Lynton Ronald 'Red' Wilson, (born April 3, 1940) is a
Canadian business executive. He served as chairman of the board at both
Nortel and
CAE, Chief Executive Officer at
BCE, and corporate director of
DaimlerChrysler.
Biography
Wilson was born and raised in
Port Colborne, Ontario, and educated at
Port Colborne High School
Port Colborne High School, commonly known as Port High, is a high school in Port Colborne, just north of the eastern edge of Lake Erie, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the District School Board of Niagara and has been serving the communities of Wai ...
. He obtained an undergraduate degree from
McMaster University before entering the
foreign service. After postings in
Vienna and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, Wilson became a
teaching assistant at
Cornell University where he earned an
M.A. in
Economics.
Entering the corporate world, Wilson held the position of corporate
economist and director of
economic research with
John Labatt Ltd. from 1969 to 1971, before becoming co-ordinator-industrial
research and development
Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in Europe as research and technological development (RTD), is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products, and improving existi ...
policy for the
Federal Government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
.
Wilson left the government again in 1974 to take up a vice-presidency and directorship with
MacMillan Bloedel, but returned to the civil service to become the executive director (1977–78) and then deputy minister (1978–1981) of industry and
tourism for the
Government of Ontario.
Returning once more to the corporate world in 1981, Wilson became the president and CEO of
Redpath Industries Ltd., later becoming chairman in 1988. In 1989, he was appointed vice-chairman of the
Bank of Nova Scotia. Wilson became president and COO of
BCE Inc.
BCE Inc., formerly Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., is a publicly traded Canadian holding company for Bell Canada, which includes telecommunications providers and various mass media assets under its subsidiary Bell Media Inc. Founded through a c ...
, Canada's largest telecommunications company, in 1990, was appointed president and CEO in 1992, and added the responsibilities of chairman in 1993. Wilson stepped down from all but his position as chairman in 1998, but continued to serve as chairman of the board until 2000. Between 2000 and 2005 he served as chairman for
Nortel.
Wilson holds numerous honorary degrees, and was appointed officer of the
Order of Canada in 1997. Wilson continues to be involved with companies such as
Nortel Networks,
CAE Inc.
CAE Inc. (formerly Canadian Aviation Electronics) is a Canadian manufacturer of simulation technologies, modelling technologies and training services to airlines, aircraft manufacturers, healthcare specialists, and defence customers. CAE was fou ...
, and
Daimler AG, and also served as chancellor of his alma mater,
McMaster University from 2007 - 2013.
References
External links
Biography as Chancellor of McMaster UniversityBiography as an introduction to a speech made to the Empire Club
1940 births
Living people
Canadian technology chief executives
Chancellors of McMaster University
Cornell University alumni
McMaster University alumni
Officers of the Order of Canada
People from Port Colborne
Directors of Nortel
Canadian chairpersons of corporations
People of Bell Canada
Mercedes-Benz Group executives
Businesspeople from Vienna
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