TD hires former general Hillier to wow clients
TD Bank has hired Canada's former top general Rick Hillier to add some zest to its client events, the bank said on Wednesday.
The bank hired the former chief of defence staff on a part-time basis, mainly to give talks to its business and retail customers about what he has learned from his time in some of the world's hot spots, TD said this week.
"We're trying to create an experience that is different. … We use the term 'wowing' our clients," said Stephen Hewitt, a TD spokesman.
TD does not currently have an outlined program for Hillier, Hewitt said.
Canada's former top general Rick Hillier will work for TD Bank on a part-time basis.(CBC)A former senior Canadian military officer, however, probably has something to offer TD's clients about leadership, Hewitt said.
That thinking certainly makes sense, one expert said.
"You're not going to get too many people more qualified to talk about leadership than a general," said Don Jones, president of Experience It Inc., a Toronto-based corporate training company.
Client appreciation events that the bank hosts at its annual general meeting would be another possible venue for the sometimes controversial Hillier to expound on Canada's place in the world, TD's Hewitt said.
Hillier retired from Canada's armed forces earlier this year, having previously led combat missions in Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia. In past years, he sometimes rankled the former Liberal federal government with his calls for increased defence spending.
Often banks are publicity-shy in terms of discussing public issues. TD president and CEO Ed Clark, however, was a senior bureaucrat in Ottawa and appears less worried about engaging in public controversies than other bank CEOs.
TD is confident that anyone listening to Hillier will understand that a position he takes on an issue might not necessarily be the same as the bank's view, Hewitt said.
Hillier's hiring is part of TD's strategy to differentiate itself from other banks by sponsoring non-traditional events, Hewitt said.
For example, the bank is putting its name on the Virgin Festival, a major rock showcase featuring acts like Foo Fighters and Oasis, in Toronto this weekend.
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