Blake Goldring

He is the executive chairman of AGF Management Limited, a Canadian investment management firm serving retail and institutional investors since 1957.

Blake Charles Goldring (born September 13, 1958) is a Canadian business leader, philanthropist, and entrepreneur.

Goldring was born on September 13, 1958, in Toronto, the second eldest of five children born to C. Warren Goldring and Barbara (Dowd) Goldring.

Goldring attended St. Andrew's Junior High and York Mills Collegiate Institute in Toronto.

Goldring attended Victoria College at the University of Toronto, graduating from the school with an honours degree in Economics.

In his fourth year, he became the National Vice President of AIESEC, a student-led commerce and economics organization, based at the time in Montreal.

Following this appointment, he transferred to McGill University to fulfill his duties as National Vice President and complete his undergraduate degree.

He went on to pursue graduate studies at INSEAD in France, where he earned a Master of Business Administration [MBA] in 1982.

In 1984, he became a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers (FICB).

In late 1987, Goldring left BMO to work at AGF, his father's company.

He started as an analyst working on the firm's Japanese investment portfolios, and in 1989 he assumed responsibilities for the Quebec and Eastern sales regions.

In 1991, his responsibilities expanded to developing AGF International Advisors Company Limited in Ireland, and in 1994, he was named head of sales and marketing for AGF.

In 1996, Goldring earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

A lifelong history buff, Goldring became associated with The Royal Regiment of Canada in 1996.

In 1997, Goldring was named president and chief operating officer of AGF and three years later, in 2000, he was named chief executive officer.

Under Goldring, the firm acquired wealth management firms, including Global Strategy Holdings [2000], Cypress Capital Management [2004], Doherty & Associates Investment Counsel [2004], Highstreet Asset Management [2006], Acuity [2011], and FFCM [2015].

Goldring also oversaw the 2002 merger of NCL Investments into Smith & Williamson, a London, UK-based wealth management firm.

As chairman and chief executive officer, Goldring led the development of four strategic investment platforms at AGF to expand the firm's client base to include more institutional and high net-worth investors and diversify from its mutual fund origins.

The four platforms focus on institutional, private client, retail and alternative investment management.

In 2005, he succeeded Major General (retired) Reginald W. Lewis, then Honorary Colonel of The Royal Regiment of Canada.

Goldring is also the chairman of Canadian Company: Many Ways to Serve, a non-partisan organization he founded in 2006 to bring together community leaders across Canada to support the Canadian military and their families.

In 2006, Goldring was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of AGF.

Goldring accepted the post and held the role of Honorary Colonel of The Royal Regiment of Canada from 2006 to 2011.

Goldring is the founder of Canada Company: Many Ways to Serve, a charitable, non-partisan organization created in 2006 to connect business and community leaders with Canada's military.

Among its many initiatives, Canada Company awards scholarships to the children of fallen soldiers to assist with their post-secondary education.

In 2008, Goldring received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Royal Military College.

In 2021, Goldring received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, from Victoria University, Toronto at the University of Toronto.

Following his graduation from INSEAD, Goldring joined the Bank of Montreal (BMO).

At BMO, Goldring worked in international banking, and later, corporate banking, and was based in Toronto for five years.

During his tenure, His Royal Highness Prince Charles presented the regiment with its new colours in 2009, hosted the Toronto Garrison Officers' Ball in 2007 which raised $250,000 for hospitals in Afghanistan and re-badged the Arctic Bay Cadet Corp with the Royal Regiment of Canada.

In 2011, Goldring was recognized for his support of the Canadian Army and was appointed as Canada's first-ever Honorary Colonel of the Canadian Army.

During the same period, the company built a Trust Company, AGF Trust, later [2012] sold to Laurentian Bank for $420 million, and Unisen, a third-party administration firm, sold in 2005 for $114 million to Citibank.

In addition, Canada Company created and administered the Military Employment Transition (MET) Program from 2012 to 2018.

This program helped 3,600 Veterans find meaningful employment in the civilian workforce.

Other community involvement

In 2016, the appointment was subsequently extended to November 2017.

He retired in 2017 having served a total of 12 years with the Canadian Armed Forces.

Canada Company: Many Ways to Serve

Under Goldring's leadership, AGF has grown its assets to approximately $36 billion in 2018.

In 2018, he made the decision to transition into a new role as executive chairman for the firm, effective December 1, 2018.