Allen Thomas Lambert, OC (1911 – October 25, 2002) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

banker and former Chairman of the

Toronto-Dominion Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank (french: links=no, Banque Toronto-Dominion), doing business as TD Bank Group (french: links=no, Groupe Banque TD), is a Canadian Multinational corporation, multinational banking and financial services corporation headquarte ...

Junior to General Manager

Fresh from high school at the age of fifteen, Allen Lambert joined a

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

branch of the

Bank of Toronto The Bank of Toronto was a Canadian bank that was founded in 1855 by a group of grain dealers and flour millers. On February 1, 1955, it merged with The Dominion Bank to form the Toronto-Dominion Bank, which is now known as the present-day TD Bank ...

in 1927 as an $8-per-week junior clerk. He was recognized as a promising banker early in his career. His first manager reported that the young Lambert was "doing very well and seems to have a good grasp of his work. This boy has a good future." Promoted to Accountant in a

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

branch, he moved on to

Brockville Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically Independent city, independent of the county. It i ...

and then to the foreign exchange department at the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

main branch. He later observed that "We always tried to read something into every move and it was generally thought that if you were selected to go to

someone had noticed you." After service as a naval officer in the

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during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Lambert became manager of the

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

branch during the gold boom of the late 1940s, and then began a rapid rise through the ranks. He became Assistant General Manager in 1953 and was one of those most intimately involved in the negotiations for the merger of the

and

the Dominion Bank The Dominion Bank was a Canadian bank that was chartered in 1869 and based in Toronto, Ontario. On February 1, 1955, it merged with the Bank of Toronto to form the Toronto-Dominion Bank, which is known as the present-day TD Bank Group. History ...

in 1955. As General Manager of the new

he managed the delicate business of uniting two corporate cultures and building a style and image for a renewed and ambitious organization.

Chief Executive Officer

Allen Lambert became President of The

(TD) in 1960 and Chairman the following year. The bank was not in the first rank of financial institutions at that time, and he later recalled "we had all gone through a period of frustration at being smaller than the others, and not being quite able to compete fully." Over the eighteen years of Lambert's leadership, TD became Canada's fastest growing bank and a major presence on the international financial scene. Lambert toured the world seeking business opportunities, opening local offices, and building solid relationships with major clients. He was a tireless promoter of customer service, ensuring the Bank was an innovator in technology, and promoted progressive training and benefit programs for employees. He started TD's corporate art program and, as a centennial project in 1967, developed one of Canada's foremost collections of

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories ...

art. He combined a demanding life in business with a remarkable record of public and community service, chairing royal commissions and federal advisory bodies, serving as a member of international organizations, and acting as a frequent speaker and essayist on economic issues. Shortly before his retirement in 1976 he was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in recognition of his contributions to national life.

The TD Centre

Allen Lambert's most visible achievement, and a source of great personal pride, was the construction of the

Toronto Dominion Centre The Toronto-Dominion Centre, or TD Centre, is an office complex in the Financial District of downtown Toronto owned by Cadillac Fairview. It serves as the global headquarters for its anchor tenant, the Toronto-Dominion Bank, and provides office a ...

. He viewed it as a tangible statement of the Bank's position in the forefront of industry. After rejecting a number of design proposals, Lambert turned to the great German/American architect

Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

to develop a plan for a complex of buildings that would revolutionize the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

landscape. Now considered a Mies masterwork, the Centre is a lasting testament to Lambert's vision and imagination. William Thorsell, CEO of the

Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...

, wrote in a tribute to Allen Lambert: "For those who build, it is not a question of whether a legacy remains, but what its quality is. In

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, in the Yucatan, in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, architecture still speaks eloquently centuries after so much else of value is gone. In 1967, a banker insisted that

be remembered with respect."

Honours

In 1976, he was made an Officer of the

. He was named to the

Canadian Business Hall of Fame The Canadian Business Hall of Fame celebrates the outstanding achievements of Canada's most distinguished business leaders, past and present. Over 170 Order of the Business Hall of Fame Companions serve as inspiring examples for all young Canadians ...

in the Class of 1985. Over 170 Order of the Business Hall of Fame Companions serve as inspiring examples for all young Canadians and are featured in a display in the Allen Lambert Galleria located at Brookfield Place in Toronto, Ontario. Additionally, he received numerous honorary degrees from several of the major Canadian institutions.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lambert, Allen 1911 births 2002 deaths Canadian bank presidents Members of the United Church of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada