City-builder David Pecaut dies at 54.
TCSA Chair and The Boston Consulting Group senior partner David Pecaut attends the Toronto City Summit in February 2007
Photo/CHARLA JONES-TORONTO STAR
David Pecaut came to Toronto as an outsider, but over the course of three decades, became one of the city's greatest champions.
He co-founded the Luminato arts festival, formed the Toronto City Summit Alliance think-tank, and devoted his considerable energies to helping bring Torontonians together to make the city stronger.
He died Monday, Dec. 14 at the age of 54, succumbing to cancer. He was remembered by civic and provincial leaders as a serious mover from outside government, who was able to bring smart, powerful people together to effect real change.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty called him "a man of boundless energy and optimism, who freely gave of himself to improve the city he loved."
Mayor David Miller called Pecaut "a rare breed of city-builder" whose "heart and passion belonged to Toronto...
"One of his numerous talents was that he always found a way to make things happen. It was impossible to say 'no' to him because he would work miracles to find common ground where, at the end of the day, the only answer was yes."
Pecaut came to Toronto three decades ago. Born in the U.S. Midwest and educated at Oxford, he helped build the Boston Consulting Group and made an avocation of offering his services as an organizer and thinker in Toronto.
Kyle Rae, who chairs the Toronto Economic Development Committee, described Pecaut as having a rare touch with higher levels of government, using his private sector business credibility to bring things to Toronto that a mayor might not be able to do.
In particular, Rae said Pecaut was instrumental in helping Mel Lastman, with the Toronto City Summit Alliance, find direction.
"He filled the intellectual leadership vacuum when Mel failed," said Rae. "When Mel tripped up, he jumped in. He then, working with others, identified the needs in this city and picked the ones that were important and was able to bring groups together to work on it."
In 2004, he and fellow businessman Tony Gagliano helped create Luminato, the arts festival that was originally intended as an antidote to the SARS scare that was crippling Toronto's tourism industry. It has grown into an annual event that has helped define Toronto's cultural landscape.
"I hope that every year after Luminato everyone will remember who was at the forefront," said Toronto's budget chief Shelley Carroll, who first began working with Pecaut at the City Summit Alliance while she was a school trustee. "I don't know what his intentions were at the beginning, but I'm certainly never going to go through another Luminato without thinking of David Pecaut."
Although Pecaut frequently worked around city hall to achieve his aims, Carroll said he was always a friend.
"You're not always going to be 100 per cent in agreement, but we need to be continually challenged," she said. "That was more his role in the last couple of years. But when we needed to all come together, all of the stakeholders, we were blessed to have David Pecaut to do it."