John Cassaday

Toronto, Ontario. John Cassaday was the founding President and Chief Executive Officer of Corus Entertainment Inc. until his retirement in April 2015. Corus is a Canadian leader in radio and cable television. Corus also owns Nelvana, one of the world's leading producers of animated programming and related products. Prior to Corus, John was President of CTV Television Network and Campbell Soup Company in Canada and the U.K. John is a highly seasoned governance expert. He is currently the Chair of Manulife Financial/John Hancock. He also sits on the Board of Sysco Corporation, Sleep Country Canada, and Irving Oil Ltd., a private corporation. John also served on the Board of Directors of Spin Master, Inc., Corus Entertainment Inc., Masonite International Corporation, J. M. Schneider Corporation, Canadian Airlines and Loblaw Companies Limited. He has also served on the Advisory Boards of Nestle Canada and IBM Canada. In his corporate board involvement, John has served at various times as Lead Director (Sysco and Spin Master), Chair of the Audit Committee (Masonite) and Chair of the Compensation Committee (Manulife, Irving, Sysco and Spin Master). John is a member of the Directors Council for the Centre for Executive Succession at the University of South Carolina's, Darla Moore School of Business. John served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, was the Chair of the Dean's Advisory Board of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and was the Chair of the 1995 United Way Campaign for Metro Toronto and Chair of the Board of St. Michael's Hospital from 2004 to 2006. In 2005, John was the Co-Chair of the Toronto Area Health Sciences Network (TAHSN). John also Co-Chaired successful major fundraising campaigns for the Rotman School of Management and St. Michael's Hospital. John holds an M.B.A. (Dean's List) from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and was honoured in 1998 as their most Distinguished Alumni. He has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Western Ontario. In June 2017, John was presented with a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa from the University of Toronto. John Cassaday is a Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. In addition, John has also received many business, industry and charitable honours including the 2019 ICD Fellowship Award, the highest distinction for Corporate Directors in Canada; induction into the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame; induction into the Marketing Hall of Legends in 2006 and the Gold Medal from the Association of Canadian Advertisers in 2004, which recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of marketing communications in Canada. John was also a recipient of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews 2004 Human Relations Award as well as the 2004 recipient of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' top honour, the Gold Ribbon Award for Broadcast Excellence. He was awarded the 1995 Paul Mulvihill Heart Award and was the recipient of the 1994 CEO Award of Excellence in Public Relations, presented by the Canadian Public Relations Society. Under his leadership, Corus was recognized for its excellence in investor relations, its corporate culture and its commitment to diversity, including Canada's 10 Most Admired Corporate Cultures, one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers, Canada's Top Employers for Young People as well as one of Greater Toronto's Top Employers. John lives in Toronto, is married and has three children. He joined the Stratford Festival's Board in April 2022 and serves on the Advancement Committee.