Richard Currie
Richard James Currie OC (born 1937 in Saint John, New Brunswick) is a Canadian businessman.
Education
He entered the University of New Brunswick in 1955 on a Beaverbrook Scholarship and was elected president of the first-year class.[1] He later received a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemistry degree from the Technical University of Nova Scotia in 1960. He worked as an engineer until 1968, when he entered Harvard University to earn a Master of Business Administration degree in 1970.[2]
Career
In 1960, he joined Atlantic Sugar Refineries as a Process Engineer and was a Refining Superintendent from 1963 to 1968. After graduating from Harvard in 1970, he became a Senior Associate at McKinsey & Co., a management consultant firm based in New York City.[3]
In 1972, he joined Loblaws as a Vice-President, becoming Executive Vice-President in 1974, and President in 1976. Loblaws increased its market share over 350 times in 25 years while under his control, reaching $14 billion before he stepped down on December 31, 2000.[1][3] Through this, it became the largest private sector employer in Canada.[1]
In 1996, he was appointed President of Loblaws parent company, George Weston Ltd., where he increased the share price from $16 to $123. In 2002 he stepped down from Weston and was appointed Chairman of BCE Inc. on April 24 of that year.[1][3]
He, along with Lynton Wilson, Anthony S. Fell, James Fleck, Hal Jackman and John McArthur, helped establish a chair in Canadian business history at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, which is the first chair of its kind in Canada. Worth $3 million, it will help fund courses and research related to the progress of the commerce industry in Canada, along with the legal, economic and political events that impacted its history.[4]
He was the Chairman of BCE Inc. and Bell Canada from 2002 to 2009 and currently sits on the board of directors of CAE, and Staples, Inc. and is also a Trustee of The Art Gallery of Ontario and a Director of Historical Foundation of Canada. Along with these titles, he is also Chairman of the Board of Telesat and was a Director of Imperial Oil Limited, and a member of the International Advisory Boards of RJR Nabisco and Jacobs Suchard.[3]
University of New Brunswick involvement
On May 24, 2003, he was appointed Chancellor of the University of New Brunswick by the lieutenant-governor in council, at UNB's 174th Encaenia. His duties are to serve as the honorary head of UNB and also as a member of its Board of Governors.[1]
In 2004, he established the Blake-Kirkpatrick Scholarships (now the Currie Scholarship) in memory of his two grandmothers: Ida Mae Blake and Jannet Kirkpatrick.[5]
On October 20, 2005, the University of New Brunswick established a Chair in Nanotechnology in his honour. This is the first Chair in Nanotechnology in Canada.[6]
In Fall 2011 work was completed on the Richard J. Currie Center, a five-storey, 139,000-square-foot athletics and gymnasium complex, named in honor of Currie, who was also the primary donor. Currie donated over $20 million toward the construction of the building, the largest single donation a New Brunswick university has ever received.[7]
Awards
- 1997, Made a Member of the Order of Canada
- 1997, Distinguished Canadian Retailer of the Year Award
- 2001, Awarded Canada's Outstanding CEO of the Year
- 2004, Promoted to Officer of the Order of Canada
- 2005, Awarded Retail Council of Canada's Lifetime Achievement Award
- Inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame[1]
- 2010, Awarded Doctor of Letters as an honorary degree from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Richard Currie named chancellor of the University of New Brunswick", University of New Brunswick, retrieved June 14, 2006
- ^ "Live and Learn: Richard Currie", Canadian Business, retrieved August 16, 2006.
- ^ a b c d "Executive Profiles: Richard J. Currie" Archived 2007-06-07 at the Wayback Machine, Canadian Business Resource, retrieved August 25, 2006.
- ^ "$3M Business History Chair a First in Canada", EDGE Magazine, retrieved August 25, 2006.
- ^ "Blake-Kirkpatrick Application", University of New Brunswick, retrieved August 25, 2006.
- ^ "Chair in nanotechnology establish in honour of UNB chancellor", John Suart, University of New Brunswick, October 20, 2005, retrieved August 25, 2006.
- ^ "The Richard J. Currie Center @ UNB Fredericton", University of New Brunswick, retrieved October 16, 2011.
- v
- t
- e
- Mirko Bibic (CEO)
- André Bérard
- Anthony S. Fell
- Ed Lumley
- John H. McArthur
- Jim Pattison
- Michael Sabia
- Paul Tellier
- Richard Currie
- Robert Pozen
telecommunications
- Bell Aliant (Atlantic Canada)
- Bell Canada (urban ON & QC)
- Bell Internet (ISP)
- Bell MTS (MB)
- Distributel (ISP)
- DMTS (Dryden, Ontario area)
- EBOX (ISP)
- NorthernTel (northern ON)
- Northwestel (northern Canada)
- Ontera (northern ON)
- Télébec (rural QC)
telecommunications
- Bell Mobility
- Bell MTS Wireless (MB)
- Inukshuk Wireless
- Lucky Mobile
- NorthernTel Mobility
- Northwestel (including Latitude Wireless)
- PC Mobile (prepaid)
- Solo Mobile
- Télébec Mobilité
- Virgin Mobile Canada
- Bell Fibe TV (IPTV – urban ON & QC)
- Bell Mobile TV (mobile IPTV)
- Bell Satellite TV (satellite)
- Cablevision (northern QC)
- FibreOP (IPTV – Bell Aliant regions)
- MTS TV (IPTV – MB)
- AlarmForce
- Bell Media 1
- Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (28%)2
- Montreal Canadiens (18%)
- The Source
- Glentel (50%)
sponsorships