Wikipedia

Dominic Barton

Dominic Stephen Barton (born 14 September 1962),[1] known in China as Bao Damin (Chinese: 鲍达民), is a Canadian business executive, former diplomat, and author. Based in London, he is Chairman of Rio Tinto, one of the largest metals and mining companies in the world,[2] and Chairman of LeapFrog Investments, a private investment firm focused on emerging markets and impact investing.[3]

Dominic Barton
Barton in 2009
11th Chancellor of the University of Waterloo
In office
January 1, 2018 – 30 June 2024
Preceded byTom Jenkins
Succeeded byJagdeep Singh Bachher
President/Vice Chancellor
Feridun Hamdullahpur (2018-2021)
Vivek Goel (2021-present)
21st Canadian Ambassador to China
In office
September 5, 2019 – December 31, 2021
Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau
Preceded byJohn McCallum
Succeeded byJennifer May
Personal details
Born (1962-09-14) 14 September 1962 (age 63)
Mukono, Uganda
EducationUniversity of British Columbia (BA)
Brasenose College, Oxford (MPhil)
OccupationChairman, university chancellor

Barton served as Canada's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 2019 to 2021,[4] and was Chancellor of the University of Waterloo from 2018 to 2024.[5] He spent more than three decades at McKinsey & Company, including nine years as the firm's Global Managing Partner from 2009 to 2018.[6] He is a co-founder of FCLT Global, a non-profit promoting long-term investment, and previously chaired the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). He is the author or co-author of four books and more than eighty articles on business, leadership, financial services and Asia.

Early life and education

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Barton was born in Mukono, Uganda, in 1962.[7][8] His father was an Anglican missionary who helped develop a theological college in Uganda;[9] his mother was a nurse.[10][11] In his childhood, his family's house was occupied by future dictator Idi Amin, who was rising to power in Uganda at the time.[10] At age seven his family moved from Uganda to Canada, eventually settling in Sardis, British Columbia.[11]

Barton attended the University of British Columbia,[12] where he earned a Bachelor's degree in economics.[13] He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and attended Brasenose College, University of Oxford, where he received an MPhil in economics.[14]

Career

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After graduating, Barton worked as a currency analyst at N M Rothschild & Sons in London.

McKinsey

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Barton joined McKinsey & Company's Toronto office in 1986 and worked from there as a management consultant for eleven years, except for a one-year period from 1989 to 1990 in McKinsey's Australia offices.[15]

Asia

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In 1997 Barton moved to McKinsey's Seoul office, becoming Managing Partner of the Korean office from 2000 to 2004.[16] During his tenure in South Korea, McKinsey worked with the South Korean government to restructure the country's financial system. Based on that experience working on countries in the region during the Asian financial crisis, he co-authored Dangerous Markets: Managing in Financial Crises (2002). He was also a key partner in the project to develop Singapore as a global financial centre. He served as Chairman for McKinsey in Asia from 2004 to 2009, operating out of Shanghai. He co-authored China Vignettes - An Inside Look at China (2007), drawing on interviews with ordinary Chinese citizens.[17]

Barton was an adjunct professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing and served on the School of Economics and Management's international advisory board. He chaired the Seoul International Business Advisory Council for six years and served on the Singapore Economic Development Board's International Advisory Council for ten years.[18]

Global Managing Partner

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In July 2009, Barton was elected Global Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company on a vote of 400 senior partners.[6] He was re-elected in 2012 and 2015, serving the maximum three terms before being succeeded by Kevin Sneader in 2018.[19] McKinsey was ranked the number-one consulting firm in the world for nine consecutive years during his leadership, and Glassdoor ranked Barton among the top global CEOs in 2016.[20]

During Barton's tenure, McKinsey expanded considerably in scale and geographic reach, with significant growth across emerging markets and also established many new practices. The firm became widely recognized as a leading source of global corporate leadership; analysis by Time and Statista identified McKinsey as producing more chief executives of major companies than any other private-sector employer.[21]

It was also associated with several controversies, including its work in South Africa, with Valeant, an insider-trading fine levied on an investment affiliate, and engagements with authoritarian regimes. After his departure, the firm faced further scrutiny over consulting work for Purdue Pharma related to opioid sales.[22]

Advisory Council on Public Service

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From 2013 to 2015, Barton served on the Canadian Advisory Committee on the Public Service under former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, advising on the renewal of the country's public service.[23]

Advisory Council on Economic Growth

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In 2016 Barton was appointed chair of the Advisory Council on Economic Growth, the federal government's blue-chip panel under Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.[24] The council issued thirteen recommendations, many of which were subsequently adopted, including the creation of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, a national re-skilling program, sectoral growth strategies, and the development of the Invest in Canada agency.[25] It set a target of lifting median household income to $105,000 by 2030 (from approximately $80,000 in 2017)[24] and recommended a gradual increase in permanent immigration to Canada to 450,000 people per year.[26]

Ambassador of Canada to China

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On 4 September 2019, Barton was appointed Canada's Ambassador to the People's Republic of China by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.[27][28]

As Ambassador, Barton led Canada's efforts to reestablish the badly damaged relationship between the two countries at the centre of which was securing the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, two Canadians imprisoned in China in December 2018 in retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.[29] Barton conducted regular consular visits,[30][31] at times delivering coded messages, and negotiated with senior US and Chinese officials, including Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng.[32] Reporting in The Toronto Star indicated that his work on the file pre-dated his formal appointment.[30] The Wall Street Journal subsequently described Barton's role in the resolution as instrumental, detailing the back-channel coordination between Beijing, Ottawa and Washington that he helped orchestrate.[32] He was personally thanked by Prime Minister Trudeau for his role in the resolution.[33] On 6 December 2021, Barton announced he would step down, having completed the "core mission" of his appointment.[34][35][36]

Rio Tinto

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In April 2022 Barton was recruited to join the board of Rio Tinto in the wake of a series of crises, including the destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020 and the related crisis of values and culture,[37] becoming Chairman on 5 May 2022.[38] As Chairman, he has overseen efforts to rebuild the company's social licence, reform its culture, and improve operational and financial performance, with the share price reaching new highs and the company outperforming peers in total shareholder return. He has positioned Rio Tinto as a partner to governments and customers in the energy transition, emphasizing the role of mining and materials industries in supplying the inputs required for industrial growth and the energy transition.[39]

Under Barton's chairmanship, Rio Tinto has made multibillion-dollar capital investments in Canada, Australia, the United States, Guinea and Argentina. [40]

LeapFrog Investments

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In April 2022 Barton was appointed Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Leapfrog Investments, a private investment firm that invests in high-growth emerging markets with a focus on social and environmental impact.[41]

LeapFrog's portfolio comprises 50 companies across financial services, healthcare, and the energy transition. These companies have served more than 622 million people in emerging markets, while generating positive returns to shareholders.[42]

Academia

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In June 2018 Barton was named the eleventh Chancellor of the University of Waterloo, taking office in July 2018.[43] He was reappointed in February 2021 and served two terms, ending on 30 June 2024.[44] He has previously served on the Max Bell School of Public Policy Advisory Board at McGill University and the Cabinet of the University of Toronto Psychiatry Campaign.[45][46]

Other board and advisory positions

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Barton has held non-executive directorships at the Singtel Group in Singapore and Investor AB in Sweden.[47] He was Chairman of Teck Resources from 2018 to 2019. In October 2022 Eurasia Group appointed him as a Strategic Counselor.[48]

He co-founded Focusing Capital on the Long Term (FCLT Global), a non-profit promoting long-term investment,[49] and chaired the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). He has advised the Asian Development Bank, and serves on the International Advisory Board of the Global Finance & Technology Network.[50] He was a Commissioner for the Global Commission on Internet Governance and a member of the International Advisory Board of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government. He has served on the boards of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and the Brookings Institution (as a senior trustee).[51] He was a Trustee of the Rhodes Trust from 2010 to 2018 and remains a member of its Founder's Circle.[52] He is Honorary Chair Emeritus of Canada's Asia Business Leaders Advisory Council (ABLAC).[53] He has also served on the Canadian government's Indo-Pacific Advisory Committee (2022) and Future of Diplomacy Advisory Committee (2023), and joined the Advisory Council of the Wolf Scholars Program at the University of Toronto in 2025. He serves as conference co-host at the St. Gallen Symposium.[54]

Century Initiative

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Barton co-founded Century Initiative, a non-partisan network advocating for policies to grow Canada's population to 100 million by 2100, with related work on immigration, urban development and infrastructure, early childhood supports, employment and education.[55]

Writing

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Barton is the author and co-author of four books and more than eighty articles on business, leadership, financial services, Asia and global market opportunities. His writing has appeared regularly in the Harvard Business Review, the McKinsey Quarterly and other business and policy journals.

Dangerous Markets: Managing in Financial Crises (2002) sets out a framework for managing organizations through volatile financial environments. China Vignettes: An Inside Look At China (2007) compiles short stories drawn from interviews with ordinary Chinese citizens. Re-Imagining Capitalism (Oxford University Press, 2016), co-edited with Dezsö Horváth and Matthias Kipping, examines capitalism through a contemporary lens and argues for an expanded, longer-term focus, building on Barton's earlier writing in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, which rejected the "false choice" between serving stakeholders and shareholders. Talent Wins: The New Playbook for Putting People First (Harvard Business Review Press, 2018), co-authored with Ram Charan and Dennis Carey, argues that talent, rather than financial capital, it the primary driver of long-term corporate success.

Among his most widely cited articles, "Capitalism for the Long Term" (Harvard Business Review, March 2011)[56] set out the case for a shift from "quarterly capitalism" to a longer-term model and helped catalyse the founding of FCLT Global in 2013.

Honours, awards, and philanthropy

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Awards

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INSEAD Business Leader for the World Award (2011); Order of Civil Merit (Peony Medal), South Korea (2013), Public Service Star, Singapore (2014); Academy of International Business International Executive of the Year (2014); Foreign Policy Association Corporate Social Responsibility Award (2017); Public Policy Forum Testimonial Award (2017), Canada. [57]

Honorary degrees

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Honorary doctorates from the University of British Columbia (LL.D., 2012); York University (LL.D., 2012); Western University (LL.D., 2014); the University of Edinburgh (D.Sc. Social Science, 2014-15); Amity University, India (2015); the British Columbia Institute of Technology (Honorary Doctor of Technology, 2016); Saint Mary's University (D.Com., 2018); and the University of Toronto (LL.D., 2018).[58]

In 2010 he was made an Honorary Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford.[59]

Philanthropy

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In 2022 Barton made a $1 million gift to the UBC Vancouver School of Economics, establishing the John and Barbara Barton Fellowship for international PhD students, and a $1 million gift to the University of Waterloo supporting Indigenous undergraduate scholarships, international study programs and the Velocity entrepreneurship initiative. He is a major benefactor of the University of Oxford, supporting the Rhodes Trust and Scholarships for students from some Canadian provinces and has made substantial contributions to Brasenose College. He is a member of the University Chancellor's Court of Benefactors, Oxford's senior body honouring its most distinguished philanthropic supporters. He has served on the board of the Malala Fund and as a champion of the United Nations HeForSheInitiative.[60]

Personal life

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Barton lives in London. He was previously married to glass artist Sheila Labatt; they divorced in 2014. He is currently married to Geraldine Buckingham, formerly Asia-Pacific Chair of BlackRock.[61] He has four children.

Selected Bibliography

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Books

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Selected articles

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Perkins, Tara (February 23, 2009). "Archives: McKinsey names Canadian to top post". The Globe and Mail.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ↑ "Dominic Barton to Succeed Simon Thompson as Chair". www.riotinto.com. 20 December 2021.
  3. ↑ "LeapFrog Investments appoints Dominic Barton former McKinsey Global Managing Partner, as Chairman". www.leapfroginvest.com. March 30, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Prime Minister announces appointment of Dominic Barton as Ambassador to China". Government of Canada. September 4, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ "University of Waterloo reappoints Dominic Barton as Chancellor". University of Waterloo. February 25, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Thurm, Scott (February 23, 2009). "McKinsey Partners Pick Barton to Lead Firm". The Wall Street Journal.
  7. ↑ Perkins, Tara; Erman, Boyd (February 23, 2009). "McKinsey names Canadian to top post". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  8. ↑ Stern, Stefan (August 15, 2010). "A strategy for staying sacred". The Financial Times. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  9. ↑ Contenta, Sandro (17 December 2016). "Dominic Barton, capitalism's go-to guy". The Toronto Star. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  10. 1 2 Pitts, Gordon (August 17, 2009). "Dominic Barton's global challenge". The Globe and Mail. pp. B1.
  11. 1 2 "Chair of Morneau's council of economic advisers wants low carbon economy". CBC News. May 20, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  12. ↑ Gwyther, Matthew (July 10, 2013). "McKinsey head Dominic Barton: 'We don't dominate the brain pool'". Management Today. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Dominic Barton". Vancouver School of Economics at University of British Columbia. October 25, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
  14. ↑ Shifman, Allan (February 23, 2011). "Dominic Barton 101". Reuters. Archived from the original on July 10, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  15. ↑ "McKinsey & Co.: The man behind the curtain - Canadian Business". Canadian Business - Your Source For Business News. 2011-04-07. Archived from the original on 2020-07-07. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  16. ↑ "McKinsey head Dominic Barton: 'We don't dominate the brain pool'". www.managementtoday.co.uk. Retrieved 2026-05-05.
  17. ↑ Barton, Dominic (2007). China Vignettes: An Inside Look at China. Talisman Publishers.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  18. ↑ "Dominic barton profile". World Economic Forum.
  19. ↑ Marriage, Madison (February 25, 2018). "McKinsey names Kevin Sneader new global managing partner". Financial Times.
  20. ↑ "Glassdoor's Employees' Choice Award Winners Revealed: Highest Rated CEOs 2016". Glassdoor. June 8, 2016.
  21. ↑ Umoh, Ruth (September 25, 2025). "The McKinsey CEO Pipeline". Fortune.
  22. ↑ Bakan, Joel (February 6, 2021). "McKinsey's role in opioid scandal happened under a boss who led the charge for stakeholder capitalism. Now he's our ambassador to China". The Toronto Star.
  23. ↑ Canada, Service (2015-04-17). "PM welcomes ninth report of the Advisory Committee on the Public Service". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  24. 1 2 Geddes, John (2017-09-05). "Dominic Barton wants Justin Trudeau to think big about the economy. Will he?". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  25. ↑ "Advisory Council on Economic Growth". www.budget.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 2021-04-23. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  26. ↑ "Influential Liberal advisers want Canadian population to triple by 2100 - National | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  27. ↑ Bains, Jessy (September 4, 2019). "Dominic Barton named Canada's ambassador to China". yahoo.com.
  28. ↑ "Prime Minister announces appointment of Dominic Barton as Ambassador to China". pm.gc.ca (Press release). PMO. September 4, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Kovrig, Spavor remain 'robust' after 2 years in Chinese prison: Canadian ambassador". Global News. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  30. 1 2 MacCharles, Tonda (2021-10-03). "Shrouded in secrecy, here is the inside story behind the two Michaels' flight to freedom". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  31. ↑ Fife, Robert; Chase, Steven (2021-06-07). "Canada held secret U.S. talks in bid to free Kovrig, Spavor jailed in China". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  32. 1 2 Viswanatha, Drew Hinshaw, Joe Parkinson and Aruna (27 October 2022). "Inside the Secret Prisoner Swap That Splintered the U.S. and China". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-11-07.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  33. ↑ Kirkup, Kristy (2021-09-26). "Homecoming of Michael Spavor, Michael Kovrig a welcome relief for Canada, but China rift runs deep after their detention". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  34. ↑ "John Ivison: This is an appropriate time for Dominic Barton to exit China". nationalpost. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  35. ↑ MacCharles, Tonda (2021-12-06). "'The mission is done': With the two Michaels released, Canada's ambassador to China is ready to move on". The Toronto Star. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  36. ↑ "Statement by the Prime Minister on Canada's Ambassador to China". Prime Minister of Canada. 2021-12-06. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
  37. ↑ "Rio Tinto Executive Committee changes". www.riotinto.com. 12 September 2020.
  38. ↑ Hume, Neil (17 December 2021). "Dominic Barton appointed Rio Tinto chair". Financial Times.
  39. ↑ "Mining's next chapter has begun and needs a clear story". www.riotinto.com. 24 October 2022.
  40. ↑ "Annual Report 2024". www.riotinto.com. 2025.
  41. ↑ "LeapFrog Investments appoints Dominic Barton, former McKinsey Global Managing Partner, as Chairman". LeapFrog Investments. March 30, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Impact and Investment Results 2024-2025". www.leapfroginvest.com. 2025.
  43. ↑ Quinlan, Natalie (October 26, 2018). "Dominic Barton to be officially installed as Waterloo's 11th chancellor". University of Waterloo.
  44. ↑ "University of Waterloo reappoints Dominic Barton as Chancellor". Waterloo News. 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  45. ↑ University, McGill. "Max Bell School of Public Policy - Our People".
  46. ↑ "Campaign Cabinet". psychiatry.utoronto.ca. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  47. ↑ Chiu, Joanna; Nuttal, Jeremy (September 7, 2019). "Canada's new man in China lauded and scrutinized over past business with Beijing". The Toronto Star.
  48. ↑ "Eurasia Group welcomes Dominic Barton as Strategic Counselor". Eurasia Group. October 26, 2022.
  49. ↑ "About". FCLTGlobal.
  50. ↑ Ufitiwabo, Aurore Teta (November 8, 2024). "Rwanda's ICT minister appointed to international advisory board of global fintech body". The New Times.
  51. ↑ "Dominic Barton". Prime Minister of Canada. September 4, 2019.
  52. ↑ "Donor Report". Rhodes Trust. 2013. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  53. ↑ "Dominic Barton, ABLAC Honorary Chair Emeritus". Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.
  54. ↑ "Organisation 2025". St. Gallen Symposium.
  55. ↑ "Century Initiative". www.centuryinitiative.ca. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  56. ↑ Barton, Dominic (March 2011). "Capitalism for the Long Term". Harvard Business Review.
  57. ↑ "Dominic Barton Biography". University of Waterloo. 2026.
  58. ↑ "Dominic Barton, ABLAC Honorary Chair Emeritus". Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. 2026.
  59. ↑ "Dominic Barton | Saïd Business School". www.sbs.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
  60. ↑ "These 10 Male Executives Are Committing to Reach Gender Parity in 5 Years". Fortune. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  61. ↑ Chiu, Joanna; Nuttall, Jeremy (September 18, 2019). "Canada's new ambassador to China was already facing questions for his business ties. His marriage is raising more". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2019-09-18.
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