William Black, C.M. (born 1950) is a Canadian

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

leader.

Early life and education

Born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, Black graduated from the

Halifax Grammar School The Halifax Grammar School (HGS) is a private, educational day school in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located in south-end Halifax, near Saint Mary's University. Since 2016, the Head of School is Steven Laffoley. Admission The schoo ...

. He then graduated from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

with both a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

and

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in 1970. He then went on to complete his actuarial training in 1974.

Career with Maritime Life

He started working for

Maritime Life The Maritime Life Assurance Company was a Canadian insurance company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was founded in 1922 and in 2004 it became fully integrated with Manulife Financial, with the Maritime Life brand being retired. In 20 ...

, a company that was co-founded by his great-grandfather,

William Anderson Black William Anderson Black, (October 9, 1847 – September 1, 1934) was a Canadian politician. He is the oldest person ever elected to the House of Commons of Canada, 76 years, 1 month, 26 days when he was first elected. He was 83 when he last w ...

, in 1922. Black entered senior management at 25, and eventually became president and CEO. During his nine years as president, the company saw continuous expansion and record profits with the number of jobs in Halifax more than doubling to over 1200. By 2004 the company had 3,000 employees and $15 billion in assets under management. Under his leadership, Maritime Life gained a solid reputation for employee relations and appearing every year among the leaders in the ''

Report on Business ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it fall ...

'' list of top 50 employers in Canada. When Maritime's parent company,

John Hancock Financial John Hancock Life Insurance Company, U.S.A. is a Boston-based insurance company. Established April 21, 1862, it was named in honor of John Hancock, a prominent American Patriot. In 2004, Canadian multinational life insurance company Manulife F ...

, was purchased by

Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation (French language, French: Financière Manuvie) is a Canadian multinational insurance company and financial services provider headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company operates in Canada and Asia as "Manulife" ...

, Black resigned rather than move to Ontario.

Board experience

His board experience includes being chair at the

Halifax Chamber of Commerce Halifax Chamber of Commerce, also known as the Halifax Chamber, is the oldest chamber of commerce in North America. It was founded in 1750. History Established in 1750, the Halifax Chamber of Commerce was formed by Halifax's early merchants. Mer ...

IWK Health Centre IWK Health is a major women's and children's (pediatric) hospital and trauma centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia that provides care to maritime youth, children and women from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and beyond. The IWK is the ...

Symphony Nova Scotia Symphony Nova Scotia is a Canadian orchestra based in Halifax Regional Municipality, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Its primary recital venue is at the Dalhousie Arts Centre's Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. History Symphony Nova Scotia began in 1983 ...

, and the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Public Affairs. He was Lead Director of the

Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; ) is a Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surve ...

from 2008 to 2012. He has also been on the board of Dalhousie University (Vice-chair), Standard Life of Canada (deputy chair), and Nova Scotia Business Inc. He chaired a summit on the future of economic development in Halifax, and in 2008 chaired the panel reviewing pension legislation and regulation in the Province of Nova Scotia. He currently sits on the boards of Shaw Group and the Global Risk Institute. In July 2015 he was appointed chair-designate of the Capital Markets Regulatory Authority. He has led a leadership seminar for senior executives since 2006 and is a regular columnist in the Halifax Chronicle Herald on public policy issues.

Political career

He ran in the leadership race for the

Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia The Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, more commonly known as the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia, is a political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, it has been histor ...

in 2006, finishing second to

Rodney MacDonald Rodney Joseph MacDonald (born January 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician, educator and musician who served as the 26th premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 and as MLA for the riding of Inverness (provincial electoral district), Inverness in ...

. Prior to seeking the leadership, Black was nominated as the Progressive Conservative candidate for

Halifax Citadel Citadel Hill is a National Historic Sites of Canada, National Historic Site in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Four fortifications have been constructed on Citadel Hill since the city was founded by the British in 1749, and were referred to as For ...

. In the 2006 election, he was defeated, losing to New Democrat

Leonard Preyra Leonard Preyra is a Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Halifax Citadel-Sable Island in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 2006 to 2013. He was a member of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party. Career Prior to becoming an ...

by 330 votes.

Recognition

In 2015, he was named a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Bill 1950 births Canadian businesspeople Canadian people of British descent People from Halifax, Nova Scotia Living people Dalhousie University alumni Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia politicians Members of the Order of Canada Candidates in Nova Scotia provincial elections