C.B.H.F.
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Class of 2000
Cedric Ritchie has been hailed by the Financial Post as one of the country’s top bankers, rising from clerk to Chairman during his 50-year career with the Bank of Nova Scotia.
Born in Upper Kent, New Brunswick in 1927, Ritchie possessed only a high school education when he joined the bank in 1945. Over the next 15 years, he progressed from a teller in Bath, New Brunswick to Chief Accountant at the bank’s Toronto branch. Less than a decade later he was appointed Chief General Manager, and in 1972 was named President and CEO. Ritchie became Chairman of the Bank of Nova Scotia in December of 1974. Throughout his career Ritchie led the bank to increased profitability, and retired as Chairman and CEO in 1995.
Ritchie has held positions on the boards of several organizations, including: Chairman of the Phillipes Council, Director of The Canada Life Assurance Company, Director of Canadian National Railway, and Director of Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.
Cedric Ritchie also holds several awards and designations. He was named the Western Business School of Toronto’s 1993 Business Leader of the Year and the Harvard Business Club of Toronto’s 1993 Business Man of the Year. Ritchie has received honorary degrees from Dalhousie University, Mount Allison University, Queen's University, St. Francis Xavier University, and the University of New Brunswick. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981, in recognition of “his wide knowledge of banking and commerce.”