David Pecaut

David Pecaut (1955–2009) was one of Toronto’s great city builders and thought leaders. He served as senior partner and managing director in the Boston Consulting Group and co-founded the Canadian practice of BCG in Toronto in 1993. He was also the co-founder of Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity, a multidisciplinary arts festival held annually each June. Beginning in 2002, David was the chair of the Toronto City Summit Alliance, a unique organization that convenes leaders from all sectors of civil society and philosophical perspectives to tackle regional economic, social development and environmental challenges. Under his leadership, TCSA championed a series of major region-building initiatives, including the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council, the Strong Neighbourhoods Task Force and the Emerging Leaders Network. David went on to spearhead two subsequent major projects: Greening Greater Toronto and DiverseCity: The Greater Toronto Leadership Project. Declared “the greatest mayor we never had” by the Toronto Star, David succumbed to cancer in 2009 at the age of 54.