Thomas Paul d'Aquino CM (1941-) is a Canadian

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, businessperson, author, and educator. His business career spans over forty years, and he is currently the chairman of Thomas d'Aquino Capital and Inter counsel. From 1981 to 2009 he served as CEO of the

Business Council of Canada Business Council of Canada (BCC) is an advocacy organization formerly known as the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE). It was established in 1976 as the Business Council on National Issues (BCNI). Its members include CEOs of Canada's lea ...

, formerly the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, and is the long-serving chair of the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's National museums of Canada, national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the List of large ...

foundation. In 2019 he was made a member 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 ...

Biography

d'Aquino was born in 1941 in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He attended the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, Queen's, and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. Early in his career, he served as Special assistant to the Prime Minister and was an adjunct professor of law at the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

. In 1976 d'Aquino started his own business and won strategic consulting mandates from major companies around the world. From 1981 to 2009, he served as the CEO of the

, a group consisting of 150 CEOs of Canada's leading enterprises. He is currently the chairman of Thomas d'Aquino Capital and Intercounsel. d'Aquino is the chair emeritus of the National Gallery of Canada Foundation, and has served in this position since 2002. He has authored numerous publications including ''Northern Edge: How Canadians Can Triumph in the Global Economy'' and most recently ''Private Power, Public Purpose.'' d'Aquino has spoken in forty countries and over 100 cities worldwide and has been referred to as Canada's "most influential policy strategist" and its "leading global business ambassador." In 2009 d'Aquino was described by John Lorinc of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' as Canada's "behind-the-scenes prime minister" and the "most influential corporate tout" for almost 30 years. D'Aquino was listed among the top 100 most influential people in Canada in the 20th century.

Awards and honours

Thomas d'Aquino has received numerous awards and honours for his decades of service. He is a member of the

, the

Order of Ottawa The Order of Ottawa is a municipal honour awarded to residents of the city of Ottawa. Instituted in 2012, the order is administered by the incumbent mayor of Ottawa and recognizes individuals for their high level of achievement and significant co ...

and a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden and

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...

Jubilee medals. The Italian president named him a knight commander, and he was awarded Mexico's highest foreign honour: the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle () forms part of the Mexican Honors System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners. History It was created by decree on December 29, 1933, by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez as a reward to ...

.. He holds three honorary degrees from Queen's,

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and Liberal politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadians, French ...

, and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

university.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:d'Aquino, Thomas 1941 births Living people Canadian businesspeople Canadian philanthropists Canadian patrons of the arts Members of the Order of Canada Canadian lawyers