LONDON, ON – January 7, 2015 – Gord Nixon will receive the Ivey Business Leader Award and address Canada’s most prominent business leaders at an annual gala dinner in Toronto on October 18, 2016.
Mr. Nixon is best known for his role as chief executive officer of Royal Bank of Canada from 2001-2014. He continues to serve as a director of George Weston Limited, Bell Canada Enterprises, BlackRock Inc. and sits on the Advisory Board of KingSett Capital.
“Gord Nixon embodies the qualities of an exemplary business leader,” said Bob Kennedy, Dean, Ivey Business School. “Throughout his career he has stood out as a tremendous strategic thinker. In particular, he guided Royal Bank through tumultuous times during the recent financial crisis, emerging from it stronger than ever. This type of resilience and vision represents the type of leadership we embrace at Ivey.”
Mr. Nixon, is currently chairman of MaRS, a not-for-profit organization that connects science, business and capital, chairman of the Queen’s University Capital Campaign and is a director of the Art Gallery of Ontario. He chaired the Premier’s Jobs and Prosperity Council and he has been as a director of a number of organizations in the arts, health care and education.
Recently, Mr. Nixon was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame and has been awarded the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario and has been a recipient of Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year Award. He has twice been included on Barron’s List of the World’s Best CEOs and Bloomberg’s list of the World’s 50 Most Influential People.
“Gord Nixon’s career accomplishments in corporate Canada deserve tremendous recognition,” said Kevin O’Brien, HBA ’93, Chair of the Ivey Business Leader Award Dinner. “Not only is he a driven competitor in the business world, but he is also someone who remains dedicated to making his community better.”
The Ivey Business Leader Award will be presented at a black-tie dinner on October 18, 2016 at The Ritz-Carlton Toronto. Proceeds from the annual event support the Ivey Alumni Network Toronto Chapter HBA and MBA Scholarships established to attract top students to the School, the Toronto Alumni Professorship in Business Leadership, and the new Ivey Building.
Mr. Nixon joins an esteemed list of past Ivey Business Leader Award recipients demonstrating leadership in both business and their communities. Past recipients of the award include:
2015: Jeff Orr, President and CEO, Power Financial Corporation
2014: Bonnie Brooks, Vice Chair, Hudson’s Bay Company
2013: George Cope, CEO Bell Canada
2012: Rick George, Former CEO Suncor Inc.
2011: Ed Clark, Group President and CEO of TD Bank Group (TD)
2010: Peter Munk, Founder and Chairman of Barrick Gold Corporation
2009: Richard J. Currie, Past Chairman, BCE Inc. and former President, Loblaw Companies Limited and George Weston Limited
2008: Dominic D'Alessandro, President & CEO, Manulife Financial
2007: Claude Lamoureux, President & CEO and Robert Bertram, Executive Vice-President, Investments, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
2006: Isadore Sharp, Chairman and CEO, Four Seasons Hotels Inc.
2005: Peter Godsoe, former Chairman and CEO, The Bank of Nova Scotia
2002: Gwyn Morgan, President and CEO, EnCana Corporation
2001: Harrison McCain, Chairman, McCain Foods Limited, and G. Wallace McCain, Chairman, Maple Leaf Foods Inc.
2000: Purdy Crawford, Chairman, AT&T Canada
1999: Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, led by Prem Watsa, Chairman
1998: Paul Desmarais, Chairman, Power Corporation of Canada
1997: Frank Stronach, Chairman of the Board, Magna International Inc.
1996: Jean C. Monty, President and CEO, Northern Telecom Limited
1995: R. Jack Lawrence, Deputy Chairman, Nesbitt Burns Inc.
1994: Robert Nourse, President and CEO, The Bombay Company Inc.
1993: Cedric E. Ritchie, Chairman, The Bank of Nova Scotia
1992: John C. Carroll, President and CEO, Molson Breweries
1991: John M. Thompson, Chairman and CEO, IBM Canada Limited
About the Ivey Business School, Western University
The Ivey Business School (www.ivey.ca) at Western University is Canada’s leading provider of relevant, innovative and comprehensive business education. Drawing on extensive research and business experience, Ivey faculty provides the best classroom experience, equipping graduates with the skills and capabilities they need to tackle the leadership challenges in today’s complex business world. Ivey offers world-renowned undergraduate and graduate degree programs as well as Executive Education at campuses in London (Ontario), Toronto and Hong Kong.
