The Ride of My Life

Julie Rekai Rickerd is a Toronto-based broadcaster and public-relations
consultant.

Gerry Pencer was a consummate entrepreneur and dealmaker. From the time
he and a friend bought their first gumball machine when he was 17 until
his untimely death at age 52, Pencer was always doing business.

It was the diagnosis of a terminal brain tumor that inspired him to
recount his great successes and equally grand failures. His legacy, the
Cott Corporation, belonged to his father. After his father’s death,
Pencer transformed the company from a small soft-drink venture into a
worldwide private-label enterprise in direct competition with Coke and
Pepsi. In the process, he crossed paths with many of the business
world’s highest flyers.

Pencer made and spent money with equal relish. He played as hard as he
worked. He never saw anything as impossible in his roller-coaster life.
He fought his disease with the same energy he devoted to his business
dealings. After his brain surgery, he continued to attend meetings and
worked from home as long as he was able. Only months before his death,
he chartered a yacht for a Mediterranean vacation with his family and
friends; the trip included an audience with the Pope.

The Ride of My Life is the inspiring story of a remarkable man who
lived life to the fullest.