David Pecaut

David Kent Pecaut CM^[1] (September 14, 1955 – December 14, 2009) was an American-born Canadian civic leader. He co-founded the Toronto City Summit Alliance where he was a chair on the board of directors.^[1]

Pecaut was born in Sioux City, Iowa, to Richard and Dorothy (Kent) Pecaut.Martin, Douglas (December 21, 2009). "David Pecaut, 54, Civic Leader in Toronto". The New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2023. He attended West High School before earning a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Harvard University in 1977 and a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Sussex in 1978. He began his career at Terra Chemicals in Iowa before relocating to Toronto in the 1980s."Civic visionary David Pecaut dies at 54". The Globe and Mail. December 15, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2023.

Pecaut was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in November 2009."David Kent Pecaut, C.M." Governor General of Canada. He died of colorectal cancer in Toronto on December 14, 2009, at age 54. He was survived by his wife, Helen Burstyn, and four children.

Pecaut began his consulting career as a special assistant to the president of Terra Chemicals in Sioux City. He moved to Toronto and joined the Canada Consulting Group (CCG) in the early 1980s. In 1984, he became a partner at Telesis in Rhode Island. He rejoined CCG in 1988, later leading the negotiations that merged the firm with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in 1993 and founded BCG Canada.^[2] As a senior partner and managing director of BCG, he played a role in their global strategy, e-commerce, and public policy practices.^[3]

Pecaut drove the creation of the LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact, which was formed in 2012.^[4] The corporate sector partners of LEAP | Pecaut Centre for Social Impact include BCG Canada, EY, Google, McCarthy Tétrault, The Offord Group and H+K Strategies.^[5][6] The Centre is a partnership between these companies and Perennial.^[7]

In 1996, David also contributed to the creation of Career Edge Organization, which helps university and college graduates, people with self-declared disabilities, and newcomers to Canada launching their careers through a paid internship program.^[8][9]

He led the formation of the Toronto City Summit Alliance in 2002 and helepd inspire the development of initiatives like DiverseCity, the Emerging Leaders Network, the Toronto Region Research Alliance, Greening Greater Toronto, and Modernizing Income Security for Working Age Adults (MISWAA).^[8] He also convened the Toronto Alliance in 2003 to renew tourism after the 2002-2004 SARS outbreak, sparked the formation of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC), and initiated an award-winning mentorship partnership program. In 2007, Pecaut co-founded Luminato, a Toronto-based international arts festival, with Tony Gagliano.^[8][10]

David considered himself an avid supporter of Toronto and devoted himself increasingly to civic entrepreneurship in his later years, referring to his city-building activities as one of the greatest highlights of his life.^[11]

Pecaut Square, originally Metro Square, is a public space located between Metro Hall and Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. It was renamed after David Pecaut by an unanimous Toronto City Council vote in April 2011.^[12][13]

• Jane Jacobs
• Greening Greater Toronto
• Luminato
• Boston Consulting Group

• In death, David Pecaut sets out a challenge for all Torontonians