Success Stories
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Blake Goldring
Blake Goldring joined AIESEC’s University of Toronto chapter when studying for his undergraduate degree. He held a position on the local chapter’s executive board from 1977-1979 and upon completion of his degree joined AIESEC’s national office as Vice-President of Marketing from 1979-1980. After completing his term at the national office, Mr. Goldring participated in AIESEC’s internship program and worked in the banking industry in Kobe, Japan.
Today, Blake Goldring is President and Chief Executive Officer of AGF Management Ltd., one of Canada’s leading wealth management companies.
Mr. Goldring graduated with an Honours BA in Economics from the University of Toronto and earned an MBA from INSEAD (European Institute of Business Administration) in Fontainebleau, France. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts. He is also a Fellow of The Institute of Canadian Bankers.
Mr. Goldring joined AGF in 1987 with responsibility for the company’s Japanese and Asian portfolios and helped establish AGF International Advisors Company Ltd. in Dublin, Ireland. He later assumed responsibility as Vice-President, Eastern Canada and in 1993 was named Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing.
In 2001, Blake Goldring ranked seventh in the National Post’s Best Performing CEOs, and was named one of the top ten CEOs in Canada in Canadian Business Magazine for strong leadership and returning excellent value to shareholders.
Under Blake Goldring’s leadership, AGF is committed to a program of corporate giving and sponsorship that is active on the fronts of environmental activities in support of the Sumatran tiger and direct community and employee involvement.
Active in a number of community, arts, business and educational organizations, Mr. Goldring is currently a Director of the Canadian Film Centre, The National Club, and the World Wildlife Fund of Canada, A Trustee for Bishop Strachan School and a member of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, a group of business leaders committed to the development of sound public policy. He is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Lawrence National Cntre for Policy and Management, Richard Ivey School of Business and the President's International Alumni Council at the University of Toronto.
He is also a current member of the Young Presidents' Organization and a member of the International Chapter, Young Presidents' Organization. Mr. Goldring also serves as Past Chair, the Bishop's Company, of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, an organization that raises funds for the clergy in times of need.
In addition, Mr. Goldring is Past Chair, INSEAD Alumni Fund, where he oversaw a successful fundraising campaign targated at 20,000 alumni in 60 countries. As Immediate Past President of The National Club, Mr. Goldring successfully implemented a campaign that attracted significant new membership to one of Canada's top business organizations.
As a member of the Toronto Board of Trade's CEO Forum on Urban Competitiveness, he participated in the publication of a report in 2002 entitled Strong City, Strong Nation: Securing Toronto's Contribution to Canada. In 2003, Mr. Goldring was a member of Toronto's City Governance Task Force.
Mr. Goldring lives in Toronto and is married with three daughters.
Ted Kouri
Ted Kouri joined AIESEC when he started his Commerce degree at the University of Alberta. He held various leadership positions at the university’s AIESEC chapter before joining AIESEC Canada’s National staff in 1997-98 as Vice-President Corporate Development in charge of fundraising, external relations and marketing. After his year on the national staff, Ted participated in AIESEC’s internship program and worked with Delta Marketing, the Latvian office of advertising giant Ogilvy & Mather.
Today, using the management and leadership skills he gained in AIESEC, Ted is co-founder and principal of Incite Solutions Inc., an Edmonton based outsourced marketing company, a company he founded with Jared Smith another AIESEC alumnus. Started in 1999, Incite (www.surfincite.com) is a marketing firm that specializes in relationship, B2B marketing. Incite Solutions won the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Small Business Owners of The Year Award 2004.
“During my university career what I learned, I learned 80% of it in AIESEC and 20% in the classroom. It was an organization that gave people the chance to learn about the world and their community. It gave them the opportunity to develop and grow, to make mistakes, learn from them and move on. Without this organization, I wouldn’t have been able to develop my business network at such a young age and I wouldn’t have had the confidence to start my own business right after my internship. AIESEC gave me the tools to become a young entrepreneur and to do something I believed in.”
Ted Kouri
Principal, Incite Solutions