Stephen A. Jarislowsky was born in Berlin, Germany in September 1925. He attended public and high school in the Netherlands and France and then immigrated to the United States in 1941. He attended preparatory school in Asheville, North Carolina, studied mechanical engineering at Cornell University and then served in the US Army. He finished basic training and studied Japanese at the University of Chicago prior to serving in Counter-Intelligence in Japan after the War.
On return to the United States in 1946, he attended the University of Chicago, graduating with an MA and Phi Beta Kappa Honours. He followed this with MBA studies at Harvard Business School, graduating in 1949 with distinction.
He worked three years with Alcan Aluminium in Montreal and briefly returned to the United States prior to starting Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited in June of 1955 in Montreal.
Founder and former Chairman of the investment counselling firm Jarislowsky Fraser Ltd., for 63 years. He directed the growth of the company to become one of the largest and most successful investment management firms in Canada. The firm was sold to Scotia Bank in 2018.
Jarislowsky is a Companion of the Order of Canada, a Grand Officier de L’Ordre National du Québec, and holds honorary degrees from Queens University, University of Alberta, l’Université de Montréal, McMaster University, Concordia University, Assumption University, l’Université Laval, University of Ottawa, University of British Colombia, Simon Fraser University, McGill University, Banff Centre, Haskayne School of Business, University of Victoria, l’Université du Québec à Montréal, University of New Brunswick, Carleton University and Guelph University.
Directorships during his lifetime of some 30 companies include, SNC-Lavalin, Canadian Marconi, Abitibi Consolidated, Southam, Unimedia, The Daily Telegraph (UK), Didier Refractories, Swiss Bank Corporation, Canon Canada, Velan Inc., Canfor, Slocan, and former Chairman of Goodfellow Inc.
He is the co-founder of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG), as well as the Institut sur la gouvernance d’organisations privées et publiques (IGOPP). He holds the International Entrepreneur Award from the University of Manitoba, Corporate Director Lifelong Achievement Award, Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors and has been inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.
Mr. Jarislowsky has been active in educational, cultural and charitable activities of many kinds; has endowed forty Chairs across the country, mostly in universities but also in other important Canadian organizations like the Banff Centre, Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Vancouver Art Gallery. All are based on ethics and excellence.
He also contributes frequently to television, radio, magazines and newspapers. He is the author of “The Investment Zoo” which was published in 2005.
His hobbies are his family, gardening, walking, good wines, music, art and literature.
The Jarislowsky Foundation was founded in 1993 by Stephen Jarislowsky, a prominent Canadian philanthropist and business leader. The Foundation's mission is to promote, support and foster excellence and ethics in education, medicine and the arts, and the environment and climate change.
The Foundation has 42 research chairs in areas of democracy, governance, public sector management, environment & climate change, Canadian art, and health across Canada.
The Foundation supports programs that allow students from diverse backgrounds to discuss contemporary issues with mentors and recognized experts. These programs aim to develop students' critical thinking skills so that they become leaders with strategic vision and thinking.
The Jarislowsky Foundation supports more than 80 organizations a year in the arts and culture, hospital foundations, the community sector and climate change.
The Jarislowsky Foundation now donates approximately $8 million per year.