Blake Goldring's business baptism of fire came during the market meltdown of October, 1987 - just after he had left a banking job to join his father's fund management company, AGF Management Ltd. Now it's 21 years later and markets are going through another convulsive phase. Mr. Goldring, 49 and AGF's chairman and CEO, looks at what he has learned as a manager, volunteer, and, increasingly, an advocate for people in the armed forces who are truly under fire.
Was there a sudden revelation when you felt you had to join the family business?
There was a period around the time of the stock market meltdown in 1987. There was a lot of tension, and my dad got a little bit sick at the time. I felt this would be a key time to join and see if there would be a role I could play.
Where were you at the time of the October market plunge?
I had come over from the bank by then. It was a nice baptism into this industry, and now I've seen four or five of those kinds of events. It was a good time to see, feel, experience what it takes to go through this and that sang froid you need as an investment professional to get through.
One of the key lessons was to take the long view. So often people get caught up in the heat of the moment. It's a bit like the Rudyard Kipling poem: "If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs..." That poem always sat on my wall as a little boy. It really resonated at that time.
Isn't there the danger of a 50-year-old family firm becoming too insular?
My sister Judy [the corporate counsel]and I are the only two Goldrings active in the business. Taking a look at my executive group, most of the people have been there less than 10 years. During the early 2000s when we had to really reinvent ourselves, there was a turnover of 75 per cent in our sales and marketing organization.
The key has always been to make sure you express and describe the vision, and inspire people to rally around it. It's the same whether you are trying to get people to work for you, or in acquisitions. I believe if you can't come to some meeting of minds in what you want to achieve together, it's better just to shake hands, finish your cup of coffee, and everybody go off and do their own thing.
Have you had real moments
of darkness when you've doubted yourself?
You have setbacks in business - that is the nature of what we do. After the market difficulties in the early 2000s, things looked pretty tough. You just have to dig deep. There is no other way around it. You know all things must pass and you put your head down and work hard.
This is where having involvement outside the business gives a real sense of perspective. That is a great release, to be able to leave a difficult situation, park some thoughts, ponder some issues.
Get involved in other organizations that are not dealing with Bay Street-related matters. There are 10,000 great streets in Canada. If you choose one or two of them and you walk on those streets, you find there are other issues.
So it builds perspective?
There can be a pretty rarified atmosphere around this part of the world. There is a short-termism that is endemic to this industry. It is good to see things in a longer-term way, to see that the world isn't all about the stock market. You can still be very passionate about what you do, but there are also areas where we as leaders are able to help others by using our money, our contacts and our time.
You are associated with the plight of armed forces personnel and their families. How did you get on that path?
I was invited on an annual basis to a mess dinner to support the Royal Regiment of Canada, a reserve regiment. But the connection wasn't drawn until I was asked by General Reg Lewis if I would consider succeeding him as the honorary colonel.
I honestly said, "I am not your man, I have never marched and I have never fired guns," and he said, "we have lots of people who can do those things but we don't have a lot of people who are connected with Bay Street."
What really changed for me was going out several Thursday evenings and watching young men and women from all different backgrounds. I'd see them put on the green, and rally around all sorts of exercises - and around the flag.
Aren't you concerned people will say here is just another rich guy playing soldier?
I am so conscious of that. I determined right away that if I was going to do this, I would give 100 per cent. I created the Canada Company to build that bridge between the military and business leaders, and by creating the scholarship fund to provide postsecondary funding for children who have lost a parent in active service.
We want to make sure we can provide the support to the military and their families so that they are accorded the same level of respect, and level of consciousness, that we give to law enforcement officers and health care workers. You go around Bay Street and ask how many know someone who is serving in the military, and you find there are very few.
This is where it really hits me: Capital markets depend on a degree of measured security, and chaos is bad for our business. You're always going to get volatility in the markets, but what you cannot have happen is what happened after 9/11 with the shutdown of the exchange.
We should make sure it is understood that business continuity depends on security and security in turn depends on business continuity. They go hand in glove. That link is, to my mind, solid and that connection has to be consciously known among a lot of people.
Have we lost that personal connection to the military?
Something happened over the span from the 1960s to the 1990s. It was not seen as a place of opportunity. Few of us actually knew military people - but that was then and now is now.
I've had the honour to meet our military leaders and these are real leaders. I've seen the connection between the business and military worlds and I've gone to lecture at the staff college where senior military people go.
What do you lecture on?
I talk about lessons learned in business and the military leaders draw from what I tell them into their own world. How do you deal in international operations and to get people aligned around a certain mission? What do you do if crisis hits? I think there are a huge number of parallels.
Can your company stay
independent?
AGF is an acquirer - we've bought and sold companies over time. Also, this is a business that trades in great intellectual thought and I don't think a handful of big institutions will ever have a hammer-lock on people with the best ideas. And I don't subscribe to the belief that big equates with excellence in investment management...
We know there is volatility. Every seven years on average since 1900, the S&P has corrected 25 per cent. So when people wring their hands and pull their hair out and say life is terrible, take a step back, take a deep breath and say "this is this business."
In the broader picture, our country is going to keep growing. There is an ongoing need for Canadian resources, Canadian talent, Canadian products and services.
Blake Goldring
Title: Chairman and CEO,
AGF Management Ltd., Toronto
Born: Sept. 13, 1958 in Toronto
Education:
Honours economics degree, University of Toronto
MBA, from INSEAD, France
Career highlights
1982: Began five-year stint in corporate and government banking, Bank of Montreal
1987: Joined AGF and was first responsible for Japanese and Asian equities
1997: Named president and chief operating officer
2000: Appointed chief executive officer
2006: Named chairman of AGF
Also in 2006: Founded Canada Company, which advocates for people serving in the armed forces