Shannon Rohan, Director, Responsible Investment Leadership
This week marks Peter Chapman’s final week as the Executive Director of SHARE. Thankfully, we are not saying goodbye to Peter completely and we will continue to benefit from his knowledge, wisdom and leadership in the months and years to come. We are very fortunate that he will be around to continue to inspire, support and guide each of us at SHARE in between more important things like building sand castles and planting gardens with his beautiful granddaughters.
I have had the honour of working for Peter for over 12 years. During that time, I have witnessed first-hand Peter’s immense generosity. At the office, Peter is often on the phone. He likely has spent thousands and thousands of hours over the past 18 years providing thoughtful advice to so many of us. I know Peter will continue to be called upon to be a sounding board for all who cherish these insights.
I have also witnessed Peter’s patience and perseverance. Peter taught me that real systemic change takes time. It wasn’t enough to get the high vote for a resolution, we needed to think about how we leveraged that vote into real results and how we made sure that those impacts extended into other boardrooms and other sectors.
Peter is truly a pioneer of shareholder activism. For those of us who have worked in this area, we appreciate the special skill it takes to negotiate thoughtfully and strategically with companies on issues that matter without taking your eye off the ball. Peter’s contribution to meaningful engagement and real world change is recognized both in Canada and around the world.
I have also personally benefited from Peter’s ability to quietly mentor and build people up into their own leaders. Peter is always careful to acknowledge the contributions of others and yet never expects to be acknowledged himself.
In the age of selfies, individual branding and aggrandizement, I am extraordinarily grateful for Peter’s humble leadership. You are the heart and soul of SHARE. We will continue our work in building a more sustainable world and honour your leadership – and hopefully from time to time we can join you in building sandcastles and planting gardens.
