Barrett, Matthew

ENCAENIA, MAY, 1996
MATTHEW W. BARRETT
to be Doctor of Letters

Matthew Barrett is best known for his dynamic leadership in Canada's banking community. He has been Chairman and CEO of the Bank of Montreal since 1990. In 1995, he was named CEO of the Year by Financial Post Magazine.

At UNB, we have a special relationship with Matthew Barrett. He is our banker. The Bank of Montreal has been UNB's banker since 1889. In 1962, the Bank opened a campus branch at UNB, the first such branch in New Brunswick and the first Bank of Montreal branch in Canada to be managed by a woman: Rebecca Watson.

1962 was also a big year for Matt Barrett. In that year, at barely eighteen years of age, he left his native Ireland to find work as a Bank of Montreal clerk in London, while he studied at night school - intending to become a journalist, or a novelist, Matt was not immediately spotted by the Bank' as its future Chairman and CEO. At the end of that first year, the Chief Accountant at the London branch wrote to Matt's mother in Ireland to suggest that her son was "too much of a wild man" and perhaps not cut out for banking.

In 1967, Canada's Centennial Year, a 24 year-old Matthew Barrett came to Canada, to take a position with the Bank, at a salary of $3,800 per year. In 1987, only twenty years later, he was named President and Chief Operating Officer. During that twenty year period, and during his subsequent years as head of the Bank, Matthew Barrett has consistently and dramatically proved the error of that Chief Accountant in London. His leadership abilities have been tied to success story after success story, including a profit performance over the past five years that leads the performance of other Canadian banks.

Behind those success stories, there are certain constants of leadership and character. An insistence On preparation. A consummate staff person.. A focus on clients. An exceptionally effective communicator. A desire to change and improve. And, what some may find surprising in a top banker, a concern for social and workplace justice.

In 1995, the Bank of Montreal won an award for measures taken to promote the careers of women in the Bank, including mentoring programs and gender-awareness workshops for executives. Among his "political" badges of honour, Mr. Barrett can include a rude comment (or at least what the Globe and Mail considered to be a rude comment) about his believed penchant for Keynesian economics - when Canada's national newspaper referred to him as John Maynard Barrett.

Matthew Barrett's contributions, and his preoccupations, extend beyond his day job at the Bank. He is deeply committed to the cause of Canadian unity, including through his role as a Director of the Council for Canadian Unity. In his 1996 address to the Annual Meeting of the Bank of Montreal, an address bearing the title "Architects for the Future", he spoke of his passion for Canada and of his unease about our national condition.

His interests in education and the development of youth are demonstrated through his directorship of Junior Achievement of Canada and his membership on various advisory boards in higher education, He has given philanthropic leadership to many organizations and causes, with his most recent such service being as Honourary Treasurer of UNB's Venture Campaign, an involvement that continues an extensive philanthropic relationship between the Bank of Montreal and UNB. Under Mr. Barrett's leadership, the Bank has also provided ongoing support for the Governor General's Literaiy Awards and for the Writers' Development Trust.

It is apt that Matthew Barrett today receives an honourary Doctor of Letters. When he went to London in 1964, it was with a view to becoming a writer. While his banking career from time to time takes him away from his passion for reading, Matt Barrett retains literature as his number one recreation. We at UNB and Matthew Barrett will take pride in reading after his name - D.Litt (UNB).

From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 3