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BRIAN JESSEL and the LEAGUE of GENTLEMEN
40+ years in the BMW business has been a ride well worth it—with some unexpected life lessons along the way
Story by:Aaron Chapman Photos by: Mohammad Alsaber
W Brian Jessel, the
hen Brian Jessel is asked what he recalls as his first memory—it is of cars.
destiny as an icon of success in the automotive business. But, perhaps a recollection may be too predictable or formulaic an answer, for a life that’s never really been predictable or formulaic.
biggest fan of all things Vancouver,
stands proudly in
“I know it’s going to sound strange, but I remember being in a crib in London, Ontario, and sitting outside and watching the cars go by. We lived next to a gas station, so even the smell of fuel was an early memory. I was a car guy right away,” he smiles.
front of Science World’s FIFA Ball.
Speaking to Jessel in the showroom of his grand, nearly 70,000-square-foot new BMW facility on Vancouver’s Boundary Road, complete with a sales and service department, which even features a lounge to relax in, it’s the ideal location to look back on a life in business, as well as the business of life.
It’s the kind of innocent, cinematic, Rosebud-like early memory that might easily point to Jessel’s
Jessel’s biography is well-noted. Growing up in Ontario, he learned the business of buying and selling used cars from his father Bernie. In 1972, he moved to Vancouver after undertaking a cross-Canada tour, visiting some of his business and dealer contacts along the way.
corporate environment. There are companies in Canada who own as many as 60 to 80 dealerships, with even bigger conglomerates in the U.S. who own as many as 300 of them, and by sheer volume don’t forge the same relationships with buyers, even regular customers over time.
From Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie, onto Winnipeg and Edmonton, with numerous other stops (“In a Cadillac with no snow tires!”), he finally arrived in Vancouver.
“Now, myself—one of those gentleman car dealers—is an anomaly,” Jessel says.
It was that lifetime love of cars that fuelled Jessel in those years, and he never could have predicted much beyond the weekly sales slips. “If you would have told me when I bought my first BMW
“When I got here, even though it was raining, there was no snow,” he laughs. But it wasn’t just the gentler climate that convinced him
“I remember being in a crib in London, Ontario,
and sitting outside and watching the cars go by.”
to relocate. “Here in Vancouver at that time, anything was possible. It was the Wild West.”
dealership, at some point it would be the biggest one in Canada—I would have laughed. That first dealership was in Abbotsford—the previous owner I bought it off had sold 50 cars a year. Eventually our company would grow and go on to sell 5,000 cars a year—a few times. I mean, that would have seemed impossible to me in the beginning.”
Jessel became a firsthand witness to the changes in the business history of car dealerships in the Lower Mainland. In the 1970s, established name leaders and owner-operators like Clarke- Simpkins and Brown Bros Ford dominated the local landscape that Jessel himself rose in.
The dealership’s move from Langley to Coquitlam, and later from Coquitlam to the current Boundary Road location, were significant shifts. “I worked seven days a week for six months. I was there every day. I just wanted to see how everything worked. I
“These people were typically outstanding citizens in the community, well-to-do gentlemen.” Today, with consolidation, he notes it’s a much more
“If you would have told me when I bought my first BMW dealership, at some
point it would be the biggest one in Canada—I would have laughed.”
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Brian Jessel, Abdel
wanted to see when the sales team locked the door at night, to see what it was like when the service team opened in the morning,” he says, noting today he is less hands-on. He doesn’t need to be.
Awwad and Aaron
Chapman discuss
growing with the Vancouver market
for 40 years.
“I’m not that person anymore, but we’ve been at Boundary Road now for 22 years.” And Jessel credits Jim Murray, his managing partner of over 20 years, with much of his success. “I not only trust him with my business, but my life,” Jessel says candidly.
When he thinks of a life spent in the automotive business and of that emblematic circular BMW logo, it’s the word “Performance” which immediately comes to mind. “That’s what it’s all about. Hey, they weren’t always beautiful! But today, it’s the best of the best.”
That passion for performance has extended to his charity interests. And it’s the work of the Brian Jessel Foundation, which hosted annual galas that turned his BMW showroom into an upscale nightclub and party space, that one can tell he’s still quietly proud of. The event brought together prominent business figures and celebrities, with music headliners like Colin James and the
“I’ve been wrong 927 times,
and I’ve been right about 8 times. But the 8 times have been pretty good!”
Barenaked Ladies, CeeLo Green, Shawn Hook and even former Tonight Show host Jay Leno on stage to entertain. Over its run, the event raised millions of dollars benefitting the Pancreatic Cancer Canada Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society and their vital medical research and aftercare programs.
It’s a cause near to Jessel’s heart. His father Bernie died of the disease, as did friend and fellow businessman Jack Poole, who was the head of the VANOC bid committee to bring the 2010 Winter Olympics to
Vancouver. Though instrumental in that successful bid, Poole tragically never got to witness the event, dying on the eve the Olympic flame was lit in Greece, on its way to Vancouver. Those sad turns made the research of pancreatic cancer his charity of choice.
of the hardest things to deal with. Both Jim Murray and I like to give everybody a chance, but we’ve been lucky to hire some great people. To everyone who has been working for us for 10 years, I send them a little note on their anniversary. People are sometimes surprised by that—I know other dealerships don’t do it. But it’s a personal thing. Because we demand so much more from our employees as far as taking care of our clients, we need to be prepared to give back more than other dealership owners.
But car dealerships typically didn’t hold galas, and Jessel wanted to do something different. Once again, his own history was of great use in putting on something special. “We had some experience doing large-scale new car introductions—we did an introduction to the BMW 7 Series back in the 1990s at the Hotel Vancouver. I remember talking to the banquet manager and he couldn’t believe we wanted to get a car into the elevator to take up to the ballroom. But we did it!”
“Some things don’t work out, and those wrong things can change your life,” Jessel reflects, “But sometimes what seems like a catastrophe, maybe 20 years later, maybe that’s best thing that ever happened to me. In the end, if you’re happy where you are today, you can’t go and say I wish I would have done this, or that.”
Jessel and I meet again later at his home on Point Grey Road. From the back garden of his house, he has a remarkable view that covers
“I know it’s difficult out there for people. But hard work still counts.”
an expanse from English Bay downtown out to the Strait of Georgia, which makes for his daily panorama. And, on a clear and warm morning like this, despite a few appointments that day, he laughingly says he is thinking of cancelling them and just enjoying the beautiful fall day.
All these years after he first arrived in Vancouver, Jessel knows the city has changed, and the highs and lows of the economy—more recently from COVID to a post-COVID boom in the car industry—have been a test. But he still believes in the city he made his trade in.
It’s a good day to ask him some further introspection he’s gained over the years not only in business, but life in general; such as, in business management, how much does one chase, and what do you leave to other people and employees?
“I know it’s difficult out there for people. But hard work still counts. People say luck is a big part of it. But luck is getting up in the morning and having a pile of cash at hand, then going to bed and getting up the next morning and having even more there—that’s lucky! Going out and earning the money, that’s work.”
“It’s a very interesting question. There are a lot of people who see a goal, and they work their whole lives towards it. It may not seem like it, but I was always going different directions and trying different things. People tell me, ‘What an amazing life. You’ve been so successful’, and I always say—‘I’ve been wrong 927 times, and I’ve been right about eight times. But the eight times have been pretty good!’
And at Jessel’s back garden, one still gets the feeling there’s some things he’s still chasing, and some things he’s happy to leave to his trusted team to pursue. But there’s a satisfaction and a contentment of wisdom that on a clear and sunny day, as that view of English Bay spreads all the way out to the Strait of Georgia, a couple of cancelled appointments that day won’t hurt at all. T
“Picking the right people is important—but sometimes their lives can change—that’s one
“Sometimes what seems
like a catastrophe, maybe 20 years later seems, maybe that’s the best thing that
ever happened to me.”
