With decades of experience in business and public policy, Phillips is currently the Vice Chair of Canaccord Genuity and serves on the boards of Aecon Group Inc. and Petal Health. In 2018 he was elected to represent Ajax and served as Ontario’s Ministers of Finance, Long-Term Care, and the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

“I am pleased to become the Chair of Toronto Global at such a pivotal time for the GTA, Ontario and Canada,” Phillips said. “In these uncertain times, as competition for international investment increases, selling the Toronto Region’s unique strengths to the world has never been more important. I look forward to working with the team at Toronto Global and leaders across the region to deliver jobs and investment.”

“Toronto is a world-class city with a reach that extends beyond our municipal borders,” added Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow. “Rod Phillips understands this and brings the energy, experience and expertise needed to position Toronto as a premier location to invest, grow a business and raise a family.”

The Board also acknowledged the leadership of outgoing Chair Mark Cohon, who has served since the company’s founding in 2017. Under his leadership, Toronto Global supported over 280 company expansions, created more than 36,000 jobs, and contributed almost $4 billion to the regional economy. Cohon’s tenure included landmark investments from companies like DoorDash, Netflix, Unilever, and a key role in the Amazon HQ2 bid.

“I am proud of what we have built at Toronto Global and the results we have delivered,” said Cohon. “I want to thank my fellow board members and the staff for their commitment to strengthen the economic engine of the country. We have an incredible force behind us, and I leave Toronto Global in very capable hands.”

“I’m thrilled to welcome Rod Phillips,” said Stephen Lund, CEO of Toronto Global. “Rod’s expertise will build on our successes as we continue to bring impactful investments and jobs to the Toronto Region.”

“On behalf of everyone at Toronto Global, I also want to thank Mark Cohon for his dedication and transformative leadership,” added Lund. His legacy will continue to guide the organization as we move forward. It’s an exciting time for Toronto Global and the region at large.”

Toronto Global is the first point of contact for international businesses looking to expand in Canada’s most dynamic city and region for business. Our expert team works closely with companies to help them make connections and access talent in North America’s fastest-growing, most-educated, and diverse market. Funded by all three levels of government, our services include industry and academic partnerships, strategic research, marketing and PR, and government relations. Let us help you build your future in the Toronto Region.

Michael, tell us about yourself and your role at Toronto Global.

My role at Toronto Global is Senior Advisor on the investment attraction team. I work primarily with U.S. companies to help them learn more about Canada and Toronto and ultimately help them expand here.

I have been in this role for over six years and have helped over 30 companies expand their operations in Toronto including Recursion, Cerebras, Ripple and Roku. It’s extremely rewarding to work with a company from the beginning of its incorporation to the point where they are flourishing here.

What do you love most about your job? 

I like to say that this is the most challenging job I’ve ever had, and it’s certainly the most rewarding. I have the opportunity to learn more about so many different companies and industries. I get to meet people with so many different backgrounds and experiences and see the business world through their eyes.

By working with so many different companies, the challenging aspect is trying to understand what their needs are and how to best help them succeed.

I’d say my favourite part is the relationship building. Because we are not-for-profit, the nature of what we do doesn’t rely on selling, but instead on building trust and maintaining a connection with the person, company, or team.

I enjoy the process of getting to know someone on a personal and professional level. It depends on the company, but a lot of the time I think of it as more of a friendship than a transactional relationship.

Maybe it’s idealistic, but a friend is someone who is there for you when you need them, and we try to maintain that level of individualized connection with each client. I always say that we never close a door, even if a company isn’t ready for expansion or they have already expanded and no longer require advisory services, I make it clear to the people that I work with that I am still available in the quiet periods.

Can you walk us through your process of helping a business expand?

It all starts with outreach, most of our successes come from us proactively reaching out to companies.

Take Recursion for example. I set up a meeting with Recursion during my first ever trip to Salt Lake City – and last trip before Covid. Recursion was my last meeting of that trip before I turned back, and I’m not sure it can even be considered a meeting.

I met with the Chief People Officer at the time at a conference, but the conference was ending so I walked back with her to her office, I had my backpack with my passport in it and everything. Our meeting ended up consisting of us just walking and talking about nothing in particular, which led to a massive deal down the line when Recursion opened its 28,000-square-foot R&D centre in Toronto last June.

Recursion wasn’t ready to expand at the time, and of course, Covid added some hurdles as well. But ultimately, it’s a great example of how a friendly conversation and staying in touch can snowball.

Every company has different needs and plans for how they want to expand to the Toronto Region, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach. My number one rule for building and maintaining professional relationships with companies is to remain authentic. That’s something I learned from my director, Liana Hovakimyan.

Ultimately, I do everything I do because of Liana, I am so lucky to have one of the best leaders to learn from and model myself after. At the same time, she gives me so much latitude to do my work individually. I feel that it’s because of her humble leadership that I have been able to grow in this role.

What is your approach to bridging cultural differences with international companies?

There aren’t many cultural differences because I work with US companies. The similarities between the U.S. and Canada are often a major reason why they want to do business here.

Still, as we have conversations about working and living in Toronto, diversity is a standout factor. The cultural and ethnic diversity in the Toronto Region is unlike anywhere else, so it’s visible to people who have spent most of their lives in less diverse regions. It’s such a norm for people who have spent a lot of time here, it’s easy to forget that not everyone is used to it like we are.

In the end, companies are excited about the opportunity to work with a diverse workforce and access Canadian talent.

Where/what is your favourite place/memory in the Toronto Region, and why?

On weekends, my family enjoys driving to different neighbourhoods in Toronto and walking around. When the weather is nice, it’s a great way to get outside and experience different communities within Toronto.

My daughter is five years old and she loves window shopping, so my most recent favourite area is probably Roncesvalles because there are so many small shops and cafes for her to look at.

Even in the winter, where I live around Yonge and Sheppard, there are cool winter festivals and stuff to check out along Yonge Street. There’s always something happening in Toronto.

Appreciating the city and region plays into my job as well. When companies expand to our region, they often move their executive employees here permanently, so part of my job is helping them move their lives and families here.

In the case of one company I am working with, an executive is moving here and her husband is a math teacher while her young daughter is in school. So, it is up to me to make sure that her husband can work here and help find areas with the best schools. That’s why there is no one-size-fits-all all approach, every company has different priorities because its people have different lives.

What’s your personal mantra or favourite quote? 

It may sound cheesy, but I think “be yourself” is a pretty good philosophy. Being real with the people you work with is so important – and I want that back as well. I want people to be themselves when working with me because the process of expanding can be pretty involved. Maintaining that level of authenticity adds to the trust aspect, which ultimately results in a better and more fun process for everyone.

Contact us to gain expert insights and leadership in your business expansion in the Toronto Region.

My name is Laura Jean McLeod but everyone in the organization calls me L.J. I am the Senior Manager, People & Culture and have been with Toronto Global for 2.5 years now. I oversee employee relations, strategic workforce planning, employee engagement and culture, basically everything that helps our team do their best work. 

What do you love most about your job Laura Jean McLeod?  

Where do I start? The people number one for sure – I am inspired daily by our team’s dedication and positive attitude. I also really enjoy the unique network in which we operate. Being part of a government funded agency presents the opportunity to work closely with both the public and private sectors and with a vast range of stakeholders across a variety of industries in the business community. 

I studied psychology in my undergrad and with that a lot of people continue on in academia post-graduation, which I wasn’t really interested in. I wanted to enter the business field and Human Resources is essentially the human aspect of business. It perfectly fits my interests and my background. 

What is a common problem that you ( Laura Jean McLeod) help clients/people solve? 

There are two answers to this question depending on which side of the organization I’m working on. 

1. People: I’m (Laura Jean McLeod) grateful to be able to solve problems for our people throughout the employee life cycle. From talent acquisition and onboarding to retention, talent development and internal mobility. It’s exciting to dive deep into the employee experience and analyze the engine of our workplace culture. For example, what drives and motivates our team, and how can we innovate as an organization to enrich the employee value proposition? How can we be more transparent, how can we operationalize inclusivity and how do we ensure psychological safety in the workplace?  

2. Clients: On the client-side, the Investment Attraction team sometimes brings me into conversations with international clients in the early stage of their expansion to the Toronto Region. I ( Laura Jean McLeod) help clients navigate the provincial and federal employment legislation and advise them of best practices to attract and retain talent as they set-up operations here in the Toronto Region. It’s rewarding to play a part in helping to shape the successful foundation of clients’ people and culture practices. 

Tell us what equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) means to you and why it’s important.  

I view equity, diversity, and inclusion as a spectrum of belonging. That is why I prefer to put equity first, because it comes first in the spectrum. Equity is fair treatment, access and opportunity for all people, diversity is the way in which individuals differ; and inclusion is respect, support and removal of barriers, which is well represented in the image below. 

“Diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is being asked to dance,” said professional diversity consultant Verna Myers, current Vice President of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix. 

I think intersectionality is also a vital consideration of EDI. There are many identity markers that have the potential to marginalize people. These markers include race, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, ethnicity, religion, disability, and more. There can be overlapping systems of discrimination or disadvantage that interact with each other, which is crucial to understanding a person’s own unique experience and complex identity. These variables aren’t experienced in isolation.  

As a people and culture leader, it’s important that EDI initiatives at an organizational level are not just about performative allyship; good intentions alone are not enough. EDI work must be linked to outcomes and the work is an ongoing journey, not just a “one and done” solution that checks a box. Experimentation is key – you may not get it right the first time, but the organization and its people learn and grow from the experience. Give people ways to engage in DEI work (i.e. the Toronto Global EDI committee is made up of employee volunteers). Leverage power and privilege for good. 

What is your approach to bridging cultural differences in the workplace? 

Having conversations, asking questions, sharing stories and generally being open to vulnerability is a great way to learn more about one another’s cultures and lived experiences. Being genuinely curious helps to build a shared understanding. 

Tell us about a family/community/cultural tradition, holiday, or celebration that you (Laura Jean McLeod) look forward to most each year. 

I have an annual trip with friends that helps keep me grounded, it is so important to create new traditions and rituals to strike a healthy work-life balance. 

I recently celebrated a wonderful Christmas with my family, which is always an enjoyable time of year for me because it gives me the opportunity to be creative and get crafty. Whether it be making ornaments, wreathes, decorating cookies or making a gingerbread house – or some A-frame gingerbread cabin variety in my case – it’s fun to have a small artistic outlet! 

Where/what is your favourite place/memory in the Toronto Region (Laura Jean McLeod), and why?  

I ( Laura Jean McLeod) have very fond memories of biking in Tommy Thompson Park, it acts as a great escape from city life without actually having to escape it. Biking through Tommy Thompson, you would never guess downtown is right around the corner. 

Another area I admire is Parkdale. I lived there when I first moved to Toronto and many of my early Toronto memories are of Parkdale, a wonderfully diverse neighbourhood with one of the largest Tibetan populations outside of Asia and some delicious momos! 

Tell us something that most people would be surprised to learn about you Laura Jean McLeod.  

I am a thrill seeker! I love adventures of all kinds, whether it be sky diving, solo travelling, or anything else of that nature. I appreciate experiencing the world of radical self-reliance and accomplishing what I put my mind to. 

What’s your personal mantra or favourite quote?  

“What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” ― Timothy Ferriss. If you want to talk to Laura Jean McLeod, feel free to contact us any time.