Paul Godfrey
Toronto Blue Jays President and CEO
In office
2000–2008
Preceded bySam Pollock
Succeeded byPaul Beeston
4th Metro Toronto chairman
In office
1973–1984
Preceded byAlbert Campbell
Succeeded byDennis Flynn
Chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
In office
2010–2013
Preceded byKelly McDougald
Succeeded byPeter Wallace (interim)
Personal details
Born
Paul Victor Godfrey

January 1939[1]
Toronto, Ontario
NationalityCanadian
Political partyProgressive Conservative Party of Ontario
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
OccupationMedia and sports executive, politician
ProfessionChemical engineer

Paul Victor Godfrey, CM,[2] OOnt[3] (born January 1939) is a businessman and former Canadian politician.[4] During his career, Godfrey was a North York alderman, Chairman of Metro Toronto, President of the Toronto Sun and head of the Toronto Blue Jays. He was instrumental in bringing the Toronto Blue Jays to Toronto and has campaigned to bring the National Football League to Toronto.[5][6] He is the former president and CEO of Postmedia Network.[7]

Background

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Godfrey grew up in a working class Jewish family near the Kensington Market neighbourhood of Toronto, the son of Bess (Greenbaum) and Philip Godfrey.[8][9][10]

He later moved to the Bathurst and Lawrence area of North York.

After graduating from C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute, he attended the University of Toronto and graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science in chemical engineering.[11]

In 1999, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.[2]

In 2010, he was appointed to the Order of Ontario.[3]

His underbite jaw was surgically corrected in August 1981, a trait for which he had been satirized for years.[12]

Politics

He entered politics as an alderman in North York in 1964, serving until 1973.[8] In 1970, he was appointed to North York's Board of Control to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Controller John Booth.[13] He also joined Metropolitan Toronto Council for the first time, by virtue of being a Controller. He was re-elected to the Board of Control in 1969. In 1973, he was appointed Chairman of Metropolitan Toronto following the death of Metro chairman Albert Campbell, and served until 1984.

Godfrey was attributed with backing a campaign led by pro-development Conservatives and Liberals united behind the candidacy of Art Eggleton, to unseat the left-wing Toronto mayor John Sewell.[14]

In 1985, it was reported Godfrey had joined the new Ontario Premier Frank Miller's informal "kitchen cabinet", a group which met on Thursday mornings at the Sutton Place Hotel to discuss issues of the day during breakfast. This was similar to a "breakfast club" set up by the previous premier, Bill Davis, but with a more right-wing bent.[15]

Godfrey was chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation from 2009 until he was fired on May 16, 2013, by Premier Kathleen Wynne.[16]

During the Ontario PC Party of Ontario's 2015 leadership race, Godfrey endorsed Barrie MP Patrick Brown for leader.[17]

Media

In 1984, after he left politics he joined the Toronto Sun as publisher and CEO. In 1991 he succeeded founder Douglas Creighton as president and chief operating officer of Toronto Sun Publishing. In 1992 he became CEO of Toronto Sun Publishing replacing founder Doug Creighton. Creighton was forced to resign by the board of directors and the parent company, Maclean Hunter.[18] In 1996, Godfrey led a successful attempt by Sun management to buy back control, allowing it to become an independent entity once again. Two years later, Godfrey organized a deal with Conrad Black to swap the Financial Post with four daily newspapers in southwestern Ontario. These included the Hamilton Spectator, Kitchener-Waterloo Record, Guelph Mercury, and Cambridge Reporter.[19] In October 1998, Sun Media was approached by Torstar Corporation in an unsolicited takeover bid for $748 million. Godfrey said he was surprised by the move.[20] Two months later Quebecor Media Inc. made a higher and eventually more successful bid for a reported $983 million. Godfrey was a key figure in seeking out Quebecor as an alternative buyer.[21] After the sale, Quebecor, initially heralded as a "white knight" buyer, forced Godfrey to cut 180 jobs from his newspaper.[22] In November 2000, Godfrey announced that he was stepping down as CEO of Sun Media. There was some speculation that he was uncomfortable while under the control of Quebecor. He remained on the board of Sun Media.[11]

He had been named president and CEO of The National Post, starting in 2009.[23] He was the president and CEO of Postmedia Network, starting July 13, 2010. He took a $900,000 bonus during a time Postmedia laid off staff company-wide.[24] Godfrey then stepped down as president and CEO of Postmedia in 2019; he remains as executive chairman of the company.

SkyDome

In 1984 he was appointed to the board of a new crown agency called the Stadium Corporation of Ontario along with Larry Grossman and Hugh Macaulay. Its mandate was to choose the location and design for a new domed stadium that would eventually become SkyDome.[25] Godfrey stayed on the board until February 1989 when he resigned. He had been accused of being in a conflict of interest because of his involvement with a group lobbying for an NFL franchise in Toronto. Godfrey denied that there was any conflict and also denied that this had anything to do with his resignation.[26] However, Godfrey remained on the board of directors of the Stadium Corporation, a separate entity, until 1998 when he resigned shortly before SkyDome filed for bankruptcy. He said his resignation would have no effect on the process. Godfrey said "... It didn't make much sense to me to have separate directors and shareholder meetings when the shareholders should be making all the decisions ... My resignation just streamlines the process."[27]

Blue Jays

On 1 September 2000, Godfrey became president and CEO of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball club when Rogers Communications bought the baseball club.[28] He stepped down as president on September 22, 2008, after eight years.[4][28] During his tenure, the team payroll increased from US $46 million to US $98 million. While the Blue Jays posted four out of eight seasons better than .500, they achieved no better than second place in the American League East division.[29] In 2004, the Blue Jays purchased SkyDome for $25 million, far below its original construction cost of $650 million. The purchase gave Godfrey more latitude in controlling the total game experience.[30]

Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation

Godfrey was announced as the chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation,[31] a role in which he served until being dismissed in 2013.[16]

Other positions

Godfrey served on the board of directors of the now defunct CanWest Global Communications,[32][33] and as a director of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, CargoJet Income Fund and Astral.[23]

References

  1. ↑ "Paul Godfrey". IMDb.
  2. 1 2 Order of Canada citation
  3. 1 2 "29 Appointees Named To Ontario's Highest Honour". Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. January 25, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Paul Godfrey hired to run National Post". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. December 2, 2008. Retrieved February 27, 2009.
  5. ↑ "CANOE – SLAM! Sports – NFL – NFL dangles a carrot".
  6. ↑ NFL franchise for Toronto still just a dream Archived October 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ "Paul Godfrey steps down as Postmedia CEO as company announces $1.4M loss".
  8. 1 2 Al Parker. Five Questions for Paul Godfrey. Toronto Sun. December 20, 2008.
  9. ↑ Levine, Allan (2014). Toronto: Biography of a City. Douglas and McIntyre. ISBN 978-1-77100-022-2. The product of hard-working Jewish parents, Godfrey grew up in the Kensington Market neighbourhood before the family migrated to North York
  10. ↑ The Canadian Who's who. 2000. ISBN 9780802049391.
  11. 1 2 "Godfrey resigns as Sun Media CEO. CBC News. November 10, 2000".
  12. ↑ Heer, Jeet (October 28, 2014). ""Smile and Move On": Paul Godfrey on Racism".
  13. ↑ Godfrey captures vacant seat on North York Board of Control The Globe and Mail (1936–Current); September 26, 1970; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The Globe and Mail pg. 5
  14. ↑ Sewell, John (September 21, 2015). How We Changed Toronto. James Lorimer & Company. ISBN 978-1-4594-0940-8.
  15. ↑ Rosemary Speirs. Godfrey joins Miller's Thursday 'kitchen cabinet'. Toronto Star. March 8, 1985. pg. A1, A16.
  16. 1 2 Benzie, Robert; Brennan, Richard J. (May 16, 2013). "Paul Godfrey fired as head of OLG, board of directors resign". Toronto Star. Torstar. Archived from the original on August 21, 2023. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  17. ↑ "Postmedia CEO wades into Ontario PC leadership race". Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  18. ↑ Bob Papoe. Paul Godfrey new Sun chief as Creighton forced to retire. Toronto Star. November 6, 1992. pg A1, D1, D6.,
  19. ↑ Rob Ferguson. Newspapers: Black swaps papers for Post. Toronto Star. July 21, 1998. pg A1.
  20. ↑ Les Whittington. Torstar bids $748 million for Sun newspaper chain. Toronto Star. October 29, 1998. pg A1, A30.
  21. ↑ Rob Ferguson, Jim Wilkes. Quebecor tops Torstar bid for Sun chain. Toronto Star. December 10, 1998. pg A1, A40.
  22. ↑ Rob Ferguson. Sun group axes 180 jobs. Toronto Star. March 3, 1999. Pg. A1
  23. 1 2 Surridge, Grant (December 2, 2008). "Godfrey brings winning record to National Post: President, CEO, Making paper profitable main task". National Post. Toronto: Canwest Global Communications Corp. p. A2. Retrieved August 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ Bradshaw, James (November 23, 2016). "Postmedia executives receive $2.3-million in retention bonuses". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  25. ↑ David Miller. Battle is on for right to build our domed stadium. Toronto Star. October 7, 1984, pg A1, A13.
  26. ↑ Dan Smith, Tim Harper. SkyDome director quits as critics tackle NFL bid. Toronto Star. pg A1, A2
  27. ↑ Tony Van Alphen. Two high profile directors quit SkyDome. Toronto Star. November 24, 1998. Pg. A1, A24
  28. 1 2 "Godfrey steps down as Jays president". CBC News. September 29, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  29. ↑ Jesse Campigotto (October 22, 2008). "Q&A: Paul Godfrey – The former Blue Jays president and CEO talks about the future of the club". CBC News. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
  30. ↑ "Blue Jays buying SkyDome for $25M". CBC News. November 29, 2004. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  31. ↑ Benzie, Robert; Ferguson, Rob (November 28, 2009). "Paul Godfrey appointed by Liberals to head troubled OLG". Toronto Star. Torstar. Archived from the original on December 1, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  32. ↑ Gelfand, Phyllise (December 1, 2008). "Paul Godfrey Named President and CEO, National Post" (Press release). Toronto: CanWest. Archived from the original on May 19, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
  33. ↑ Robertson, Grant; Willis, Andrew (October 6, 2009). "The Asper dream ends, the selloff begins". The Globe and Mail. Toronto: Bell Globemedia. Archived from the original on November 11, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
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