Kathleen Taylor

Early life

Kathleen Taylor was born on August 25, 1957, in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in Oshawa, as the second of five siblings. She attended Oshawa Catholic High School (now known as Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School), where she was student council president in her senior year.

Academically ambitious, Taylor obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Political Science & Economics from the University of Toronto, graduating with distinction in 1976. Between 1980 and 1984, she completed a Juris Doctor degree at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, as well as an MBA at that institution’s Schulich School of Business. While at graduate school, she experienced a personal loss when her younger brother died from bone cancer after treatment at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, where Taylor had been a volunteer for several years.

Career

Following the completion of her education, Kathleen Taylor started her career in law. At Goodmans LLP, she specialized in corporate securities and competition law. During this time, she was seconded to the Ontario Securities Commission (1988-1989), working in corporate finance and enforcement.

In 1989, she made a major career change and joined Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. Over her 24 years with the company, she ascended the corporate ranks, achieving the positions of general counsel, executive VP of corporate planning, president of worldwide business operations, chief operating officer, and finally president and CEO. As CEO, she championed innovation, launching global initiatives to improve service, design, and technology at Four Seasons. She won the Cornell Hospitality Innovator Award in 2012 for her leadership. She left the company in 2013.

Overlapping with her time at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Kathleen Taylor built a respected reputation in corporate governance. She joined RBC’s board in 2001, serving on various committees (audit, risk, and human resources), and in January 2014, became chair of the board, making history as the first woman to lead a major Canadian bank. She left RBC in 2023.

In the past, Taylor has held other numerous influential board roles. She is presently chair of Element Fleet Management, Altas Partners, vice-chair of the Adecco Group, a director of Air Canada, and the chair of the board of Mattamy Asset Management.

On the non-profit side, Kathleen Taylor has devoted significant effort to children’s health, serving as chair of the board of Trustees for the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), and previously as chair of the SickKids Foundation. In 2023, she became the 14th Chancellor of York University, and, notably, the first woman to hold that position. She is also heavily involved in policy advocacy. As of 2025, she is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s National Council, co-chairs its Human Capital Policy Council, and participates in initiatives around the digital economy. She is also a founding member of The Prosperity Project, which advocates for the economic importance of gender equality.

Over the course of her career, Taylor’s leadership has been recognized with multiple honours. She was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2016, has received various board governance awards, has been inducted into the Canadian Marketing Hall of Legends, and has been included in the Women’s Executive Network Canada’s Most Powerful Women Hall of Fame. She holds honorary doctorates from numerous prestigious post-secondary institutions, including the University of Toronto, McGill University, York University, and Trent University.

Net Worth

Information about Kathleen Taylor’s net worth is currently unavailable to the public.