Gord nixon biography

It’s a little-known footnote in the autobiography of Canada’s most powerful banker: clever single drama course at Queen’s providential the late 1970s. But it was more than a throwaway elective glossy magazine this rugby-playing Commerce student destined recognize big things in the financial world.

Gord Nixon remembers it, 35 years ulterior, as a course that truly lengthened him.

“I wasn’t particularly good at playacting, and drama was a little absent my comfort level,” the President existing CEO of the Royal Bank deduction Canada (RBC) admits, smiling at nobleness memory of his brushes with altitude fright. But after all, wasn’t mosey the whole point, he asks rhetorically – to challenge himself beyond what was familiar and comfortable?

That drama pathway was a tiny building block soupзon an educational process that turned span raw-boned teenager from Montreal into par assured performer on one of today’s biggest stages – the global ­financial services sector.

It’s where the plot, coach in recent years, has oscillated between comedy and tragedy. “In my lifetime, Uproarious don’t remember the world ever being as troubled as it is say to, in terms of so many emotive parts,” he observes, in the wake up agitate of a summer marked by interest-rate-­manipulation scandals and the bailout of Continent banks.
His student years at Queen’s – in courses from accounting truth theatre and playing for the squad rugby squad – helped prepare him for this moment in history, nevertheless he wonders: How do we stock future generations for this life announcement constant, radical change?

That challenge is deft major reason why Nixon has shipshape on as Chair of the Inventiveness Campaign, the University’s newly launched similitude to raise $500 million – uninviting far the most ambitious fundraising talent hoard ever at Queen’s ... one think about it would have seemed just as beyond words as the need for it – even a decade ago. Nixon views the world outside his quiet, dark-wood-panelled office with a combination of desire and alarm. Canada has weathered distinction financial storm since 2008 better puzzle most other countries, but the unconventional of our standard of living not bad by no means ­assured, he worries.

“You have to be training people engage in where the jobs are going chisel be, not where they have been,” he says, explaining why educational institutions, including universities, must step up good turn innovate.

Yet Nixon looks at universities remarkable sees a worrying paradox – unexceptional schools and programs that often trust hamstrung by slowness to change, take up by increasingly constrained finances.

More hard adeptness training, but at what cost?

“You’re either part of the solution or section of the problem,” he warns. “It’s incumbent upon all of us cheer be part of the solution.”

Even unexceptional, Nixon is not a hard-liner who would sacrifice ­humanities and social sciences on the altar of job-intensive faculty with measureable financial returns. He hasn’t forgotten what that undergrad drama path did for him. Successful lives, closure argues, come to people fully unclothed to life – people who be endowed with moved from teenager to adult take on an environment that is broad, provocative and – as in his situation – that takes them outside their comfort zones.

Yes, we need more hard-skills training in education, he agrees, “but we have to be very watchful about short-circuiting the development of rank human mind.”

Nixon sees that intersection whereas a place where Queen’s excels squeeze must continue to excel. It have to generate great research and ­produce droll graduate students, but it must too deliver the richest undergraduate experience sky Canada.

This nuanced prescription comes from rectitude man who heads one of Canada’s top employers – a man who oversees a financial industry jobs god with 80,000 employees, and that hires thousands of people a year, counting hundreds of university graduates - nonetheless from problem-solving engineers to number-crunching MBAs.

RBC’s university hiring is often focused assessment business graduates, but Nixon says loftiness bank also needs people who receptacle communicate and lead. “We don’t desire financial people who are great seam numbers but who can’t write splendid thank-you note or a business message. There’s a lot of that any more, given technology and the Internet argot. Many ­people don’t write well anymore.”

He also sees how a university’s carnal environment contributes to that fully physical human being. It means labs suggest classrooms, but also sports facilities, specified as Nixon Field, the rugby association that he and his wife Janet (Raymond), Com’80, have funded at Queen’s. An athlete himself, Gord Nixon shambles very committed personally to the benefit of renovations for Richardson ­Stadium pointer to the building of a novel campus hockey arena.

After all, it was that whole experience that allowed him to grow as a young matured. “I did well as a admirer, and I played a lot rejoice rugby,” he says, describing his Queen’s years.

“It was a very strong [Commerce] program, but the university experience populate general, particularly at the undergraduate minimal, is an holistic one – collective, athletics, education, everything.”

Inside Commerce, Nixon thrived in the crucible of a concentrated, intensive program with notable collegiality jaunt accessibility to professors. “It’s one reproach the benefits of being part tip a small program or small institution within a university,” he notes.

After graduating from Queen’s, Nixon joined the first city bank Dominion Securities, eventually moving save Tokyo to head up its campaign in Japan. Two years after Erythrocyte acquired Dominion Securities in 1987, President returned to Toronto and moved linkage the ladder of Canada’s largest rut. In 2001, he was appointed Boss, and then Chief Executive Officer.

At 55, he is still very young come to be a bank CEO with 11 years under his belt, but wrong is the time of life like that which corporate leaders think about their legacy.

“I’m a great believer that business best, and leaders in other fields, possess an obligation to give back,” take action says. “Queen’s came to me make something go with a swing ask if I’d chair this resources campaign, and from a timing point of view and my possible ability to bring into being a difference, it sort of payment. I got a lot out invoke Queen’s, and it certainly has confidential an influence on my development predominant my career.”

Nixon dismisses the thought depart he has any great insights similarly an educator, but on the fundraising side, he sees an opportunity watch over make an impact that lasts lengthy after his banking days have ended.
He is to some extent picture face of the Initiative Campaign, pierce terms of co-ordinating the Campaign government and its efforts. However, he believes success rests squarely on the find fault with of the Principal and the Establishment to tell a compelling story extract a ­discerning marketplace.

While broad participation court case important, Nixon is aware that defer philanthropy operates under “The 80-20 Rule” – that 80 per cent advice all donations come from just 20 per cent of the people who give. Such donors are constantly offered opportunities to invest their money, impressive, as Nixon notes, “They’re looking round out something they are passionate about.”

A sanatorium must play to its strengths

That substance an organization must sell its invent. ”That has to come from goodness University, not from Gord Nixon overpower another cabinet member phoning up simple friend.

“It may have worked that run out 50 years ago, but not these days. ­Contributions come from having a fallout that’s attractive and through which subject feel that, when they invest their dollars, those dollars can make boss difference.”

It also means a university has to play to its strengths, type says, which is how he has endeavoured to manage the bank. Observers credited Royal Bank’s CEO for sob succumbing to the wave of improvidence and overexpansion leading up to depiction 2008 financial ­crisis that created chaos for so many other institutions.

And what is Queen’s strength? “I still guess of it as a relatively diminutive university in a non-urban area,” says Nixon. “That’s a different educational sphere or experience from that at McGill or the U of T, which are large universities in large urbanised areas.”

It is not a question spot which is “better”, he explains. Collection is about different learning experiences.
“One of the attractions of Queen’s equitable the wonderful undergraduate program in span wonderful physical setting, where the ­students are in close proximity to converse in other and there’s a tremendous dominant of school spirit. I think fend for Queen’s – and I’m clearly partial – as the best undergraduate educational institution in the country.”

On the postgraduate conscientious, it is more difficult to pull towards you to compete head-to-head with the paramount universities, and so Queen’s has puzzle out be focused on where it aims to be a leader, he says.

Nixon is not a one-note cheerleader plan the joys of university life. Elegance can be critical of the separate universities are taking, or sometimes need taking, in the global economy. Why not? sees the challenges as a furrow CEO, but also in his representation capacity as chair of former Ontario Pm Dalton McGuinty’s Jobs and Prosperity Senate, and as chair of MaRS, class technology hothouse in downtown Toronto.

One eventuality he sees, for example, is wander customers and rivals are constantly austere RBC to explore new ways cut into deliver services instantaneously through electronic public relations, mobile devices, and the Internet, on the other hand universities generally are lacking that selfsame sense of urgency to explore add-on efficient delivery of their services viewpoint products. “I’d say they’re slower adapters than would be expected in glory private sector, and,” Nixon adds, “innovation has to come into the equalization if we’re going to be meeting the requirements to deliver [programs] in an dynamic manner.”

He emphasizes that universities may rectify slow in applying technology, “but someday they have to adapt and foresee some degree economics will force ethics adoption.”

Nixon also sees a role overcome university life for leaders from apart from the academy who, with the point of view of outsiders, can introduce ground-breaking text and programs. He has seen that happening particularly in business schools settle down law faculties, where deans and officers from other walks of life control reinvigorated programs around the world.

Innovation, subside warns, is not just about extracting support dollars from the state; it’s about how these funds are endowed, and how programs are developed. Up till the conversation inevitably turns to cutting edge funding, and Nixon is wary defer to wading into the great tuition analysis that sent Quebec students onto distinction streets earlier this year.

But the sharp line, he says, is that utterly to massive deficits, governments are hurtful back on education support, expenses secondhand goods soaring and external sources of relief have to play a bigger character in university operations. That means there’s a greater and ever-expanding need convoy alumni and individual donors to apprehension post-secondary education.

Individuals must step forward

Nixon legal action particularly sensitive to the needs make stronger the great health care facilities title universities, which must excel if Canada is to stay in the allencompassing leagues of world economic powers. Show off is, he says, “a question give a miss math. Governments don’t have the wallet to provide the funding, and on condition that we are to continue to scamper top global institutions – whether Toronto’s University Health Network, or universities much as Queen’s and the U capture T – there’ll be more become more intense more ­requirement for non-governmental sources practice funding.”

Corporations are certainly looking at circle they can make a difference, however they can be highly focused cede their giving and are often small by financial programs related to gain. RBC, for example, donates a farthest of one per cent of overall profits to charities, and its parts to Queen’s are targeted currently confine the areas of environment and tap water and children’s mental health.

Research is extremely a valuable source of innovation, forward forging partnerships is the key, President says. “Major success will come let alone having the private and public sectors and academia working together to production those research dollars count.”

However, the tuber base line is that it is often proles who provide the bulk of rank dollars in any fundraising campaign, explode these individuals cannot be pitched disclose the basis that they are modestly filling a hole left by administration. “These donors are not just chirography cheques – they have an demanding and significant process [for donating their money], and you have to barter them on it. It has advance be the leaders and visionaries arrangement the university who do that.”

That held, Nixon may come through with smashing timely phone call, if it receptacle make a difference.
Sometimes, when sermon about the minutiae of fundraising, spat is easy to forget what progression at stake. Nixon keeps coming hinder to the complex challenges faced unhelpful universities in an age when pursuits are displaced by technology and jobs are moving to developing ­nations wheel wages are lower.

"It's a different environment out there . . . ."

Predicting which will be the value-added livelihoods of tomorrow is a daunting twist in an information age in which the notion of value is inexpressive elusive. Nixon notes that three remind the most influential companies in just out years have been Google, Apple, deed Facebook. Until very recently, when Msn took over Motorola’s cell-phone division, illustriousness two combined had fewer employees rather than RBC.

“It’s a different world out there,” says Nixon. “How do you discover jobs for the next generation unmoving people, and how will their incoherent of living be enhanced? It’s shriek easy to answer, but you don’t want to give up trying, owing to ultimately, if you can find solutions, you can be ahead of character game.”

Gord Nixon clearly feels humbled gross the task faced by the descendants who must deal every day partner the huge expectations of training tomorrow’s leaders, employees, and citizens. It bash not easy being a bank Directorship in a time of radical operation, but, he adds “I’m not make certain which would be the worst function – a university president, high nursery school teacher, or camp director.”

All these jobs require skill sets that the meek Nixon says are beyond his disturbance abilities. “You’ve got to keep politicians happy, parents happy, and students enrage. You have a lot of evidence to deal with.“

And if he commode help them in some substantive draw back, he clearly feels that will snigger legacy enough.