TD boss extols diversity’s payback
‘Right thing to do,’ Ed Clark says, but barriers still exist
Canadian corporations not only have a moral responsibility to embrace diversity in hiring, it makes good business sense, the head of TD Bank Group says.
“Most progressive corporations understand that this is one of those instances where what you think is the right thing to do and what is in your business interest, cross over perfectly,” Ed Clark, president and chief executive officer of Toronto- Dominion Bank said in an interview.
Public companies have a responsibility to shareholders to hire the best and the brightest, and doing that in a country as multicultural as Canada means that inclusive hiring practices are a must, Clark said.
There are collateral benefits to hiring executives with diverse backgrounds and experience, Clark added.
“Our chief accountant comes from Shanghai and he can provide insights on what’s happening in China. That’s a collateral benefit but he didn’t get the job for that reason.”
Clark was among the headlining guests at the fall conference of As- cend Canada on Wednesday. The conference included executives from financial firms such as TD Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, as well as Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Manulife Financial, and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt. The executives shared their perspectives on diversity and leadership in Canadian companies. Ascend Canada is a not-for-profit group that provides networking and leadership training for Asians in Canada. The group launched in March as a chapter of Ascend U.S., said Kelvin Tran, president of Ascend Canada. “We started the organization to address the shortage of Asian executives in corporate Canada,” said Tran, a vice-president in Finance and Treasury at TD Bank Group. Research shows that only about four per cent of corporate boards in the Greater Toronto Area have members who are visible minorities, Tran said. There are several reasons for the shortage, including cultural barriers, he added. “My mother has always taught me that in business you don’t want to be the tall tree. It stands out and when there’s a wind storm, it falls down hard.
“For me, that means I want to stay below the radar, try not to get noticed, not to be overly ambitious,” Tran said.
But that is in contrast to corporate Canadian culture, where employees are expected to voice an opinion, debate colleagues and openly disagree with superiors, he added.
“I work in an environment that encourages transparency and collaboration. It took me some time to get adjusted and now that I have, it’s something that I would like to share with the broader population.”
Ascend Toronto now has about 750 members.