Name Fredrik Eaton | ||
Education University of New Brunswick | ||
Fredrik Stefan Eaton, OC, O.Ont (born June 26, 1938) is a Canadian businessman and former diplomat who is a member of the prominent Eaton family. He is the great-grandson of Eaton's department store founder Timothy Eaton.
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Life and career
He was born in Toronto to John David Eaton and Signy Steffanson Eaton, and he was raised in the Forest Hill area. He has three brothers: John Craig Eaton, George Ross Eaton, and Thor Edgar Eaton.
In 1962, Eaton received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Brunswick and started working as salesman at Eaton's in British Columbia. From 1977 to 1988, he was the chairman, president and CEO of Eaton's.
He served as Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1991 to 1994. In 1993, he was appointed Chancellor of the University of New Brunswick and served for two terms of five years.
He is married to Catherine "Nicky" Eaton and has two children: Fredrik D'Arcy Eaton, who lives in Toronto and is head of the Catherine and Fredrik Eaton Charitable Foundation, and Flora Catherine Eaton Coakley, who lives in New York City.
Eaton and his family live in a townhouse in Toronto and own a country estate in Caledon, Ontario, a cottage on Georgian Bay, and a winter home in Florida. He is one of the most public members of the Eaton Family, and he attends social events and endows many institutions philanthropically.
Awards
In 1990, Eaton was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for having "contributed to many aspects of Canadian life. Through his leadership in a variety of organizations, in fields as diverse as those of business, education, nature, health care and the arts, he is continuing his family's tradition of exemplary service to the public." In 2001, he was awarded the Order of Ontario for his "contributions in numerous areas including health care and the arts."