Jon Love, Ivey’s newest honorary doctorate recipient, gave his view on the keys to business and personal success. And they had nothing to do with I.Q.
“The common trait among all successful people is the same: It’s not IQ, it’s not just EQ,” said the HBA ’76 Ivey graduate. “It is adherence to strong values – respect of others; humility of self, integrity and building relationships.”
Love delivered this message at the Ivey Convocation and Ring Tradition Ceremony on Friday, June 10, 2016, where he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.
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Read the citation given by Dean Bob Kennedy:
It is my pleasure to spend a few minutes telling you about our honorary degree nominee, Jon Edward Love.
Jon is an exceptional business person. Among his many accomplishments, Jon is founder and Managing Partner of KingSett Capital, Canada’s leading private equity real estate investment business. And he was formerly President and Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Properties Group from 1992 to 2001.
Jon is also one of Canada’s most generous philanthropists. His support to numerous healthcare and educational institutions – including Ivey – has certainly helped improve the lives of countless Canadians.
Jon established a fund at the Toronto Community Foundation with his wife and fellow HBA classmate Nancy Yeomans Love. Among their many charitable contributions, Jon and Nancy donated $1 million to The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation to establish the Love Chair in Prostate Cancer Prevention Research. He is also a very generous donor to many other notable causes in Toronto and across Canada.
But let me focus now on the family’s extraordinary legacy at the Ivey Business School.
Not only have both Jon and Nancy graduated from our HBA program, but their daughter, Christie, graduated from lvey's MBA program. Christie's husband, Jeffery Thomas, is an HBA graduate as well.
For close to two decades, Jon has been one of Ivey's most engaged alumni and strongest supporters. In 1998, Jon joined the Ivey Advisory Board. He currently serves on the board’s executive committee – a group that provides me with valuable advice and counsel.
In 2001, Jon and Nancy established an HBA Scholarship to help support students with financial need. In 2006, Jon became a member of Ivey's Toronto Campus Task Force. He was instrumental in making Ivey’s Tangerine Leadership Centre – located in the heart of Toronto's financial district – a state-of-the-art executive teaching facility. The Love Family Foyer at the campus is named in honour of their generous financial support.
In 2008, Jon joined the volunteer cabinet of lvey's Campaign for Leadership, a fundraising effort which raised $206 million in support of the School. As part of this campaign, Jon led the New Building Task Force and was a driving force in the planning, development and funding of the new building.
As a member of lvey's campaign cabinet, Jon assisted in securing a number of key gifts to the building. In total, Jon and his family personally committed over $3.76 million to the School, including $3.25 million to the building. The Love Family Quadrangle is named in the family's honour and has become an important place to meet, study and relax for students, faculty and staff.
Jon sums up his support of lvey in these words: "I believe in Ivey and its ability to create leaders for Canadian and global businesses. Clearly Ivey's ambitions call for a world-class facility."
I would add that Ivey has benefited from the generosity of a world-class alumnus.
In summary, Jon’s career has helped fuel the Canadian economy through job creation and business growth. In his private life, he has helped improve the social welfare of countless Canadians. He is here today as a living example of Ivey’s mission – he is a business leader who thinks globally, acts strategically and contributes to the many societies within which he lives and works.
Mr. Chancellor, on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor and in the name of the Senate, I ask you to confer the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, upon Jon Edward Love, an exceptional Canadian business leader, passionate philanthropist, and exemplary alumnus.
