Team

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Stephen J. Griggs is the Chief Executive Officer of Smoothwater Capital Corporation, a leading privately held “activist” investor. Mr. Griggs is Executive Chairman of TSX listed Genesis Land Development Corp. and Chair of the Board of Haventree Bank, a federally regulated bank controlled by Smoothwater. He is also a member of the independent review committees of the mutual fund groups associated with the Bank of Nova Scotia.

Prior to joining Smoothwater, he was until April 2012 the President and CEO of OPTrust, a major public sector pension plan.  Prior to joining OPTrust in mid-2011, Mr. Griggs served for three years as Executive Director of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance, where he represented the interests of leading Canadian pension plans and other institutional shareholders. 

From 2003 to mid-2007, he was the President and CEO of Legg Mason Canada Inc., with responsibility for the Canadian operations of Legg Mason, Inc., one of the world’s largest global investment management firms, prior to which he was the Chief Operating Officer of two leading Canadian mutual fund companies. Mr. Griggs was also a corporate/commercial and securities law partner with the Toronto law firm Smith Lyons (now Gowlings) until 1994 and remains a member of the Law Society of Ontario with a J.D. from the University of Toronto Law School.

Mr. Griggs is a frequent speaker at conferences and educational programs on topics related to investor activism and corporate governance, and has been an adjunct professor at Osgoode Hall Law School and taught at the Directors’ College.