In conversation with Ken Tanenbaum

“It’s a great honour,” says Tanenbaum, whose three sons graduated from the College: Jack ’18, Ethan ’20 and Dylan ’22. 

“I feel privileged to have served UCC over many years, and enjoyed working shoulder-to-shoulder with extraordinary volunteers and a super-professional team. Volunteering is always more rewarding when the organization has a mission that aligns with your values and your skill sets can help advance that mission.”

And Tanenbaum has brought over considerable skill sets from the business world. He is founder and chair of Kilmer Developments, which has had a leading role in the construction and operation of the ONroute highway plazas, and is executive chair of Coca-Cola Canada Bottling.   

He served on the UCC board for two four-year terms, and from 2010 to 2012 was part of the Think Ahead Campaign Cabinet tasked with raising $100 million. Currently, he continues to work on the College’s philanthropic endeavours.

“It’s fundraising that goes towards financial assistance, which was a priority when I was a board member,” he says. “The organization emphasized what that could mean to the College and the broader community. [There’s a] focus on enhancing that — on physical assets and programming under a ‘private-school-with-a-public-purpose’ approach.”

He proudly recalls being part of the search committee that brought in Sam McKinney as the 19^th principal in 2016. “That was a meaningful exercise to set the school up for future success,” Tanenbaum recalls. He was subsequently involved in the development of the school’s ambitious strategic directions.  

Although he did not attend the College as a student, he has seen firsthand how his sons have benefitted from a UCC education.  

“They all came out of the place understanding themselves as learners,” he explains. “They have the skills to identify how they learn. They’re all wired differently and have different learning styles, and now they can communicate that and tune in. It sets them up really well for life, because we’re all constantly learning.”  

Tanenbaum is a firm believer in education, having studied at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, one of the world’s leading business schools. 

He also sees the value in parents assuming an active role.  

“When you put your time and financial resources into advancing the mission of an organization, you get more out of it than you put in,” he says. “And, again, there’s a great privilege in working with like-minded volunteers who are mostly parents. The organization needs those experiences and perspectives at the table. It makes for a better institution.”

Tanenbaum received the John D. Stevenson Award at the College’s Founder’s Dinner on Feb. 24. Along with the Stevenson honour, the Old Boy of Distinction Award was presented to preeminent community member Stu Lang ’70 for his enduring belief in and outstanding commitment to the school.   

Looking back on the evening, Tanenbaum calls it “very special. It was great to share the night with my family and my peers, and to celebrate them in my remarks, because the award represents the efforts of a team — both volunteers and professional leaders. It was an opportunity to acknowledge them as much as me.”