A Good Rugby Player

While many future CEOs are known for their academic achievements while still in school some were actually just average students. This was the case of Gordon M. Nixon. While attending Queen’s University in Canada, he was known as being an average student. He was also known for being a good rugby player.

What Nixon did have also was good work ethics. He paid his way through school by tending bars during school period and in summer worked at a Montreal investment firm. He finished with a Bachelor of Commerce in 1979. 

He then worked at Dominion Securities in Toronto from 1979 to 1986 in Fixed Income and Corporate and Government Finance.  In 1986 he moved to Tokyo to head the company’s Japan operation. In 1987 the Royal Bank of Canada acquired Dominion Securities. By 1989 Nixon was back in Toronto serving as managing director for Investment Banking. He was promoted to other positions and in April 2001 was appointed as president. In August of the same year he also became CEO.

While Nixon was not an academic achiever he certainly excelled in the corporate world.  At his appointment he became the youngest ever CEO for a major Canadian financial company at the age of 44. Since then he has skillfully guided the company to steady growth with its notable expansion outside of Canada specifically the U.S.

Nixon must have certainly put his team playing skills and experience to good work. Rugby involves a lot of pain to reach the object of scoring. So Nixon knows all about pain in try to achieve bank goals. He’s been at the helm for over a decade now and doesn’t look to retire any time soon.