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Pay InvoiceBusiness Voice - May 2011
The Private Face of a Public Developer:
Joe Ramia, Person of the Year
By Richard Woodbury
Genuine, sincere and humble – these are all words people frequently use to describe Joe Ramia. Meeting him in person, it doesn’t take long to realize that’s the kind of person he is. And odds are, one-on-one is the only way people are going to develop an opinion of Ramia because the spotlight isn’t a place where he’s found (or likes to be found).
While his name is best known these days as being a partner in the developer behind the proposed convention centre – Rank Incorporated – Ramia is rarely seen campaigning for it. That honour seems to have been taken up by multiple organizations and politicians.
“We don’t like the publicity,” Ramia says. “Unfortunately, when you’re in business, you’re sometimes forced into it.”
And when Ramia says he doesn’t like the publicity, he isn’t necessarily referring just to the convention centre. He’s a very private individual who appears uncomfortable talking about himself. He’d much rather talk about the causes he’s passionate about.
“For a man who’s had such enormous impact on the community… he’s a man that shuns the limelight,” says Bill Bean, president and CEO of the QEII Foundation. Bean first met Ramia about 12 years ago and the two have worked closely together since then.
They first met when Ramia was looking at making a donation to establish an endowed chair in honour of his parents.
“Joe’s family were our first million dollar donors,” Bean says. “That helped to fund a new endowed chair, [the Gibran and Jamile Ramia Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre Chair in Surgical Oncology].” Surgical oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the surgical treatment of cancer.
The fact Ramia chose to invest in an endowed chair as opposed to a piece of equipment is very symbolic of the long-term approach that drives his thinking.
“How do you do something that’s going to last forever?” was a question Ramia asked Bean in one of their early encounters.
An endowed chair lives on forever because the money is put into safe investments. As a result of this, the salary for the person in the chair position is paid for from the interest made on the investments. Compare this to buying a piece of medical equipment, a move which has a lifespan associated with it.
But the effect of having an endowed chair is felt in many ways, such as the clinical care and research attached to it. Besides increasing the body of knowledge on the topic, the research has another positive side effect.
“It attracts more research dollars and grants,” Bean says. “It attracts people and students. It’s an economic generator that then focuses more attention on cancer care.”
While the endowed chair may have been the circumstances under which Bean got to meet Ramia, it was only the beginning of their working relationship. For six years, Ramia sat on the board of the QEII Foundation. Today, he serves as an honourary trustee.
“He’s there for counsel right now for us, [giving us] strategic advice,” Bean says, noting that Ramia assists the QEII Foundation in many ways, including creating connections. “We need corporate leaders with solid reputations making calls saying, ‘Would you mind seeing someone?’ to open the doors and lend credibility to what we do,” Bean says. “He does that a lot.”
Ramia also fulfills an advocacy role by speaking highly of the organization and the need for a stronger health care system.
“He’s not just about giving money,” Bean says.
But why health care, rather than another cause? Ramia says it’s because it’s the one thing that touches all people’s lives. And by improving the overall health of the community, all of society benefits. An example of this is some of the services Capital Health offers at the Village at Bayers Road, including a community mental health clinic.
It’s through this clinic that Brian Rankine first met Ramia. As the director of business development for Capital Health, Rankine is also responsible for external property leasing and development. About seven years ago, Rankine was looking to move the mental health outpatient services out of the hospital and into the community, along with other services. There were a few reasons for this, including the better accessibility it would offer and the fact hospitals were running low on space.
“I approached Joe when he acquired the complex and he took a chance on people with mental illness by providing a Capital Health service there,” Rankine says. “So we started off with, I think, maybe 4,000 square feet and grew up to… maybe 30,000 square feet.”
Today, services including blood collection, addiction prevention and a diabetes management program are housed there.
“It’s opened the door to create wonderful opportunities where landlords look at the value of us bringing services to the community that need to be in the community,” Rankine says.
Agreeing to house a mental health clinic in the first place was a leap forward for the mental health world.
“I think the biggest element was he changed how landlords look [at mental health] and helped de-stigmatize mental health [consumers] because, quite frankly, nobody wanted them in their backyard,” Rankine says.
Since that time, Capital Health has continued to move services out of the hospital and has found that finding homes for these services is now easier, Rankine says.
Improving mental health is another one of Ramia’s passions. Statistics show that one in five people suffer from a mental illness. While mental illness might affect one in five people, it affects many more people than that when you including the patient’s family members, friends and co-workers.
Also housed in the Village at Bayers Road is the Mindful Mango Café. On the surface, the Mindful Mango might not seem much different than any other café. It places an emphasis on fresh, locally sourced healthy foods. But what really makes it different is the staff. The Mindful Mango is employed entirely by people who have mental illnesses.
“What we’re doing is giving folks with mental illness a chance to learn life skills and employment skills,” Rankine says. “When I approached him on that, it was, ‘Yeah, I’m keen,’” Rankine recalls.
And when the Mindful Mango was up and running, Ramia’s support for the project was further solidified.
“Joe just looked at the individuals beaming ear to ear and he said, ‘That smile and the pride they’re feeling, that’s worth more than money. That’s worth everything,’” Rankine says.
While improving the health care system is a task usually delegated to government, Rankine says the business world will have to step up to the plate.
“Business has a role going forward in shaping our health care delivery system,” he says. “It isn’t just donations, it’s how can they become part of the challenge or the need to evolve? Government can’t be the cure all.”
By being innovative in allowing a mental health clinic and other hospital services to be offered more directly to community members, Ramia is helping lead the charge for the role business can play in improving our health care system.
Doing things for the right reasons is something else Ramia is passionate about.
“If you do the right thing and your intentions are right and [you] look after everybody, you will be looked after as well,” he says. “It’s not complicated. That’s the way it’s always been.”
Just recently, Ramia came across an article in the January-February edition of the Harvard Business Review titled “The Big Idea: Creating Shared Value.” The article reinforced his business philosophy and talked about how business has been increasingly viewed as “a major cause of social, environmental and economic problems. Companies are widely perceived to be prospering at the expense of the broader community.”
“If people start to work together and trust each other, everybody can win,” Ramia says. “That’s what this article is talking about.”
The article defines shared value as the “policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates.” It’s this philosophy that drives Ramia’s thinking.
For Ramia, his business interests and philanthropic endeavours are all about the long-term effect they will have on the community at large.
“Joe isn’t somebody who comes and says, ‘OK, what ticket can I buy or what can I sponsor?’” says Lisa Mills, president and CEO of the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia (MHFNS). “It’s, ‘What can I do that’s actually going to impact people across the province, people in the community and be sustainable?’ He inspires others to get involved in that way.”
Mills says that most often it’s Ramia who’s knocking at her door, wondering what he can do to help.
“It’s, ‘Lisa, what’s next? Who’s next?’” Mills says. “He always looks at it not from a transactional perspective, but in terms of a continuum, ‘Who’s it going to impact? Who else can we involve? What’s going to be the lasting legacy?”
Ramia sits on the board of the MHFNS. While improving mental health is one of his passions, an offshoot of that are the mental health needs of Canadian Forces members.
“War does cause mental problems,” Ramia notes.
Since 1991, MHFNS has hosted an annual event called the Festival of Trees, which raises money to support research, education and patient care for Nova Scotians living with mental illness. A couple of years ago, to draw greater attention to mental illness in the Canadian Forces, Ramia came up with the idea of creating ornaments to raise money and draw attention to the cause.
“They need the exposure, they need people to talk about it,” he says.
Local artist Holly Carr designed an ornament that featured a peace symbol and an angel carrying a star. The sales of the ornaments raised $100,000 for mental health. Ornaments were sold in packages of two and for every ornament sold, one was given to every family who had a husband or wife serving overseas.
“As a result, there was a net revenue to the [Mental Health] Foundation [of Nova Scotia] for programs and services, but there was a very tangible impact of emotional support around the time when they needed it most,” Mills says. “That’s the way he thinks. It’s always about the human element. It’s never bricks and mortar. It’s about the human beings who are involved.”
This is what Mills thinks will be Ramia’s legacy. It won’t be about the buildings or businesses he’s developed; it will be about helping people.
“It’s assisting Capital Health to re-think how health care is delivered,” Mills says. “It’s about the mental health programs that are helping people living with mental illness.”
For people who never encounter Ramia in their day-to-day lives, their perception of him will probably be of Ramia the developer, but those who know him best, know that he’s having a significant positive impact on the lives of Haligonians. But as a private and humble individual, Ramia would never tell you that himself.
Joe Ramia's Life in 241 Words
Originally from Lebanon, Joe Ramia immigrated with his family to Halifax when he was about nine or 10-years-old.
He first started learning the value of hard work as a youth working at his family’s restaurant, The Green Parrot, a breakfast and lunch counter on
Young Street. He could be found there peeling carrots and potatoes after school. While he was in high school at St. Pat’s, he also worked part-time at
a furniture store called Bailey’s Furniture. These experiences instilled a few lessons in him, including that nothing is given to you; you have to earn it.
He also developed an appreciation for customers.
“You get to understand the customer and the importance of a customer,” Ramia says. “Without a customer, you have nothing.”
After high school, Ramia went on to study at Dalhousie University, where he studied commerce. Once out of university, he started World Wide
Furniture with one of his five brothers (Ramia comes from a family of six boys and no girls).
“Because furniture needs bigger spaces, we said we might as well own our own buildings,” Ramia says. “So we built our buildings and started in
the construction and development business.”
A second World Wide Furniture location was soon opened and in the mid-1980s, Gallery 1 Furniture opened. At about the same time, Ramia got
involved in commercial real estate.
In early 2009, Ramia’s Rank Incorporated was announced as the developer behind Halifax’s proposed new convention centre.
A Phenomenal Opportunity
“Immigration is a very integral part of maintaining and growing our standard of living,” says Joe Ramia.
An immigrant himself, he came to Canada from Lebanon with his family as a child. He believes the key for Halifax and Nova Scotia to attract greater
numbers of immigrants depends on its universities.
“It starts initially with universities allowing people to come study here,” Ramia says. “Once the people come here, they’ll stay here. So you need to
get as many people as possible [studying here].”
He says Canada is in a unique position to attract immigrants compared to other countries.
“Canada has a phenomenal opportunity for immigration because it’s respected all over the world,” he says.
Ramia believes attracting more immigrants is key to overcoming Canada’s aging demographics.
“That’s what’s going to save us, especially in Nova Scotia,” Ramia says. “We’re the oldest population in Canada. We have a more dire need thananywhere else.”
Insider Information
Favourite food: “I’m not a stickler. I like basic meat and potatoes.”
Favourite types of music: “I can sit and listen to classics. I can listen to rock. It all depends on the mood I’m in.”
Best concerts he’s ever attended: StevieWonder at the Halifax Metro Centre, as well as an Elton John concert in Las Vegas. “I saw him at the stage that was built for Celine Dion. It was an unbelievable sounding stage. It was fantastic.”
On golf: “I’m a charity golfer. I only golf at charitable events. I don’t have time for golf, but I’d like to play.”
Quotable Quotes
“He’s a corporate leader, but he’s a community leader in my mind too.”
– Bill Bean, president and CEO of the QEII Foundation.
“He puts himself out there 2,000 per cent and contributes humbly and silently, not looking for any personal gain or recognition, on behalf of
somebody he may never meet because he knows it’s the right thing to do.”
– Lisa Mills, president and CEO of the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia.
“(He) has a genuine interest in creating a healthier community and healthier individuals.”
– Brian Rankine, director of business development for Capital Health.
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