Capital Networks’ Founder Trainor Fully Retires
January 4, 2021 by Dave Haynes
Bil Trainor sent me a nice note in recent days letting me know he was finally, totally, 100% retired from Capital Networks, the broadcast and digital signage software company he started some 30 years ago.
“December 31st was my last day with Capital Networks,” he wrote in a note. “Since planning, launching and operating it has been 30 terrific years. From dial-up to floppy, then tape to laser discs, on and on to several flavours of digital video, it has been a wonderful run. Now it’s on to the second half of my career.”
That means a lot of summertime golf – his home is off to the right of the first hole of the club north of Toronto, where he’s a member.
He also sits on several local boards, which keeps him busy.
Trainor had in the last few years been winding down, handing more and more of the job over to Jim Vair, who has been with Trainor for at least 20 years. He was just doing about a day a week, I think, the last couple of years, and working out his house before that became necessary for most of us.
I note this because Bil has been a huge supporter of the industry, and Sixteen:Nine, for many, many years. He’s an old school, your-word-and-your-handshake-mean-something kind of guy. Total gentleman. And deadpan-funny as hell. He says his given name only has one L because his parents were poor and couldn’t afford two.
A very good indicator of Trainor as a boss and a person is that most of the Capital team have been there for as long as Vair, in an industry where sales people, in particular, shift around between companies like middle relievers change clubs in baseball (constantly, if the analogy doesn’t register).
It’s a young industry, relatively speaking, but old enough that we now have some of the builders and supporters shutting down. People like Bil have been central to the industry’s growth.
Happy, happy retirement Bil!
PS – If you want to contact Bil – to keep in touch or maybe ask him to feed your cats while you’re away (he has free time) – this is his non-work email: trainorbil at gmail.com
Congratulations Bil and thanks for your contribution to the industry my company and many others have been built on. It’s a pleasure to serve Capital Networks.
Great article Dave. Hope you are around in 20 years when I retire!
Congrats to one of the industry veterans,
I hope we will have time to pay back back the golf round I still owe you.
Best to you and enjoy the well deserved time off.
Frank Squizzato
To Bill, leav e forth as you have builty a better army to take the fight from here. They can too carry the memories and the willa od this that can before them. Moving every upward that electroxnix mountanib they calll progress.