Rod Phillips (politician)
Rodney Allan Phillips is a Canadian businessman and politician currently serving as Ontario's Minister of Finance.
He was elected as the MPP for the riding of Ajax in the 2018 provincial election as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. He served as Ontario's Minister of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks from 2018 to 2019.
He is the former President and CEO of Shepell-fgi, which provided companies with employee and family health management, workplace training and education services. He worked as the President and CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, as chair of Postmedia, and also served as chair of CivicAction.
Early life
Rod Phillips was born in Newmarket, Ontario on March 2, 1965. He is the son of Cliffe, a sales manager, and Betty, a book keeper. He has one older sister.Rod attended Stuart Scott Public School in Newmarket, Ontario. He later attended Newmarket High School where he was active in extracurricular activities.
In 1984, he enrolled at Western University in London, Ontario. He graduated in 1988 with an Honours BA in political science and English. He completed his MBA at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, graduating in 1992. He is married to wife Lydia.
Career
Phillips joined the consulting firm KPMG after graduation from university in 1992. After three years in the firm's Kitchener office, he moved to Toronto and served as chief of staff to the then-provincial Minister of Labour, Elizabeth Witmer.In 1996, Phillips returned to KPMG in Toronto. The following year, Phillips was recruited by the first mayor of the newly amalgamated City of Toronto, Mel Lastman, to be his chief of staff. From 1997 to 2000, Phillips oversaw the Office of the Mayor, working closely with members of City Council and civil service leadership to establish the political and administrative structure of the new amalgamated city. He led efforts on a range of significant issues including taxi regulation reform and implementation of no-smoking by-laws. Phillips also played an instrumental role in labour negotiations with the city's unions.
In 2001, he left city hall to become co-managing director of the venture division of Goodmans LLP, one of Canada's leading law firms.
In 2002, Phillips became President and CEO of Shepell-fgi, a company that delivered workplace health and productivity solutions to eight million employees and family members from over 7,000 organizations in Canada and 54 other countries. Under Phillips’ leadership, Shepell-fgi grew in size and scale, helping its many clients with expanded services to include elder and child support, legal advice, financial guidance, and help with mental health and addiction issues.
In 2011, Phillips was recruited by the Ontario government to be the new President and CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
During his tenure at OLG, Phillips brought about a major transformation of the corporation, rehabilitating its reputation following several widely publicized scandals involving theft of winning tickets and fraudulently claimed prizes.
Phillips led the corporation to its highest net profit since 2005 and oversaw the design and launch of the modernization of Ontario's lottery and gaming industry.
Under Phillips’ direction, OLG received global media recognition and acclaim when it used its resources to identify a $50 million lottery winner, Kathy Jones, who had lost her winning ticket. OLG is a government agency, reporting into the Ministry of Finance, where Phillips now serves as Minister.
After leaving OLG, Phillips became the chair of the board of Postmedia, Canada's largest news media company, whose portfolio includes the National Post, the Toronto Sun, and the Ottawa Citizen. His leadership helped put the company on a stronger financial footing. Phillips served as chair from 2014 until 2017.
From 2015 to 2017, Phillips was also on the Board of Directors of Afinti and served as the Canada chair. Afiniti is a Washington DC -based global artificial intelligence company. Also on the Board of Directors during Phillips’ tenure were, Nobuyuki Idei, former President and CEO of Sony Corporation, Jose Maria Aznar, the 6th President of Spain, Francois Fillon, the 96th Prime Minister of France, Admiral Michael Mullen, former chairman of the US Join Chiefs of Staff; Alexandre de Juniac, director general of the International Air Transport Associations; Lord John Browne, former CEO of British Petroleum, and other prominent individuals.
Community service
Rod Phillips served as volunteer chair of CivicAction which brings together business and community leaders to address challenges facing the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. CivicAction was founded by David Pecaut in 2002 and has had other prominent chairs including current Toronto mayor John Tory. MPP Mitzie Hunter served as the organizations CEO.Phillips championed the CivicAction DiverseCity Fellows program, which seeks to have Toronto's leadership more fully reflect the city's cultural diversity.
He has also served on the Telus Toronto Community Board. Since 2005, this organization has donated $8 million to 479 charities and grassroots projects in the Toronto area.
Phillips was the founding chair of the Transforming Lives Gala for the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
Phillips has also served on the Boards of the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation, the Global Business and Economic Roundtable on Mental Health and Addiction, the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, Bridgepoint Hospital, the Toronto Community Foundation, and is a past president of the Canadian Club of Toronto.
Public Life
Entry into politics
In November 2017, Rod Phillips was acclaimed as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the riding of Ajax.42nd Parliament of Ontario
In the 2018 Ontario Election, Phillips was elected to serve as the Member of Provincial Parliament for Ajax for the 42nd Parliament of Ontario. He defeated New Democrat candidate Monique Hughes and Liberal incumbent Joe Dickson to win the riding. On June 29, 2018, Premier Doug Ford appointed Phillips to be Ontario's Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks in his Executive Council.On June 20, 2019, Phillips was appointed as Ontario's Minister of Finance.