Robert G. Greenhill
Robert Gordon Greenhill | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962 Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, government official, international development specialist, professor |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Known for | President of Canadian International Development Agency, Managing Director at World Economic Forum, founder of Banff Forum |
| Notable work | "Making A Difference?" report, "Assessing Canada's Global Engagement Gap" |
Robert Gordon Greenhill (born 1962) is a Canadian entrepreneur, government official, and specialist in international development.
Career
Greenhill launched his professional journey at McKinsey & Company in 1987, subsequently moving to Bombardier Inc. in 1995. While serving as vice president of Strategic Initiatives, he was recognized among Canada's Top 40 under 40 in 1998. From 2001 until 2004, he held the position of president for Bombardier's International Group.
In 2002, he played a key role in establishing the Banff Forum, a prominent Canadian public policy platform that annually gathers approximately 200 national leaders and global intellectuals to deliberate on pressing challenges.
Greenhill joined the International Development Research Centre as a Senior Visiting Executive in 2004, where he authored "Making A Difference?", a report that underscored Canada's limited influence in global affairs.
In 2005, he was appointed president of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Deputy Minister for International Cooperation. During his tenure, he introduced programmatic reforms such as fully untying food aid by 2008 and oversaw a $520 million, five-year initiative supporting Haiti beginning in 2006.
In 2006, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan selected Greenhill to serve on the High-level Panel on United Nations Systemwide Coherence. The panel’s publication, Delivering as One, advocated for enhanced coordination within the UN across environmental, developmental, and humanitarian domains. His efforts contributed to the founding of UN Women, earning commendations from Canadian organizations focused on women's issues.
Greenhill joined the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2008 as Managing Director and Chief Business Officer. There, he engaged with global corporate leaders on social responsibility initiatives and facilitated the creation of the Forum of Young Global Leaders.
After returning to Montreal in 2014, he launched Global Canada, a collaborative effort designed to strengthen Canada's international presence. In 2015, he co-authored "Assessing Canada's Global Engagement Gap," highlighting Canada’s lagging performance in defence and development expenditures compared to other G7 nations during the federal election period.
Currently, Greenhill holds the role of Professor of Practice at McGill University's Institute for the Study of International Development and serves on the boards of both the King Baudouin Foundation-Canada and the Banff Forum Advisory Board.
Education
Greenhill earned a BA in political science from the University of Alberta in 1984, where he was twice elected Student Union president and became its youngest leader at age 20 amid a financial crisis. He completed an MA in international history at the London School of Economics in 1986 and obtained an MBA from INSEAD in 1987.