Paul George Samuel Cantor, LLB, (8 January 1942 – 10 August 2018) was a Canadian lawyer, educator, and executive who worked in the private, public and non-profit sectors. He was 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 ...

, Canada's highest civilian honour.

Early life

Cantor was born in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. His father Max Cantor was a university professor and Chief Coroner of Alberta, while his mother Edith was a well known patron of the arts in Edmonton. Paul graduated from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

with a Bachelor of Arts in 1972, then later relocated to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

where he earned a Bachelor of Law 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 ...

in 1968.

Career

As a lawyer and executive, Cantor worked in various capacities most notably for

Bennett Jones Bennett Jones LLP is a large national law firm based in Canada. Firm Bennett Jones is an internationally recognized Canadian law firm. It is home to more than 500 lawyers and business advisors in seven offices—Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, O ...

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC; ) is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at CIBC Square in the Financial District, Toronto, Financial District of Toronto, Ont ...

Russell Reynolds Associates Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA) is an American management consulting firm. Established in 1969, the firm assists international and domestic companies develop leaders, assess business processes, and recruit new executives. It provides leadership ...

and

Confederation Life Confederation Life Insurance Company was a Canadian insurance company and financial services provider. Its global head office was located in Toronto in what is now the Rogers Building. The company had operations in Canada, the United States, the ...

. Between 1976 and 1992 he led the founding and became President of the CIBC Investment Bank, consolidating internal groups and later acquiring and integrating

Wood Gundy Wood Gundy Inc. was a leading Canadian brokerage firm, stock brokerage and investment banking firm. Founded in 1905, it was acquired by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in 1988 as it attempted to build an investment banking business. The W ...

and the Canadian retail network of

Merrill Lynch Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, doing business as Merrill, and previously branded Merrill Lynch, is an American investment management and wealth management division of Bank of America. Along with BofA Securities, the investm ...

. He was the founding executive director of the Toronto International Leadership Centre, which focuses on strengthening the financial sector in the developing world. Cantor also worked extensively in governance. He was chairman of the Canadian

Public Sector Pension Investment Board The Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) is a Canadian Crown corporation established by the Parliament of Canada in September 1999 through the ''Public Sector Pension Investment Board Act''. PSP Investments is one of Canada's ...

between 2003 and 2012, leading them to become a world leader in investment management. He was chairman of the Board of Governors at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

between 2009 and 2012, then founding chairman of the board at the Global Risk Institute between 2012 and 2015. He also served as a board member for

Torstar Torstar Corporation is a Canadian mass media company which primarily publishes news. It is known for publishing the ''Toronto Star'', its flagship and namesake. Torstar was purchased by NordStar Capital LP, which is currently owned by Jordan Bi ...

, the ING Bank of Canada (now

Tangerine Bank Tangerine Bank ( operating as Tangerine) is a Canadian direct bank that is a subsidiary of Scotiabank. It offers no-fee chequing and savings accounts, guaranteed investment certificates (GICs), mortgages and mutual funds (through a subsidiary) ...

) and Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Toronto.

Leadership

Cantor published extensively about leadership and governance, most notably for the

Institute of Corporate Directors The Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) is primarily an institute of, for and by corporate directors established in the Philippines. It is made up mainly of individuals and reputational agents committed to the professional practice of corporate ...

, the

Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...

Director's Series and the

Ivey Business Journal Ivey Business School is the main business school of Western University, located in London, Ontario, Canada. It offers full-time undergraduate and graduate programs in London, Ontario and maintains a Toronto facility for its EMBA program and two ...

Awards

He was awarded the

in September 2014 "for his contributions to the Canadian financial sector and for his support of post-secondary education."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cantor, Paul 1942 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Canadian lawyers Members of the Order of Canada People from Edmonton University of Toronto alumni