William Richard Charles Blundell (13 April 1927 – 10 March 2023) was a Canadian engineer and businessman. Blundell served as a senior official with

Canadian General Electric GE Canada (or General Electric Canada) is the wholly-owned Canadian unit of General Electric, manufacturing various consumer and industrial electrical products all over Canada. GE Canada was preceded by the company Canadian General Electric (CGE ...

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" ...

, and

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During ...

. Born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, he received a B.A.Sc. in 1949 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 ...

. He joined Canadian General Electric in 1949 eventually becoming chairman and chief executive officer from 1985 to 1990. He retired from GE Canada in 1991. Blundell was appointed to the board of directors of

Manulife Financial Manulife Financial Corporation ( 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" and in the Unite ...

in 1991. He was the interim President and chief executive officer from 1993 to 1994. From 1994 to 1998, he was chairman of the board. In 2001, he was appointed interim President and CEO of

Aluminium Limited. In 1997, he was made an Officer 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 ...

. On 20 March 1959, Blundell married Monique Audet. They had one son and three daughters. Blundell died on 10 March 2023 at the age of 95.

References

1927 births 2023 deaths Businesspeople from Montreal Officers of the Order of Canada University of Toronto alumni {{Canada-business-bio-stub