David I. McKay

David I. "Dave" McKay (born 1964/1965) is a Canadian banking executive. He is the president and CEO of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of Canada's largest banks and one of the largest banks in the world by market capitalization.^[2] He is both a member and a Board of Director at the Business Council of Canada, and serves on the Catalyst Canada Advisory Board. He is the chair of the Business/Higher Education Roundtable.

Early life[]

McKay was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he grew up. His father was an entrepreneur and small business owner.

McKay holds a Bachelor of Mathematics and an honorary Doctor of Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo. He also holds an MBA and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, and an honorary degree from Ryerson University.

Career[]

Royal Bank of Canada[]

McKay was appointed President of RBC on February 26, 2014^[3] and Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Board on August 1, 2014.^[4]

Prior to assuming the role of President and CEO, McKay led RBC’s retail banking portfolio, first as Group Head of Canadian Banking (2008–12) and most recently as Group Head of Personal and Commercial Banking worldwide (2012–14).^[5] During this time, McKay contributed to the growth of RBC’s retail banking business, helping the bank attain top market positions in all the division’s product categories.^[6] Recognizing the need to invest in innovation and technology to evolve with changing customer needs,^[7] McKay also oversaw RBC’s move into the payments space.

Shortly after being appointed President and CEO in 2014, he led the acquisition of City National Corporation, creating a platform for growth with institutional, corporate and high net worth clients in the U.S.

McKay is a passionate advocate for Canada’s future prosperity and preparing youth for the future of work through the support and development of RBC Future Launch, a 10-year, $500 million commitment to help young people build the skills required to succeed in a changing world.

Most recently, under his leadership in 2019, the RBC Climate Blueprint committed to $100 billion in sustainable financing by 2025. The following year, RBC became the first Canadian bank to sign a long-term power purchase agreement for renewable energy.

McKay has also served as Executive Vice President of Personal Financial Services and Senior Vice President of Financing Products. Dave joined RBC in 1983 as a co-op student in computer programming before moving to the organization’s retail banking arm. After completing his MBA in 1992, he returned to RBC working in progressively senior roles in Canada and Japan in retail and business banking, group risk management, and corporate banking.

Honours and awards[]

In 2012, he received the "Retail Banker of the Year" Award by Retail Banker International, which recognizes excellence and leadership in retail banking.^[8]

In 2020, The Globe and Mail’s Report on Business recognized Dave McKay as Corporate Citizen of the Year, one of Canada’s top 5 CEOs. The same year, McKay was named the recipient of the 2020 Ivey Business Leader Award.

Personal life[]

McKay has coached children’s basketball and hockey and is a passionate advocate for helping children to build the confidence to be active and healthy for life.^{[citation needed]}

He is married to Karen McKay and has two children.

See also[]

• List of University of Waterloo people

References[]