Speaker:
Geoff Smith, J.D., is the President and CEO of EllisDon, an employee-owned, $3.5 billion-a-year industry leader that has grown exponentially beyond its modest origins in London, Ontario in 1951. Today, Geoff is the driving force that supports this construction services giant and its 2,500 employees across its more than fifteen national and international offices.
Geoff earned his law degree from the University of Toronto in 1979, and was admitted to the Ontario Bar in 1981. After joining EllisDon in 1983, he quickly gained experience across various management positions and sectors, including Field Operations, Legal and Labour Relations and Executive Leadership.
In 1996, at the height of a trying time at EllisDon, Geoff was named President and CEO. He poured every resource into a unique approach that would transform the company. Through a redefinition of the traditional construction offering, Geoff reinvented EllisDon into a ‘knowledge’ company with broadened, guaranteed outcomes, Cradle-To-Grave Services, Capital Services, Facilities Management, and Life Cycle Performance, among others. In 2017, EllisDon embraced new ‘for profit’ initiatives in Energy Management, Smart Buildings Software and Data Analytics.
In addition, Geoff extends his influence outwards by being an active member of his community. Aside from being a current member of the Business Coucil of Canada and Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, Geoff was past Chair of the Ontario Liberal Fund, served as Curriculum Development Advisor to Ryerson University, and previously chaired Technology in the City, a partnership campaign for the George Brown College. Geoff is also a founding member of OG100, an initiative to enable Canada’s fastest growing companies to become exporters to the world.
Geoff's personal values have worked wonders in his personal and professional life - so much so that his personal values of trust, complete openness, ‘up and down’ accountability, and embedded entrepreneurial risk taking have become a company-wide mantra. These core values have earned EllisDon consistent accolades, including Aon Hewitt's 50 Best Employers in Canada, Deloitte's Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies, Canada's Top 100 Employers, and Waterstone Human Capital's Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures.
Geoff himself has also earned recognition, in 2011, as recipient of the Jock Tindale Award for his integrity within the construction industry and, in 2013, as recipient of Ernst and Young's Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Award.