Gary Kent

Chief Financial Officer and Commissioner of Corporate Services, Region of Peel

November 23, 2022 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Panel
Leading Recovery: The Evolving Role of the CFO

Gary joined the Region of Peel in 2021 as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Commissioner of Corporate Services. In this role, he leads a strong Senior Leadership Team of directors and provides strategic management across a diverse portfolio within the Corporate Services Department that includes Financial Services, Human Resources, Communications, Information Technology, Culture and Inclusion, Climate Change, Facilities Management, Legislative and Legal Divisions.

As Chief Financial Officer for Peel Region, the second largest municipality in Canada delivering services and infrastructure to 1.5 million residents and 175,000 businesses, Gary manages an annual fiscal budget of over $3.8 Billion. He provides financial counsel and oversight for regional financial planning as well as strategic management of all accounting and finance functions. A thought-leader in municipal finance, he is also the executive sponsor for the ‘Future Forward’ post-pandemic recovery initiative at the Region of Peel, which is fundamental to getting the Region back on track to realizing its strategic priorities. 

Prior to joining Peel, Gary was the City of Mississauga’s CFO and Commissioner of Corporate Services where he had a 25-year tenure. He’s been a leader in many of The City of Mississauga’s strategic initiatives including their City Building transportation, downtown and waterfront initiatives, their Long-Range Financial Plan, IT and People Strategies. A professional accountant with extensive senior leadership experience, spanning years across many leadership roles in Local Government, he has held the role of Finance Manager at a large private sector transit company in the United Kingdom. He has also served as CEO of Enersource Corporation, the second largest municipality owned electricity utility company in North America.

As well as being a CPA, Gary is FCCA in the UK and earned a BA in Accountancy from Glasgow Caledonian University. He has graduated from the Directors Education Program from the Institute of Corporate Directors, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto and holds the ICD.D designation. His board and Committee commitments includes the ACCA’s Public Sector Global Forum, the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA), One Investment Board and Sheridan College’s Professional Advisory Council.