Institute of Corporate Directors CEO Rahul Bhardwaj on Canadian global leadership in corporate governance

Watch the full recorded broadcast above.

Today we're bringing you a live podcast interview with Ivey professor Gerard Seijts and Rahul Bhardwaj, President and CEO of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Rahul is an accomplished executive and director with a long and successful track record in the business, community and not-for-profit sectors. Most recently, he served for nine years as President and CEO of the Toronto Foundation.

Mr. Bhardwaj began his career as a corporate lawyer at Meighen, Demers, Barristers & Solicitors, now part of Norton Rose Fulbright, and subsequently served as a Vice-President for Toronto's 2008 Olympic Bid. He currently serves as a Director of Metrolinx, Rideau Hall Foundation and Community Foundations of Canada (Past Chair).

He has also previously served as Chair of the 2012 Ontario Games, Co-Chair of TO2015 IGNITE (Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games), Chair of the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival, a Director of George Brown College (Vice Chair) and Director of Upper Canada College and Stratford Festival, among others.

In 2012, Mr. Bhardwaj’s commitment to city building was recognized as he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has been named one of “The 50 Most Influential” people in the city by Toronto Life magazine and was recently named to the Leader Council at the Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership at the Ivey Business School, the Quadrangle Society at Massey College and The Ultimate List of Social CEOs on Twitter. His vision for Toronto and Canada has made him a popular presenter and speaker locally, nationally and internationally, particularly on issues relating to leadership and governance.

In this broadcast

Gerard and Rahul discuss Canada's current position during the crisis, and how a reputation for principled corporate governance can be a competitive advantage during times of instability. We examine the role of the Institute, the importance of leader character, and the ways in which boards of directors can think about leading during the crisis.

"We can say to the world that when you put your capital in a Canadian company... You can trust it. We've got a culture of good corporate governance that you can't say exists in a lot of countries around the world."

Additional links

Institute of Corporate Directors
ICD COVID-19 Webinar Series
Ivey Business School Ian O. Ihnatowycz Institute for Leadership
Leader Character In the Boardroom - G. Seijts & R. Bhardwaj

About The Ivey Academy at Ivey Business School
The Ivey Academy at Ivey Business School is the home for executive Learning and Development (L&D) in Canada. It is Canada’s only full-service L&D house, blending Financial Times top-ranked university-based executive education with talent assessment, instructional design and strategy, and behaviour change sustainment. 

Rooted in Ivey Business School’s real-world leadership approach, The Ivey Academy is a place where professionals come to get better, to break old habits and establish new ones, to practice, to change, to obtain coaching and support, and to join a powerful peer network. Follow The Ivey Academy on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.