Peter Nicholson Peter J.M. Nicholson
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Council of Canadian Academies
Peter J.M. Nicholson became the inaugural president of the Council of Canadian Academies in February, 2006. The Council supports expert panels that assess the science that is relevant to issues of public importance. A native of Nova Scotia, he holds bachelor’s and master's degrees in physics from Dalhousie University and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Stanford University (1969). He has served in numerous posts in government, business, science, and higher education. Before assuming his current position, he was Deputy Chief of Staff, Policy in the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada. He has served in a number of public service positions over the past 36 years including as a member of the Nova Scotia Legislature, Clifford Clark Visiting Economist in Finance Canada, and as Special Advisor to the Secretary-general of the OECD in Paris. Dr. Nicholson’s business career has included senior executive positions with Scotiabank in Toronto and BCE Inc. in Montreal. Dr. Nicholson began his career in the academic sector where he taught computer science at the University of Minnesota for four years. He was also an original member of the Prime Minister’s National Advisory Board on Science and Technology, the founding Chair of the Board of the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences and was the founding Chair of the Members of the Canada Foundation for Innovation as well as of the Millenium Scholarship Foundation. Dr. Nicholson is a Member of the Order of Canada. |
