Raised in Chicoutimi, Quebec, John Walton attended Ridley from 1946 to 1949. A civil engineering graduate of McGill University, he spent several years in the Canadian construction industry acquiring a broad knowledge of both the mining and petroleum industries. From 1985 to 1988 Walton was the president and CEO of Placer Dome Mines, one of the world’s major gold mining companies. He was a director of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce from 1986-2001, and of MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., Vancouver from 1986-1999. Founding chairman (1989) of the Endeavour Financial Corp. (Vancouver), a specialized investment banker to the mining industry, he also served on the Ridley Board of Governors from 1990-97. He has served as chairman of the Victoria Commonwealth Games Society for the 1994 Games; former director of Learning Wise Inc. in Victoria, BC; founding president of the Victoria Hospice Foundation; past chairman of the Performing Arts Harbour Centre Project and past chairman of the Royal British Columbia Museum Board. He has served on Project Advisory Boards to the University of Victoria, Royal Roads University, and the Greater Victoria Hospital Foundation. In 2000, he was awarded an honourary doctor of laws from the University of Victoria. Walton has retired to Victoria, British Columbia.