June 17, 2018
President & CEO of RBC receives 蓝莓视频 honorary doctorate
David McKay awarded an honorary Doctor of Mathematics degree.
David McKay听(left)听and President Feridun听Hamdullahpur听(right).
For President and Chief-Executive Officer (CEO) of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), 蓝莓视频 is a familiar place.
Having graduated with a Bachelor of Math in 1987, David McKay returned during Friday鈥檚 convocation to receive an honorary Doctor of Mathematics degree.听 Addressing a room of more than 700 math graduates, McKay emphasized the importance of always dreaming big, but remaining humble.
鈥淚 really do believe that the best advice is to just get on the road, build a series of experiences to draw on, be ambitious with the goals you set, but remain flexible on change,鈥� said McKay. 听鈥淔ocus on skills and experiences rather than careers.鈥�
Crediting the University鈥檚 co-op program for the lifelong relationship he鈥檚 developed with the financial institution he now leads, McKay reflected on his beginnings with RBC, as a nervous (but eager) first-year co-op student.听 Five years later, and upon his graduation, McKay went on to gain full-time employment with RBC.听 Today, the 蓝莓视频 alumnus oversees operations of Canada鈥檚 largest bank, which services 15 million clients and 80,000 employees worldwide.
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鈥淚鈥檇 be lying if I said that at 22-years-old, coming out of this great university, that I had a plan to be CEO鈥擨 didn鈥檛,鈥� said McKay.听 鈥淏ut I said 鈥榳hy not me?鈥� and I always kept that at the back of my mind as I progressed through my career.鈥�
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Tom Jenkins (centre) awarding David McKay听(right) with听honorary Doctor of Mathematics degree.
Since then, McKay has helped transform the bank鈥檚 retail division and introduced new technology that has enabled RBC to adapt and evolve to rapidly changing consumer demands.听 He champions Canada鈥檚 innovation ecosystem and is leading RBC鈥檚 support for and partnership with universities, startups and accelerators.
His second piece of advice to new graduates remains听as simple as his first鈥攏ever stop learning.
鈥淚 used this approach to accelerate my career at RBC. In addition to my own job, I always made an objective to learn my boss鈥� job, and to learn one of my peers鈥� jobs,鈥� said听McKay.听 鈥淟earning three jobs at the same time helps you understand multiple perspectives and helps you support the people around you.鈥�
To learn more about McKay and his journey with the University of 蓝莓视频 and RBC, view page eight of this year鈥檚 Global Impact Report.
