Dawn Calleja, Report on Business magazine editor.Daniel Ehrenworth/The Globe and Mail
Our annual CEO of the Year issue is, at its core, all about inspiring leadership. Because truly successful companies – ones that aren’t just thriving financially but culturally, as well – don’t just happen. They’re nurtured by great leaders.
So what, exactly, makes for one of those? Brilliance, obviously, but having innovative ideas does not, in and of itself, make you a stellar boss—the annals of business history are littered with the bones of companies led by geniuses with zero aptitude for leadership.
No, it goes far beyond brains. The best of the best set a clear and focused vision for the organization, then hire the right people to make it a reality and (this part is crucial) stand back to let them do it. They’re transparent. They’re compassionate. They listen to their people – particularly the ones whose opinions differ from their own – and seek out voices that otherwise might not be heard. And they motivate their teams not through fear, but through a joint sense of purpose and camaraderie.
ROB Magazine: CEOs of the Year 2025
For this month’s “What I’ve Learned” column, I had the opportunity to talk to someone who knows a lot about leadership – as a CEO, board director and prolific volunteer. Katie Taylor spent 24 years at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, where she was legendary founder Issy Sharp’s handpicked successor as chief exec. She spent three years in that role and then nine years as chair of RBC – the first woman to hold that position at a Big Five bank. Today, she chairs five boards, including SickKids, Element Fleet Management and Mattamy Homes, and sits as a director on several more, including Air Canada.
We got to talking about her early career, and specifically why she made the jump from the Ontario Securities Commission – which was undergoing a rash of exciting changes following the crash of ’87 – to Four Seasons, then a relatively modest outfit where she’d be the No. 2 in a two-person legal department. Her reason was simple: Her boss was a former mentor, and she loved working with him. That’s when Taylor said something obvious yet revelatory: “People rarely quit and join companies. They quit and join their bosses.”
She’s absolutely right. A toxic manager can ruin even the dreamiest of jobs. And an inspiring one can make the dreariest gig – task, deadline, meeting, repeat – into a dream.
And that’s why, each year, we shine the spotlight on outstanding CEOs who are most definitely on the “join” side of Taylor’s equation. Typically we profile five chief execs. This year, however, we’re missing our global visionary. That award went to Jennifer Wong, who joined Vancouver-based retailer Aritzia as a teenager and took over the top job three years ago – during which time the stock is up 167%, making Aritzia by far Canada’s best performing retailer. Wong, unfortunately, declined to participate, so you won’t find the secrets to her wild success here.
But read our profiles of four exceptional leaders with plenty of wisdom to impart. Your employees – and your bottom line – will thank you.