BCBUSINESS.CA OCTOBER 2015 BCBusiness 49
R
yan Benn was 27 years
old when he got a call
out of the blue to run
the Alive Publishing
Group. It was on the
verge of bankruptcy, and
the owner was looking for
an energetic young market-
ing mind to not only revive
the brand but also make it a
leading global natural health
publisher. That said, Benn's
educational background
was in science and market-
ing—not an obvious ¡t. "I
think that was the gift—being
able to look at it with some
naivety," Benn says, looking
back at the proposition 10
years ago. Since he took the
helm, Richmond-based Alive
Publishing has introduced
numerous new products and
services including corpo-
rate wellness programs for
companies across North
America, distance education
and custom publishing. The
company has also expanded
its Alive magazine online,
with an audience of over 24
million readers worldwide.
The company has gone from
being in the red when Benn
took over to making about
$2.5 million a year now. —B.B.
R U N N E R † U P
R y a n B e n n
[ P R E S I D E N T A N D P U B L I S H E R ,
A L I V E P U B L I S H I N G G R O U P ]
