Note: Aside from the past presidents, most of the individuals mentioned in this document were still employed by Geac on its 25th anniversary. There were many other people who were influential over the years, but aren't specifically mentioned here because they had already left the company. Perhaps someone someday will write a more definitive history.
1971 | |
| March 15 | company starts doing business (Bob Isserstedt and Gus German) with initial equity of $50 |
| May 11 | incorporation papers filed |
| unknown | first Geac 150 installed at Simcoe County Board of Education (financial application written in FORTRAN) |
1972 | |
| May 1 | Don Bagshaw joins the company |
| unknown | first Geac 500 installed at Donlands Dairy (order entry system) |
| unknown | inventory system installed for Ontario Hydro at Pickering NGS |
| November 28 | first issue of "Geaction" is published |
1973 | |
| unknown | first Geac 800 installed at Donlands Dairy |
1974 | |
| May 20 | Brian McGibbon joins the company |
| August | Ted Grunau joins the company |
| November 14 | contract signed with Vancouver City Savings Credit Union |
1975 | |
| unknown | Geac Canada Ltd formed |
| September | Geac Computers Ltd (UK) formed (office at Hamilton Leasing) |
1976 | |
| February 9 | Phil Stevens joins the company |
| April 30 | Geac annual sales near $3 million |
| unknown | Vancouver office opened |
| summer | second issue of "Geaction" is published (but called Vol.1 No.1) |
| summer | 60 staff in Canada, 12 in UK |
| approximate | head office moves to 145 Idema Road in Markham |
1977 | |
| February 18 | first ski trip to Vermont organized by Dave Timlock |
| April 30 | annual revenue $5.5 million (100 employees) |
| September | First GLIS customers go live on hybrid 8000s (Guelph and Waterloo) |
| October | 100 staff in Canada, 20 in UK |
| October | Computer Data magazine article on Canadian banking includes Geac |
| October | Bill Mutch joins the company |
| November 8 | Geac first booth (20' by 10') at Canadian Computer Show |
| November 8 | Geac 8000 officially introduced (300 MB disks, originally 8-12 terminals - later supported 20-40 custom-designed Informer terminals) |
1978 | |
| unknown | Irving Bush joins the company |
| January 13 | University of Guelph Library switches to full Geac 8000 for its Circ System |
| March 1 | office opened in Ottawa (credit union service bureau) |
| March 3 | University of Waterloo Library switches to full 8000 for its Circ System |
| April | dual 8000 system installed at Canada Permanent (~1GB disk) |
| April 19 | Geac displays at the Ontario Credit Union Managers' Conference |
| June | 8000 sold to Brauch and Neville |
| April 30 | annual revenue $6.7 million (#39 in top 50 Canadian EDP companies) (153 employees) |
| May | Geac Social Club formed |
| June 15 | Geac displays at the Canadian Library Association Exhibition (the only company with a computer on display) |
| unknown | first annual golf tournament |
| October | the name "Geac" was registered in the USA |
1979 | |
| unknown | Geac Computers Inc. formed in the USA |
| February 16 | first meeting of the Geac Social Club |
| April 30 | annual revenues $9.0M (218 employees) |
| June 6 | head office moves to 350 Steelcase Road in Markham (40,500 sq ft) |
| July | Library System leased to Princeton University |
| August | Profit sharing plan created (ESOP I?) |
| August 16 | Propharm Prescription System converted to Geac 8000 |
| December 5 | first public library system installed at London Public Library |
| November | word processing system completed for Ontario Hydro (Pickering) |
| November | Howard Phee declared Kinsman of the Year in Newmarket area |
| November | office opened in Los Angeles |
1980 | |
| January 7 | Chuck Williams joins the company as VP, GM and COO (from HP) |
| January | Geac attends first American Library Association conference |
| February 1 | first disaster recovery (after a fire at ProPharm) |
| February 8 | first "Coffee with Chuck" session |
| April | first USA library sale to University of Arizona in Tuscon |
| April 26 | Ross March dies from a heart attack |
| April 30 | annual revenues of $14 million (280 employees) |
| May 18 | Geac attends first American Banking Association Conference; Geac 6000 introduced with MOS memory |
| September | office opened in Netherlands |
| October | Geac hits 34th place in top 100 Canadian computing companies according to Evans Research Corporation |
| October 24 | acquired control of Informer, Inc. (by exercising share options) (but sold to Informer Holdings Ltd on 81/April/27) |
| December | first installation in South America (signature capture in Venezuela) |
| December | first installation of GFS banking product at Edelweiss Credit Union, Vancouver. |
1981 | |
| February 20 | Don Bagshaw moves to Los Angeles |
| April 30 | annual revenues $23.6 million (365 employees) |
| May 11 | 10th anniversary slogan = Ten Years of Success |
| October 5 | Chuck Williams and a Geac 6000 appear on the CBC National News (30 second interview at CANATECH '81 show) |
| unknown | Dual-dual 8000 installed at CPT |
| unknown | Geac forms team for Metro Toronto Computer Hockey League |
| unknown | first UK library system installed at the University of Hull |
1982 | |
| February 19 | second disaster recovery (fire at CPU Inc.) |
| February | installation of first ATM connected to Geac system |
| Spring | Vancouver office moves to larger Lake City offices in Burnaby |
| April 14 | first UK public library installed (Somerset County) |
| April 30 | annual revenues $35M (474 employees) |
| June 1 | first Geac In-House Baseball League formed (100 players, 4 teams) |
| August | 500 employees world-wide |
| August | 25 people moved from Steelcase to 7500 Woodbine Ave |
| September | Geac Mensa Jogging Club formed |
| November | first edition of "The Wizard's Column" in Geaction |
| unknown | Information Utility project started |
| unknown | Geac 2000 introduced for Pharmacy market |
1983 | |
| unknown | Tom Stern wins the Canadian National Bridge Championship |
| February 2 | first annual(?) Geac Snooker Tournament |
| February 21 | Geac Valleywood office opens (52,000 sq ft) |
| April 28 | IPO at $15.75/share raised $17M |
| April 30 | annual revenues $48M (profit $3.8M) |
| May 17 | Geac shares traded on TSE at $18.50 |
| June | first public libraries in continental Europe (Holland - Soest and Venendaal) signed |
| July | Geac Flying Club proposed |
| August | first trans-Atlantic wager placed via GEM (on a cricket match) |
| May | first Geac-built library terminals (8360/8370) delivered |
| June | first Online Public Catalogue system goes live at NYU (also first LAN customer) |
| unknown | Smithsonian Institute signs a $1.4M contract |
| unknown | US Army (Europe) signs $4M contract |
| November 1 | Winnipeg office opened |
| November | Concept 9000 introduced |
| November | first corporate advertising campaign |
| November | Hollywood Tower office opened in Bristol |
| November | Geac common shares hit $27 on TSE |
| December 19 | acquired Brauch & Neville Associates Limited |
| unknown | acquired Craden Peripherals Corporation |
1984 | |
| February 4 | Geac team participates in York University Corporate Challenge |
| February 28 | first Geac trade delegation to Australia |
| April 30 | annual revenues $60.9M |
| May 1 | major reorganization completed, into vertical markets |
| May 27 | Geac Vancouver participates in YMCA/Sunlife Corporate Cup |
| June | Alexandria (Virgina) office opened |
| July | Avco Trust signs $6M contract |
| July | Geac Motorsport Club proposed |
| September 14 | Stockholm office opened |
| September 24 | Geac becomes exclusive Canadian distributor for Gigadisc |
| October | first annual(?) Geac Craft Show and Sale |
| November | office opened at 205 Riviera Drive (Markham) |
| November 1 | ESOP II plan created |
| November 3 | Dan Aharoni (Geac Director) dies |
| December | West Beaver Creek office opened (16,000 sq ft) |
| December 14 | first version of Library Terminal Emulator for IBM PC (by WCM) |
1985 | |
| April 30 | annual revenues $71.7M |
| unknown | first Australian system goes live (CLANN) |
1986 | |
| unknown | GEM interfaced to Envoy 100 |
| unknown | acquired 40% of Vista Financial Systems |
| April 7 | Bill Beairsto joins the company as president and CEO |
| April 30 | annual revenues $65.1M |
| May 2 | Expo '86 opens in Vancouver |
| September 1 | G.Yak appears in Geaction, apparently for the first time |
| November 1 | Geac stock at $2.25 |
| November 7 | Beairsto resigns |
| November 14 | Bob Isserstedt becomes president & Ted Grunau CEO |
| December 3 | Geac Canada Ltd. and GCC enters interim receivership |
| December 5 | stock hits $0.65 |
1987 | |
| April 30 | annual revenues $64M |
| May | Globe & Mail Report on Business Mag "Excellence Is Not Enough" |
| June 8 | Helix Investments comes to the rescue with $20M |
| September | Steve Sadler joins the company as CFO |
| October 15 | Geac comes out of receivership |
| October 19 | "Black Monday" on the stock markets |
| December | Neil Mackay joins company as president |
1988 | |
| January | acquired Citicorp Information Resources |
| unknown | revised logo and corporate colour adopted |
| unknown | Hosers trivia team formed to play NTN Showdown |
| February 11 | George Hoicka dies |
| March | first employee to retire is Dil German (73 years old) |
| April 30 | annual revenues $68.5M |
| July | "The Power of Performance" adopted as company slogan |
| October 3 | Geac is awarded 1988 Canada Export Award |
1989 | |
| February 14 | Stefan R. Bothe joins the company as president and CEO |
| April 30 | annual revenues $74.8M |
| June | Allstate office opened |
| June 5 | acquired Advanced Libraries & Information Inc (ALLI) and their ADVANCE library system |
| June 21 | geac.com registered on the Internet |
| November 13 | first Turbo 8000 installed (at INCOLSA) |
| unknown | S.O.S. (System Optimization Services) introduced by Library Div. |
1990 | |
| April 30 | annual revenues $72.7M |
| July | Geac Amsterdam office damaged by terrorist bomb next door (Geac 9000 survives unscathed) |
| unknown | IFS 2000 package released in UK |
| August 1 | Stephen J. Sadler appointed president and CEO |
| September 18 | acquired Jonas & Erickson Software Technology (J&E) |
| September 26 | acquired Fact International Limited |
| September | Lynne Beckett crowned "Miss Markham Fair 1990" |
1991 | |
| May 11 | 20th Anniversary contest = 20/20 Vision: Libraries of Tomorrow |
| July | Geac celebrates its 20 Anniversary with a memorable bash at Summer ALA in Atlanta held at the High Museum. |
1992 | |
| June 1 | acquired assets of Albion Computing Pty. Ltd. |
| November 30 | acquired assets of McDonnell Douglas Information Systems Canada, Inc. |
| November 30 | acquired CLSI, Inc. (USA, UK, France, Netherlands and Canada) |
1993 | |
| February 26 | acquired Mentat Computer Systems Pty. Limited (Australia) |
| February 28 | acquired Concord Management Systems, Inc. |
| March 31 | acquired Computer Library Services International Pty. Ltd. & Aldis Pty. Ltd. |
| April 30 | acquired NBI Canada, Inc. |
| April 30 | acquired MAI United Kingdom Limited and Tekserv Computer Services Limited |
| June 30 | acquired Claymore Systems Group (957024 Ontario Inc.) |
| June 30 | acquired assets of New Tech Hospitality Systems Ltd. (Australia) |
| August 4 | acquired ECI Computer, Inc. |
| August 8 | acquired assets of ComPro (Nisus) |
| September 28 | acquired Datamark International Limited (NZ) & Dmark International Pty. Limited. (Aust.) |
| November 5 | acquired assets of Convergent Solution Pty. Ltd. |
1994 | |
| January 31 | acquired assets of Hotel Computer Systems Limited. (New Zealand) |
| January 31 | acquired assets of Hotel Systems Pty. Limited (Australia) |
| April 5 | Geac Markham goes live on the Internet |
| April 30 | annual revenues of $152.2M |
| June 30 | acquired Collier-Jackson Inc. from Compuserve |
| September 12 | ADVANCE support centralized in Markham |
| November 1 | acquired assets of Fasfax Corporation |
| December 28 | acquired Odis |
1995 | |
| March 31 | acquired assets of Alternative Management Systems Inc. |
| August 31 | acquired Software Shop Systems, Inc. |
1996 | |
| January 3 | acquired Control Transaction Corporation |
| February 6 | acquired assets of OCS Technologies, Inc. |
| May 10 | 25th Anniversary celebrated |
| June 3 | acquired Perc Technical Services |
| June 3 | acquired Tranti Systems |
| July 8 | Steve Sadler announces his resignation as CEO, but joins board of directors |
| July | stock price drops to $16 |
| August 1 | William Nelson announced as new CEO and Chairman |
| August 19 | acquired Pro-Mation |
| August 28 | acquired LIBRA's Signature Division |
| November 1 | acquired Dun and Bradstreet Software Services, Inc. for US $191.25 million |
1997 | |
| January 31 | purchased FGH Decision Support Systems Pty Ltd. |
| January 31 | acquired assets of Comp-Tech Incorporated |
