Kathleen Taylor (business executive)

Kathleen "Katie" Patricia Taylor CM (born August 25, 1957) is a Canadian business executive who is the chancellor of York University. She was the chair of the board of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) from 2014 to 2023, and is the first woman to chair the board of a major Canadian bank.^[1] Taylor became chair of the board in January 2014, having served on the board since 2001; she previously chaired the human resources and corporate governance committees, and served on the audit and risk committees.^[2]

Taylor is the former president and chief executive officer of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. During her 24-year career, she held a number of senior leadership roles and was instrumental in building the firm's global brand and its international portfolio of luxury properties.

Taylor serves as Chair of Altas Partners,^[3] a private equity investment firm. She is Vice-Chair of Adecco Group,^[4] and a director of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board,^[5] and Air Canada.^[6] She is also Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Hospital for Sick Children, the immediate past Chair and a member of the Board of the SickKids Foundation, and a Co-Chair of the SickKids Capital Campaign.^[7]

Taylor has been a strong proponent for increasing diversity on boards and in business^[8] to help companies improve their competitiveness. Taylor is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s National Council,^[9] Chair of their Human Capital Policy Council and a member of the Task Force on the Digital Economy. She serves on the Dean’s Advisory Council of the Schulich School of Business^[10] and on the Principal’s International Advisory Board at McGill University. She is also a founding member^[11] of The Prosperity Project, which is taking action to explicitly link women and prosperity, underscoring the economic importance of gender equality during the COVID-19 recovery.

In 2023, Taylor was appointed the fourteenth chancellor of York University.^[12]