Lee R. Anderson, Sr.

For other people named Lee Anderson, see Lee Anderson (disambiguation).
Lee R. Anderson, Sr.
Born Lee Reuben Anderson, Sr.
(1939-06-22) June 22, 1939
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Residence Naples, Florida, United States
Nationality American
Education West Point class of 1961
Alma mater West Point
Occupation Owner and Chairman of APi Group, Inc.
Years active 1964-present
Spouse(s) Penny Anderson (m. 1965)
Children 2

Lee Reuben Anderson, Sr. (born June 22, 1939) is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the owner and chairman of the Minnesota-based APi Group Inc., a holding company for numerous construction and fire-protection firms. His charitable interests include children's health, higher education, and the welfare of American military veterans.

Biography

Anderson, an only child, was born in Minneapolis, Minn., and attended the private Breck School, then in St. Paul. A lifelong outdoorsman, he spent much of his boyhood at the family home in the Brainerd lakes area north of the Twin Cities.[1] At the urging of his father, a successful plumbing contractor, he enrolled at the United States Military Academy at West Point and played football and basketball. After he graduated in 1961 with a B.S. in civil engineering, Anderson served in the U.S. Army at Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona, where he oversaw materials procurement and construction services and was promoted to first lieutenant.

In 1964, Anderson returned to the Twin Cities and took over Asbestos Products, Inc., an insulation contractor that was a division of his father's business. After he purchased an industrial fire sprinkler company in 1969, Anderson continued to acquire other firms, primarily in the construction and fire-protection fields. The growing conglomerate was renamed APi Group Inc. in 1997.

Today, the parent corporation consists of 37 affiliates with some 9,000 employees. While its holdings remain centered in the Upper Midwest, APi owns companies across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In 2008, Forbes ranked APi at 351 among America's largest private companies, estimating its annual revenues at $1.35 billion.[2]

Corporate Values and Culture

In 2008, APi completed a new LEED-certified headquarters in New Brighton, Minn., a northern suburb of the Twin Cities. The building features the work of APi's various affiliates and reflects the company's emerging emphasis on alternative energy and green construction. In keeping with the company's decentralized ownership style, new member firms are often encouraged to retain their brand identities and management teams. The subsidiary network allows for the sharing of resources and efficient practices, creating a "one-stop synergy" for APi's predominantly industrial clientele.[3] In purchasing companies, Anderson has said he looks for those with a similar culture, with a focus on loyalty. He believes that valued employees should not have to ask for raises and promotions in return for good work.

Bank Acquisitions

In the late 1970s, Anderson also began to purchase small banks in central and northern Minnesota. In 1997, he sold his banking assets to Norwest Corporation for a reported $75 million in stock.[4] Norwest's subsequent merger with Wells Fargo, in 1998, greatly enhanced the value of the shares Anderson had acquired in the original trade.

Philanthropy

In recent years, Anderson had committed a sizeable amount of his fortune to various charitable causes. In 2005, he and his wife, Penny, gave $60 million to the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul - the largest individual donation ever received by a Minnesota college or university.[5] The Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex opened on the St. Thomas campus in 2011. In 2003, the Andersons pledged $6 million for the building of the Anderson Rugby Complex at West Point, which was dedicated in May 2007. As frequent contributors to West Point, he and his wife are recognized as the largest donors in the academy's history, in terms of financial support.[6] Since 2002, the Andersons have given $6 million to Children's Hospital Boston for research on a rare form of muscular dystrophy, mini-core myopathy, that afflicts one of their grandchildren.[7]

Military Veterans

In 2011, the Andersons donated $2.5 million toward the building of the new Defenders Lodge, a $12.5 million hotel facility for veterans seeking care at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Palo Alto, California.[8] Anderson also pledged to fund the first three years of Hiring Our Heroes, a program launched in 2011 by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, with support from veteran service organizations, to stage job fairs across the country. The initiative also recognizes firms that have made extraordinary efforts to help wounded service members and other veterans reenter the civilian workforce.[9]

Private Life

Lee and Penny Anderson, who married in 1965, maintain homes in Minnesota and in Naples, Florida. They have a son, a daughter, and six grandchildren. Anderson, an avid hunter, is the funder of a conservation education program through the Boone and Crockett Club in the Montana Rockies.[10] The Andersons have also supported the St. David's Relief Foundation, a Texas-based Catholic nonprofit group that has assisted humanitarian efforts in Bosnia-Herzegovina following the Yugoslav Wars (1991–1995). After first visiting nearby Croatia in 2001, the couple now owns a winery and hotel in Orebic, a town on the Adriatic coast.[11]

Memberships and Awards

Anderson serves as director and trustee for numerous companies, organizations, outdoor groups, and academic institutions, including Breck School, the University of St. Thomas, and the Naples Children and Education Foundation. He is a director of the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.; Pan-O-Gold Baking Company; and a member of the Minnesota Executive Organization, the Chief Executives Organization, and the World Presidents Organization. His recent awards include:

Reuben Anderson

Reuben Anderson, Lee Anderson's father, was the plumbing contractor for the White House renovation project in 1951. As noted by the historian David McCullough, President Harry S. Truman admired a poem by the elder Anderson, posted on the wall of the head engineer's temporary headquarters on the South Lawn.[20]

References

  1. ↑ Davich, Sheri. "For the Love of Boats: Adirondack style boathouse deeply rooted on Nisswa Lake", Lake and Home Magazine, October/November 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  2. ↑ Reifman, Shlomo; Murphy, Andrea D. "America's Largest Private Companies", Forbes, 3 November 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  3. ↑ Rebec, Gene. "A Master Builder Without a Master Plan", Twin Cities Business, July 2008. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Beal, Dave. "APi's Low-Profile Empire", St. Paul Pioneer Press, 4 August 1999.
  5. ↑ Switzky, Bryant R.; Wyant, Carissa. "St. Thomas receives $60M gift", Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, 24 October 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "Donor Profile", Army Rugby West Point website, Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "Spirit of Giving", Children's Hospital Boston, Fall 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  8. ↑ "PenFed Foundation Receives $2.5 Million in Defenders Lodge Initiative", Philanthropy News Digest, 20 August 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  9. ↑ "Hiring Our Heroes", U.S. Chamber of Commerce website, Retrieved March 13, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Lee and Penny Anderson Conservation Education Program", The Boone and Crockett Club, Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  11. ↑ Ward, Bill. "Zivejele (Welcome) to Croatian Varietals", Star Tribune, 14 April 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "Minnesota Executive and Renowned Philanthropist Lee R. Anderson Sr. Selected for Prestigious Horatio Alger Award – Class of 2014 ", horatioalger.org, 18 Nov 2013.
  13. ↑ "Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) announces 2014 award recipients : MOAA", moaa.org, 24 Mar 2014.
  14. ↑ "CELEBRATE A LEGACY OF DEVOTION AT OUR 18TH ANNUAL GALA", "armydistaff.org, 19 September 2013.
  15. ↑ "Minnesotan Receives Highest West Point Honor", kstp.com, 21 May 2013.
  16. ↑ "Labovitz Award recipients announced", duluthnewstribune.com, 27 April 2013.
  17. ↑ "NAADD Announces 2011 Award Winners", www.nacda.com, 7 March 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  18. ↑ "Videos of the 2010 Seton Award Recipients", National Catholic Educational Association, Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  19. ↑ "APi Group, Inc.’s Lee R. Anderson named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2009 Winner in the Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction category", Ernst & Young, 15 November 2009. Retrieved 20 March 2012.
  20. ↑ McCullough, David (2003). Truman, p.1024. Simon and Schuster, New York. ISBN 0671456547.

Further reading

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