Ihnatowycz Receives Honorary Doctorate from Ukrainian Free University, Munich

Laudation by Orest Subtelny

Honourable Rector Myhul, Your Eminence, Honoured Guests,

To note the outstanding achievements of one among us is a most satisfying and worthwhile undertaking. It provides an inspiring example of what can be achieved in life. It makes us aware of what humans are capable of and how unique we are among the creatures that inhabit this world; and it helps us understand why progress and development is an essential component of a life well lived. What Ian Ihnatowycz has achieved in life and how generous he has been with the fruits of his success is an excellent example of what I have just mentioned, of using the time allotted to us in this life wisely and well.

Born in Toronto, Ihor Orest Ian Ihnatowycz received his Baccalaureate degree  in Science from the University of Toronto in 1975. This background in science and scientific methods, and the physical aspects of our environment would later play an influential role in the nature of his business activities. In 1982, he received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Western Ontario, now known as the Richard Ivey School of Business, where he specialised in Finance and Investment. The desire to gain a higher degree was characteristic: Ihor always valued education as a primary means of personal growth and development. Therefore, even when his career was well advanced, he welcomed opportunities to gain more knowledge and expertise. In 1986 he received the CFA, Chartered Financial Analyst designation, from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts. In 2005, when corporate governance became an important global focus, he obtained the “Chartered Directors” professional designation at the Directors College. Clearly, for him, education was not only about greater knowledge; it was about self-improvement, about gaining a higher level of understanding and leadership skills, and about expanding one’s consciousness.

The world of business, as we all know, is demanding and unforgiving. Right choices are rewarded and bad choices are, sooner or later, punished. Certainly the financial and economic crisis that we are experiencing today underlines this point.  For most businessmen, success is measured primarily by profits. But a minority – while respecting the importance of profits – also believes that business can and should improve the conditions in which we live. Ihor Ihnatowycz never believed that business was only about winning or losing. On the contrary, for him business was always a win-win activity. For him, personal success should translate into benefits for society as a whole. He not only believes in this principle; he practices it.

In 1990, he founded Acuity Funds and Acuity Investment Management. Its goal was to provide discretionary money management for pension funds, foundations and private clients.  Since then Acuity has emerged as one of Canada’s leading practitioners of sustainable, socially responsible investing. In the process, it became the first Canadian advisor to the United Nations on the integration of environmental, social and governance factors with investment management. Under Ihor Ihnatowycz’s leadership, Acuity grew to manage close to 10 billion dollars in assets. In the process it captured many awards for sustainable, socially responsible and environmentally sensitive investing. The performance of Acuity serves as an excellent Canadian example of the fact that one can be successful in investing great amounts of money, one can have outstanding investment returns and, at same time, one can be socially responsible, strive to improve our environment and try to make the world a better place to live in.

It was this approach that won Acuity the Globe Foundation award for sustainability in investment and banking in 2003.  This commitment to responsible business led to Ihor Ihnatowycz’s election, in 2006, to the Board of Directors of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada.

Ihor Ihnatowycz understood the need of others to rise higher and to achieve success in their chosen field of endeavour. Even before achieving business success, he gave of his time and served on a variety of boards and community initiatives. His efforts demonstrated that by helping others, we can, as a whole, enrich the environment in which we live. He had a strong desire to give back to society. It was not only because of gratitude; it was in order to improve it and allow others to grow. This was the intellectual basis for his sustained, influential and intelligent philanthropic activity.

Ian has had a life-long love of music. Indeed, he is an excellent pianist, and not only he.  His wife Dr. Marta Witer, a leading professional in her own right and a great source of wise encouragement, and their three children, all attended the Royal Conservatory of Music [in Toronto]. It is not surprising, therefore, that Ihor and Marta did much to help this leading Canadian institution.

In 2005, they made a very significant contribution that allowed the Conservatory to renovate the 123-old Conservatory building – renamed Ihnatowycz Hall – thereby greatly expanding its ability to provide more and better musical training to talented youth. Ihor was elected to the Royal Conservatory of Music Board of Directors and, in 2007, he was appointed chair of the Royal Conservatory Council. He also funded the Ihnatowycz Advanced Piano Scholars Program for the most gifted piano players. One can safely say that musical training in Canada is greatly indebted to Ihor Ihnatowycz and his wife, Marta Witer.

Support for the arts also took other forms. Ihor has contributed very significantly to the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Canadian Opera Company, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Gryphon Trio, the Canadian tour of the Kyiv Chamber Choir and the Kobzar Literary Award.

There was also strong support for numerous Canadian educational institutions. Between 1992 and 2002, Ihor and his family provided major grants to St. Demetrius Ukrainian Catholic School, St. Michael’s Choir School, Upper Canada College and Bishop Strachan School [in Toronto]. Marta Witer’s alma mater, the University of Waterloo, School of Optometry, also received an important financial contribution.

Given Ihor’s personal values and sense of social responsibility, it is almost predictable that he would do his best to help youth.  A product of Plast, the Ukrainian Scouting organisation, he regularly provided funds for its activities such as New Year’s festivities, the development of its campgrounds and important financial support for its latest international jamboree. Quick to help the unfortunate, Ian contributed generously to the Children of Chornobyl Fund.  There was also regular support for the annual Toronto Ukrainian Festival, an event that attracts tens of thousands of Canadians.

While helping the young, Ihor has been acutely aware of the needs of the elderly. Indeed, here his support, commitment and leadership have been outstanding. Conscious of how much his parents and members of their generation sacrificed for their children, he found a most concrete and important way to expressing his gratitude, of giving back to them. In 2005, he became co-chairman of the “Home with a Heart” capital campaign for the expansion of the Ukrainian Canadian Care Centre, a seniors’ long-term care home located in Toronto. To date, this campaign has raised over $10 million, a large part of which has been donated by Ihor and his family. This is a inspiring example of a member of a younger generation coming to the aid of the older generation. And it has won him widespread respect not only in the Ukrainian-Canadian community but in Canadian society as a whole.

Little wonder that Ihor Ihnatowycz’s utilisation of business success for community welfare has been often and significantly noted.  In 2006, both Ihor and Marta received an honorary fellowship from the Royal Conservatory of Music and Ihor was asked to address the Conservatory convocation. In 2007, one of Canada’s leading business schools, the Ivey School of Business, invited him to speak at its convocation. That same year, the Ukrainian Canadian Professional Business Association of Toronto honoured him with the President’s Award in recognition of his contributions and charitable work. There were other awards from a variety of organisations and institutions.

This recognition signifies that people recognise and value achievement, that achievement emphasizes to all of us our uniquely human ability to develop and grow, and that we understand that success of one accrues to the benefit of all. Ihor Ihnatowycz’s career and accomplishments have emphasized these truths. And they have demonstrated that he is indeed worthy of the honour that is to be bestowed upon him.

Laudation delivered by Prof. Subtelny on February 4, 2009 at the Ukrainian Free University in Munich, Germany (translated from German).