Businessman and philanthropist Galen Weston receives honorary degree from York University
TORONTO, June 22, 2018 ─ Galen G. Weston, the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of George Weston Limited, and Loblaw Companies Limited, received an honorary doctor of laws degree from York University today during Spring Convocation for the Schulich School of Business.
Weston is the fourth generation to lead the family business. Founded in 1882, George Weston Limited has grown to include manufacturing of fresh and frozen food products through its Weston Foods division, as well as supermarket and pharmacy retailing, fashion, financial services and real estate through its holdings in Loblaw Companies Limited.
As a proponent of a sustainable and values-based approach to business, Weston regularly advocates for long-term thinking, most recently in authoring the chapter “Family Firms and ‘Patient Capital’: Thinking in Decades, not Quarters,” which was published in Re-imagining Capitalism (Oxford University Press).
A dedicated philanthropist, he is President of the W. Garfield Weston Foundation. Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, the foundation has given more than $400 million to education, the arts, human microbiome and neurological health, land conservation, and science in Canada’s North.
With a long-standing relationship to York University, Weston has served as a member of the Schulich School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council and is an adviser to the school’s Global Retail Management program.
York University champions new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-disciplinary programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 25 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni. York U's fully bilingual Glendon Campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.
Media Contact: Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University, 416 455 4710, wallsj@yorku.ca
