Peter Godsoe, pictured on Nov. 27, 2003.John Morstad/The Globe and Mail
Peter Godsoe, who rose from teller at Bank of Nova Scotia to chief executive officer at one of the country’s largest banks, died on Wednesday. He was 85.
Mr. Godsoe led Scotiabank’s expansion into Mexico during a 40-year career and was an early champion of gender equality. The Toronto-born executive was known for his strong command of numbers and of the mechanics of banking and credit, “which he understood better than anybody,” said Gerry Schwartz, founder and chair of Onex Corp. and a close friend.
“Peter, though, was a wonderful banker because he really loved to bank people, rather than just numbers,” Mr. Schwartz said.
“Peter cared deeply about the bank’s role in society, in Canada, in Jamaica, in all the countries where the bank operates, long before it became popular to do so,” said Brian Porter, who worked with Mr. Godsoe over four decades and was also CEO of Scotiabank for 10 years.
“He was an enormously effective leader, with incredible bandwidth, and he devoted his career to making the whole bank run better,” Mr. Porter said.
Mr. Godsoe attended University of Toronto Schools – a high school with high academic standards – graduating in 1956 alongside lifelong friend Arthur Scace, who went on to become chair of national law firm McCarthy Tétrault LLP. Mr. Godsoe then earned an undergraduate degree in math and physics from University of Toronto – his mother Margaret was a math teacher.
Mr. Scace, who died in 2020, enjoyed telling stories of knocking on his friend’s door to wake him up for important tests, after Mr. Godsoe spent nights playing cards or shooting pool, rather than studying. Mr. Scace then watched his friend ace the exams.
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