William A. Black

Bill Black has lived all of his 57 years in Halifax. He has been a leading member of the community combining a successful business career with strong commitment to community service and to his family.

He graduated from Dalhousie University (B.A., B.Sc. 1970) and completed his actuarial training (FSA, FCIA) in 1974. He worked with Maritime Life for 34 years, rising to the office of President and CEO in 1995. In his nine years as President, the Company grew organically and through four successful acquisitions. By 2004 the company had 3,000 employees and $15 billion in assets under management. Under Bill’s leadership, Maritime Life had a strong commitment to both customers and employees. It gained a strong reputation for employee relations – appearing every year among the leaders in the Report on Business list of top 50 employers in Canada. At the same time profitability was consistently excellent.

Bill’s contributions to the business community led to his being appointed Chairman of the Halifax Chamber of Commerce in 1995. More recently, he chaired a summit on the future of economic development in Halifax in which the team he led articulated a bold vision for the city.

Bill’s roots go well beyond those of the business community. Bill served a total of nine years on the board of the IWK Health Center – including two years as Chairman. He served for five years on the Canada Pension Plan Advisory Board. He currently sits on the boards of Symphony Nova Scotia, The Canadian Center for Ethics in Public Affairs, and Dalhousie University.

As well he sits on the Board of The Shaw Group, a Halifax based resource and property development company, the Bank of Canada, Nova Scotia Business Inc, and Standard Life of Canada. He also leads an executive leadership seminar for CEO’s and senior executives four times a year.

He and Lorraine have been married for 30 years and have three children.