Wayne Fox | Arts

Distinguised business leader receives Arts Alumni Achievement Award

Wayne Fox (BA ’71 History) is the 15th recipient of the annual Faculty of Arts Alumni Achievement Award. The award recognizes Arts alumni who have made outstanding contributions to their professional field and in community service. Beyond Waterloo, Wayne’s academic credentials include an MBA in 1973 from the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University, where he later received his Chartered Director designation. In 1992, he completed the Advanced Management Program from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. In 2000, Wayne received McMaster’s inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award which was renamed in his honour; and in 2007, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws from McMaster University.

In 2005, Wayne retired from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), where he was vice chair and chief risk officer, responsible for treasury, balance sheet, and risk management. Prior to his appointment as vice chair, he worked with CIBC’s wholesale banking and brokerage businesses for 28 years. He was also chair of the Board of Directors of TMX Group Inc., from 2001 to 2012; and a member of the Accounting Standards Oversight Council from 2008 to 2012.

Wayne has an impressive record of volunteer work at senior leadership levels with numerous organizations including, Appleby College, Junior Achievement of Central Ontario, CanadaHelps.org Incorporated, and Canadian Investor Protection Fund. He was a distinguished member of McMaster’s Board of Governors from 1997 to 2005; a member of the DeGroote School of Business advisory committee from 1997 to 2001; and president of the Degroote alumni board.

Mr. Fox tirelessly supported our Changing Tomorrow Today Campaign all while leading a highly successful banking career at CIBC,

says David Wilkinson, Acting President, McMaster.

Over the years, Wayne and his wife Isabel have been quite active in community service. They have made major lifetime gifts to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) Foundation, the Credit Valley Hospital Foundation, United Way Tomorrow Fund, and Ryerson University, as well as the Wayne C. Fox Chair in Business Innovation at DeGroote. They have also created the Wayne and Isabel Fox Family Foundation. Since 2008, Wayne has been a member of Oakville Hospital’s campaign advisory council. She notes,

[Wayne and Isabel have] provided invaluable counsel, both with regard to the corporate landscape and best practices in fundraising strategy,” says Tina Triano, Oakville Hospital’s CEO. “In addition to their volunteer role, [they] have been long time philanthropic leaders in our community hospital and are subsequently recognized for their lifetime giving.

In 2007, Wayne was one of the recipients of the University of Waterloo’s 50th Anniversary Alumni Awards. As a proud Waterloo Arts graduate, he continues to stay connected to his alma mater. He attends university events in the Toronto area, and “has shown his passion for study in the arts through his commitment of time, energy, and intellect,” says Robert Kerton, former dean of arts. He endowed both the Wayne C. Fox Graduate Scholarship and the Wayne C. Fox Entrance Award for Arts students, as well as helped to create six annual CIBC scholarships for outstanding University of Waterloo students. According to Wayne,

those with a liberal arts education can add depth and breadth – and a new perspective – to any profession they choose to enter.

In 2012, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. Wayne currently resides in Oakville, Ontario, with his wife Isabel Fox.