David Agnew

David Agnew became President of Seneca College in 2009, bringing senior leadership experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors to one of the largest colleges in Canada.
During his public service career he served as Secretary to the Cabinet and was Principal Secretary to the Premier. In 1995, he led the Public-Private Partnerships Project and was seconded to the University of Toronto where he was a Senior Resident at Massey College.

Prior to joining Seneca, Mr. Agnew was the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments, heading the national financial industry dispute resolution service for consumers and small businesses. He was the President and CEO of UNICEF Canada, the first head of the organization recruited from outside the development sector. As Principal at the strategy consulting firm Digital 4Sight, he led the firm’s global research initiative on Government in the Digital Economy. In the co-operative sector, he was the Executive Vice-President and Corporate Secretary for the Credit Union Central of Ontario.

Mr. Agnew’s working life started in high school when he was a part-time sports reporter for a Toronto daily newspaper. He continued in journalism as a reporter and editor in St. John’s, Ottawa and Edmonton and completed his B.A. in political science at Memorial University of Newfoundland. Following his studies, he was a Parliamentary Intern at the House of Commons.

He serves as a member on numerous boards and committees including the federal government’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council. He is the incoming Chair of the Board of Directors of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Mr. Agnew sits on the United Way of Toronto Campaign Cabinet as chair of the universities and colleges sector and chairs the Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology Co-ordinating Committee. He is also a member of the CivicAction Steering Committee, the ontarionewswatch Advisory Board, the Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI) Advisory Committee on Financial Literacy and the Canadian Ditchley Foundation Advisory Board.