Ben Barry (born February 9, 1983) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

, and

women's health Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Often treated ...

advocate. He is currently the Dean of Fashion at the

New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers ...

. Ben is the founder and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the Ben Barry Agency, a

modelling agency A modeling agency is a company that represents fashion models, to work for the fashion industry. These agencies earn their income via commission, usually from the deal they make with the model and/or the head agency. The top agencies work with b ...

and consultancy known for its use of diverse models, and the author of the Canadian bestseller ''Fashioning Reality: A New Generation of Entrepreneurship''.

Early life and career

Barry was born in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He attended the Elmwood School before moving on to

Ashbury College Ashbury College is an independent day school, day and boarding school, boarding school located in the Rockcliffe Park area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was originally founded in 1891 by former faculty of Bishop's College School in Quebec to acc ...

, and graduated from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, where he was a member of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, in 2005 with a BA in

Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

and

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. He later attended the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and completed an

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

in Innovation, Strategy, and Organization in 2007 and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

with an Ogilvy Foundation research grant at

Cambridge Judge Business School Cambridge Judge Business School is the business school of the University of Cambridge. The School is a provider of management education. It is named after Sir Paul Judge, a founding benefactor of the school. The School is a department of the u ...

in 2012. Barry's second book, ''Beyond Beauty: Discovering, Challenging, and Refining Beauty'', will examine perceptions of beauty across the world and will be based on his Ph.D. research. He is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Fashion Incubator, and sits on the Board of the Canadian Foundation for Women's Health. Barry was an assistant professor of equity, inclusivity, and diversity in fashion at the Toronto Metropolitan University School of Fashion before being promoted to Chair of the School of Fashion in 2018. In 2021, he was hired as the new Dean of Fashion at the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

. He also writes a bi-weekly

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being ...

column for ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', Canada's national

newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major national newspaper with large newspaper circulation, circulation whose editorial and news-gathering functions are considered authoritative and independent; they are thus "newspapers of record by reputation" and i ...

Ben Barry Agency

Barry began the Ben Barry Agency at the age of 14, an agency known for its use of diverse models; those of widely different sizes, races, ages, and abilities. This was in contrast to most modelling agencies of the time which imposed strict height, weight, and age requirements. The Agency took part in the

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a marketing campaign which focuses on building self-confidence in women and children. Launched by Unilever in 2004, Dove's partners in the campaign include Ogilvy, Edelman, and Harbinger Capital. Part of the ...

. Barry has been acknowledged for his efforts to reform the fashion industry to more accurately represent women's diversity, and to end the use of a standard physical beauty ideal.

Awards

He has been awarded the

Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal may refer to: * Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee Medal (1887) * Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal () or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal creat ...

and is the inaugural male recipient of the Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case. According to ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'', he was recognized as "one of twenty-five leaders of tomorrow".

References

External links

Ben Barry Agency

Ben Barry
at Speakers Spotlight {{DEFAULTSORT:Barry, Ben Businesspeople from Ottawa Canadian non-fiction writers 1983 births Trinity College (Canada) alumni University of Toronto alumni Living people Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners Male feminists Alumni of the University of Cambridge Writers from Ottawa Ashbury College alumni