Gerry Schwartz

Gerald W. Schwartz, born c.1940 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is a Canadian businessman. He received his B.A. and LL.B. degrees from the University of Manitoba where he became an active brother of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. He later received an MBA degree from Harvard University. In 1977 he co-founded CanWest Global Communications Inc, followed by Onex Corporation in 1983. Schwartz's well known, steadfast defense of Israel's military and its many endeavours have come to the forefront as of late. Recent articles in the American periodical Zmag http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZMaghave painted Schwartz as "one of Canada's leading Israel lobbyist," implying that he is full support of Israel's defensive wars in both Gaza and Lebanon [1].

He has been a director of Scotiabank since 1999.

The Gerald Schwartz School of Business and Information Systems at St. Francis Xavier University was named in his honour in recognition of his donations to the University.

In 2005, he was awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2005 Ontario Lifetime Achievement award. In 2006, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

He is married to Heather Reisman, Chief Executive of Indigo Books and Music and has four grown children and four grandchildren.