Former governor-general David Johnston is expanding his private-sector reach with plans to offer guidance to two major Canadian companies.
Mr. Johnston, who built up a career in academia before becoming one of the country's longest-serving governor-generals, said Tuesday that he would take on advisory roles at Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and Deloitte Canada.
Mr. Johnston is no stranger to insurance and investments company Fairfax, having served on the company's board of directors before resigning in July, 2010 to take on the governor-general role. At that time he was also on the boards of IT firm CGI Group Inc., building supply company Masco Corp., and solar technology company ARISE Technologies Inc.
This time around, he'll be in the position of global adviser at Fairfax, working with the various presidents of the Toronto-based company's decentralized, international business units to assess opportunities, community responsibilities and government relations.
"David was previously an outstanding Fairfax director and has been a champion for Canadians and Canadian businesses around the world for over seven years in his role as the Governor-General of Canada. We look forward to having such a great Canadian re-join the Fairfax team to bring his integrity, wisdom and insight in his global advisor role," said Prem Watsa, founder and chief executive officer of Fairfax, in a statement.
At the same time, Mr. Johnston has taken up a similar executive adviser role at Deloitte, where he told The Globe that he will focus on how economic growth intersects with innovation, inclusiveness, talent development and leadership. The job will include working with staff at the company as well as both private-sector and government clients.
Mr. Johnston has served as dean of University of Western Ontario's law school, as principal and law professor at McGill University in Montreal and as the fifth president and vice-chancellor of the University of Waterloo. It was while he was in that last role, which he held until 2010, that Mr. Johnston played a part in the blockbuster financing deal at BlackBerry Ltd. that Fairfax is perhaps best known for in Canada. He introduced Mr. Watsa to former Waterloo student Mike Lazaridis, founder of BlackBerry, which was then known as Research In Motion Ltd.
In September, Mr. Johnston said that he planned to join a law firm as a consultant and write a book that would look at the role of trust in Canadian society and business.