Canadian Business Names Ed Clark 2013 CEO of the Year

- TD Bank Group executive is among four great Canadian leaders honoured at the magazine's First Annual CEO of the Year celebration -

- Profiles of four winners, plus special report on Canadian leadership featured in issue hitting newsstands starting tomorrow -

- Visit: canadianbusiness.com/ceo -

TORONTO, Nov. 6, 2013 /CNW/ - Canadian Business magazine singled out TD Bank Group's Ed Clark as the CEO of the Year tonight at a formal black tie gala at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. With a who's who of business luminaries in attendance, the first annual CEO of the Year soirée was a momentous display of recognition and celebration, with three additional Canadian CEOs taking home awards.

"We all tend to be quick to call out a bad CEO, but we don't give great leaders nearly enough praise," said Canadian Business Editor Duncan Hood. "With these CEO of the Year Awards, we are starting a tradition of doing just that, because good chief executives don't just create value for shareholders, they create economy-boosting value for Canada, through jobs, new products and innovations." 

The CEO of the Year program focuses on successful strategies implemented by CEOs who have made a major contribution to the Canadian business community and to Canada's overall economic success. Winners were chosen based on corporate performance in addition to a review by an independent advisory board consisting of Canada's top business leaders, academics and strategists.

Winners of the First Annual Canadian Business CEO of the Year Awards 

CEO of the Year
Ed Clark, TD Bank Group

Top Turnaround CEO
Hunter Harrison, Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.  

Most Innovative CEO
Ellis Jacob, Cineplex Inc.  

Top New CEO
Gregg Saretsky, WestJet Airlines Ltd. 

"The calibre of winners for the inaugural CEO of the Year Awards is outstanding, and we are proud to launch the Awards from a foundation of such leadership excellence," said Brian Segal, Advisory Board Chair, and Chair of the Ted Rogers Leadership Centre at Ryerson University. "Each winning CEO has his own unique strengths and leadership style, but one essential quality they all possess is a clear vision for the companies they lead." 

Hosted by Dianne Buckner of Dragons' Den, the event welcomed an array of well-known guests including Clive Beddoe (WestJet Airlines), Jeanne Beker (Edit by Jeanne Beker) Bonnie Brooks (Hudson's Bay Co.), Anne Golden (Ryerson University), Nadir Mohamed (Rogers Communications), Keith Pelley (Rogers Media), Chris Rudge (Toronto Argonauts), Jim Treliving (T&M Group of Companies) and many more, including the four award-winners.

CEO of the Year Advisory Board Members
Jalynn Bennett
President of Jalynn H. Bennett and Associates, former Vice-President at Manulife Financial

Bonnie Brooks
Vice-Chair of the Hudson's Bay Co.

Graham Fox
President and CEO of the Institute for Research on Public Policy

Peter Gilgan
Founder and CEO of Mattamy Homes

Anne Golden
Former President and CEO of the Conference Board of Canada, special adviser at Ryerson University 

Jeffrey Hauswirth
Board Director and Co-Lead of the Asia-Pacific region for Spencer Stuart

Isabelle Hudon
President of Sun Life Financial

Nadir Mohamed
President and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc.

John Risley
President and CEO of Clearwater Fine Foods Inc.

Chris Rudge
Executive Chair and CEO of the Toronto Argonauts Football Club

Brian Segal
Chair of the Ted Rogers Leadership Centre at Ryerson University (Advisory Board Chair)

Edward Sonshine
CEO of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust

Carol Stephenson
Former Dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business, Western University

Ann Stewart  
President of Maxus Canada and former Managing Director at Mindshare Canada

CEO of the Year Awards: Methodology
The CEOs of all large publicly traded Canadian corporations are eligible to compete for the CEO of the Year award. The selection process involves two distinct steps. In the first, the performance of the corporation under the CEO's direction is considered. In the second, the qualities of the CEO him- or herself are considered.

Part I: A shortlist of approximately 30 CEOs were determined based on the following criteria:

• The CEO's company performance must score amongst the top corporations in its sub-sector by five-year total return
• The CEO's company must score amongst the top corporations in its sub-sector by five-year market cap growth

Part II: An advisory panel consisting of Canada's most respected business leaders graded each CEO out of five on the following criteria: vision, innovation, strategic thinking, social responsibility. 

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About Canadian Business magazine
Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving, best-selling and most-trusted business publication in Canada. Canadian Business stands alone as the business magazine in Canada with 100% paid circulation. With a readership of more than 800,000, the magazine is published every second Monday, except in January, July and August, when monthly issues are published. Special annual issues of Canadian Business include the Investor 500, the MBA Guide, the Rich 100 and Winners and Losers. Visit www.canadianbusiness.com

SOURCE: Canadian Business

Media contact Saphyre Haliburton, Canadian Business, [email protected], 416-764-1719