Business hall to honour Carol Stephenson, Paul Cocker | London ...

The dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business and a prominent leader in London?s construction industry are the newest inductees of the London Business Hall of Fame.

Dean Carol Stephenson and Paul Cocker, president of McKay-Cocker Construction, will be inducted at a gala dinner at the London Convention Centre on Oct. 25.

The announcement was made Monday at London?s Central Library, which houses the hall of fame on the second floor.

Established in 1990, the London Business Hall of Fame honours outstanding past and present members of London?s business community and is operated by Junior Achievement.

Carol Stephenson

Stephenson is the second woman to be named to the hall and the first laureate from the academic community.

Since her appointment as dean of the Richard Ivey School of Business in 2003, Stephenson has reshaped the program with a focus on ethics and community support.

?Our mission is to create leaders in business . . . who give back to the community,? she said.

A native of Petrolia, Stephenson spent 30 years in the telecommunications industry beginning with Bell Canada in 1973.

She became president of Stentor Resource Centre in 1995 and president of Lucent Technologies in 1999.

Stephenson has served on a number of government, advisory council and corporate boards, including General Motors. She also was a member of the Vancouver Olympic Games Organizing Committee.

Stephenson was educated at the University of Toronto, the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard Business School. She has received a number of honours as one of Canada?s most prominent businesspeople, including an appointment to the Order of Canada in 2009.

Paul Cocker

Paul Cocker can see his family firm?s legacy all over London.

McKay-Cocker has built construction projects in the city worth more than $500 million during the past decade. The company has built 3M Canada?s office building, London police headquarters, Covent Garden Market and the Charlie Fox Memorial overpass.

The firm recently prepared a map of all the projects it has completed in the city.

?When you see them all at once, it?s overwhelming,? Cocker said.

The firm was co-founded in 1946 by Paul?s father Herb Cocker and Col. Hugh McKay.

Cocker studied structural engineering at Ryerson University, graduating in 1970. He started working for the family firm and became chairperson of the company in 1991.

Under his leadership, McKay-Cocker has moved to a design-build model that now accounts for 75% of business.

Cocker is active in the community, serving as a director of London Hydro, a technical adviser to Fanshawe College and a supporter of Habitat for Humanity.

E-mail hank.daniszewski@sunmedia.ca, or follow HankatLFPress on Twitter.

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