industry takes time. It has its challenges but with those come great rewards. I love it when a plan comes together and is perfectly executed.”