Barbara Dick
Assistant Vice-President, Alumni Relations
University of Toronto

cordially invites you to a reception for University of Toronto alumni and friends as part of an ongoing series of compelling lectures hosted in cities around the world, featuring a special presentation by

Rose M. Patten
Chancellor, University of Toronto
Special Advisor to the CEO and Senior Executives at BMO Financial Group

and Q&A discussion, moderated by

Claire Kennedy (BASc 1989)
Defy Gravity Campaign Co-Chair, University of Toronto
Chair Emerita, University of Toronto Governing Council
Senior Advisor, Clients and Industries, Bennett Jones LLP

on Chancellor Patten's recently launched book:

Intentional Leadership: The Big 8 Capabilities Setting Leaders Apart

We live in a time of unprecedented speed, connection, and uncertainty. While many organizations are adapting to this new reality by reinventing business models, significantly fewer are examining the implications of these changes for developing effective leadership. In Intentional Leadership, Rose M. Patten draws on her expertise as one of Canada’s most influential leaders to shine a spotlight on this emergent and often neglected space.

Drawing on learnings and a framework tested with over 900 senior leaders across industries and geographies, Intentional Leadership presents a guide for continuous renewal, focusing on the human side of leading. Patten debunks common myths, emphasizing that leadership capabilities do not just develop over time, but require self-awareness, feedback, intention, adjustment, and practice. Whether you are a CEO of a large corporation, an activist, raising a family, working in government, or leading a not-for-profit organization, Intentional Leadership meets you where you are and provides the necessary tools for self-reflection and growth as a leader.

You may purchase a hard cover or e-book copy in advance here. Books will also be available for sale at the event.

Please note, the University of Toronto will be accepting questions from the audience in advance of Chancellor Patten’s presentation. Please submit your question via the event registration form.

Rose M. Patten, O.C., LL.D. is the 34th Chancellor of the University of Toronto, elected to a three-year term in the position beginning July 1, 2018.

Currently Special Advisor to the CEO and Senior Executives at BMO Financial Group, Dr. Patten is well known from her 30-year career as a senior leader in the Canadian financial services industry. Previously she held simultaneously the positions of Executive Vice-President, Business Strategy and Executive Vice-President, Global Human Resources at BMO. Earlier in her career she was Executive Vice-President, BMO Nesbitt Burns, Senior Vice-President, Manulife, and General Manager, Lloyds Bank Canada. She has also held directorships at BMO ChinaCo and Videotron.

Highly sought-after as an authority on the study and practice of leadership, Dr. Patten has extensive experience as an advisor in the fields of senior leadership development and succession, strategy execution, and governance, in corporate and community settings. At U of T, currently she is Executive in Residence and Adjunct Professor in executive leadership programs at the Rotman School of Management. She is also a member of Massey College.

Dr. Patten served on U of T’s Governing Council for nine years, from 1998 to 2007, including three years as Chair, from 2004 to 2007. She also chaired the Task Force on Governance, whose report in 2010 included the recommendations that led to the University’s current tri-campus governance structure. Throughout the Boundless campaign she was a member of the Campaign Executive, and from 2012 to 2018 she served as Honorary Patron of the King’s College Circle Heritage Society. She has also established several scholarships, fellowships, and awards, and supported the education of women, underprivileged children, and new Canadians.

In addition to her service to U of T, Dr. Patten has built an extensive record of leadership in other major institutions and organizations. From 2014 to 2017 she was Chair of the Board of Trustees of The Hospital for Sick Children, and in 2019 the Board appointed her Honorary Chair and Honorary Trustee in recognition of her exceptional service. She was the External Advisor for the Canada School of Public Service Departmental Review, under the auspices of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, having served previously on the Secretariat’s Advisory Committee on Senior Level Retention and Compensation. A founding director of Metrolinx, the provincial agency for transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, she has also served as a director on the boards of the National Ballet of Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. In 2019 she was appointed to the boards of Canada Company and the Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons.

In 2001 Dr. Patten received U of T’s Arbor Award for outstanding volunteer service, and in 2009 the University awarded her the degree Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, for her leadership as a role model for women executives in Canadian banking, for her community volunteerism and for her service to the University. The University also established the Rose Patten Mentoring Leadership Program, in recognition of her long-standing commitment to mentorship.

Recognized by U.S. Banker Magazine as one of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking, Dr. Patten was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women Awards, in 2007. She received the YWCA’s Woman of Distinction Award for Corporate Leadership, in 2009, and in 2014 she received the Canadian HR industry’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2012 she was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and in 2017 Dr. Patten was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Claire Kennedy (BASc 1989)

Claire Kennedy is Senior Advisor, Clients and Industries, at Bennett Jones LLP, one of Canada's leading law firms.

Ms. Kennedy is a seasoned board director and currently serves as lead director of the Bank of Canada, Chair of Neo Performance Materials Inc. and as a director of Alamos Gold Inc. and Constellation Software Inc.

She received her ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors and has completed the Making Corporate Boards More Effective program at the Harvard Business School and the Advanced Management Program at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. She holds a BASc (Chemical Engineering) from the University of Toronto, and an LLB from Queen’s University. Ms. Kennedy is also a professional engineer.

In 2015, Ms. Kennedy received the Citizenship Award from the Professional Engineers of Ontario and in 2017 she was named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women in the Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100 Awards.

Ms. Kennedy has served on the University of Toronto's Governing Council from 2012-2021, including as Chair from 2017-2021. She is a member of the Dean's Advisory Committee at the Rotman School of Management and has been extensively involved at the Faculty of Engineering. She is past President of the Engineering Alumni Association and founder  of Disruptors & Dilemmas (formerly Biz Skule™), a successful alumni outreach program. Ms. Kennedy was part of a joint civilian and soldier team that climbed Mt. Vinson, Antarctica's highest peak, in 2016.

Ms. Kennedy is Co-Chair of the University of Toronto’s Defy Gravity Campaign.