Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Quaker Oats Company of Canada Ltd., he was one of the first Canadian business leaders to embrace the concept of environmentally conscious decision-making as "the right thing to do." He has devoted countless hours of public service acting as a Director of Pollution Probe and Chair of the Ontario Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. In addition, he was a Trustee of the World Wildlife Fund of Canada. As a member of the Canadian Polar Commission, he worked with diligence to ensure that the interests of Aboriginal peoples remained at the forefront of efforts to protect the delicate Arctic ecosystem.