A passion for philanthropy

He began his career in accounting but displayed an early talent for entrepreneurship, joining CI Financial Corp. of Toronto when it was launched in 1984. Indeed, the award recognizes the business acumen Chang displayed in helping guide CI from its origins as a small company managing a mere $5 million in client assets into a giant of the industry with almost $100 billion in assets under management.

One of his most personally rewarding roles was acting as chancellor of Ryerson University, a position he held from 2006 to 2012. Earlier this year, shortly before Chang died, he received the Order of Canada.

“Ray Chang was the most humble and modest man I ever met, and also the most generous man I ever met,” says Bill Holland, CI’s chairman, who worked with Chang for 26 years and sorely misses his close friend.

Chang first joined CI as vice president and chief operating officer after working with the emerging businesses group at accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand. In 1994, the year CI went public, Chang became president and chief operating officer; then, in 1996, president and chief executive officer. In 1999, he took on the role of chairman of the board, a position he held for more than a decade until stepping back to become a board director in 2010.

During Chang’s tenure, he watched CI shares grow from an original value estimated by Holland to be about 1¢ per share to the recent $34 level. Chang also reaped $15 per share in dividends along the way.

“Ray Chang is being recognized by Morningstar as a key architect in building one of Canada’s biggest and most influential independent money-management firms,” says Rudy Luukko, investment funds and personal finance editor at Morningstar Canada. “He was an important member of the leadership team and held various senior roles over many years.”

Despite the phenomenal financial success bestowed on Chang by his ownership stake in CI, Holland says, Chang had little interest in fancy trappings, preferring to use his wealth to better the lives of other people. Chang was a contributor to the G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University, which was named in his honour, and he created the Gladstone and Maisie Chang Chair in Teaching of Internal Medicine at the University Health Network, naming the position after his parents.

Chang was also a supporter of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto; the Royal Ontario Museum, for which he served as a governor; and the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation for which he was a director. He also contributed to Food for the Poor Canada and Mustard Seed Communities.

In 2010, Chang was named Outstanding Philanthropist by the Toronto chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He received an honourary doctorate from Ryerson University in 2005 and another from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 2007.

Born in Jamaica to parents who were both second-generation Chinese Jamaicans, Chang also supported many projects in his homeland. He contributed to programs to train doctors and nurses in the Caribbean, supported the UWI, including the funding of a chair in family medicine, and supported St. George’s College in Kingston, Jamaica, which he attended as a youth. Chang received the Order of Jamaica in 2011 and the Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation for Service to Jamaica in 2003.

Chang’s generosity went beyond formal organizations, and he often extended a helping hand to individuals he met from all walks of life, says Holland. Chang was a low-profile person who shunned the business limelight, but made an effort to know staff at all levels throughout CI.

Although many outsiders assumed Chang was shy or introverted because of his aversion to publicity, he enjoyed talking and connecting with people on a personal level, Holland says. During Chang’s two consecutive terms as chancellor of Ryerson, he attended classes and mingled with students.

“Ray was not financially driven; he made money but he preferred to give it away,” Holland says. “He was chancellor of Ryerson for six years, and that was not just a check mark. He got to know many students, and he wanted to learn about their experiences. The importance of education was one of the great passions of his life.”

Chang’s parents insisted that all 12 of their children, including five who were adopted after the death of Maisie’s brother, pursue a university education. The fifth-oldest of the 12 children, Chang arrived in Canada in 1967 to attend the University of Toronto where he earned a bachelor of applied science degree.

“Ray believed that education is the most important thing,” Holland says, “people can pursue to elevate themselves and improve the world.”

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