THOMAS PAUL D'AQUINO President & CEO Canadian Council of Chief Executives

Thomas d’Aquino is a lawyer, entrepreneur, author, educator and strategist.  He is Chief Executive and President of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), an organization composed of the chief executives of 150 of the country’s leading enterprises and pre-eminent entrepreneurs.  A non-partisan and not-for-profit organization, the Council is the senior voice of Canadian business on public policy issues in Canada, the United States and internationally.  Member companies administer $3.5 trillion in assets and have annual revenues in excess of $800 billion and are responsible for the vast majority of Canada’s exports, investment, research and development, and training.

Under Mr. d’Aquino’s leadership, the Council has played an influential role in shaping the direction of fiscal, taxation, trade, energy, environmental, competitiveness and corporate governance policies in Canada.  In the international arena, Mr. d’Aquino has worked with his colleague chief executives on a wide range of North American and global issues germane to Canada and to Canadian enterprises.  He is acknowledged as one of the private sector architects of the Canada-United States free trade initiative, the North American Free Trade Agreement and of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America.  He currently is spearheading private sector initiatives aimed at defining a new era in Canada-United States relations and is active in negotiations aimed at deepening Canadian relations with China, India, Japan and the European Union.

A native of Nelson, British Columbia, Mr. d’Aquino was educated at the Universities of British Columbia, Queen’s and London (University College and the London School of Economics).  He holds B.A., LL.B., and LL.M. degrees, and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws from Queen’s University and from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Mr. d’Aquino’s career combines experience in government, business, and law.  He has served as a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Canada and as the founder and chief executive of Intercounsel Limited, a firm specializing in the execution of domestic and international business transactions and in the mentoring of chief executives on public policy strategies.  He also served as an international trade lawyer and as an Adjunct Professor of Law lecturing on the law of international business transactions, trade and the regulation of multinational enterprise.

Mr. d’Aquino serves on boards and advisory committees in Canada and abroad.  He has been referred to as one of Canada’s foremost policy strategists and the country’s most effective global business ambassador.  A specialist in a number of public policy areas, he is the author of numerous publications, a regular commentator on radio and television, and a frequent speaker on platforms in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America.  Mr. d’Aquino has addressed audiences in twenty-five countries and in over one hundred cities worldwide.  He is the co-author of an influential book published in 2001, and titled Northern Edge: How Canadians Can Triumph in the Global Economy.

Currently, Mr. d’Aquino co-chairs the CCCE’s CEO Task Force on Environmental Leadership and he also serves as the Chair of the Council’s CEO Task Force on Global Competitiveness.