Street mourns the loss of a citizen

The Street lost one of its outstanding citizens on Wednesday, as Gordon Cheesbrough passed away after a brief illness at age 57.

Mr. Cheesbrough - Gord or Cheese to his many friends - was an accomplished executive, most recently as co-founder and managing partner at Toronto-based advisory Blair Franklin Capital Partners.

But work alone never defined Gord. He set aside enormous amounts of time for volunteer work at hospitals and schools, helping to steer his alma mater, Upper Canada College, through difficult times as chairman of its board. He was a proud father and husband. And I can testify to the fact that he was a warm and loyal friend.

Mr. Cheesbrough broke into the financial world in 1974, on the bond desk of what was then McLeod Young Weir. It was a wonderful era on Bay Street, with Mr. Cheesbrough emerging as a leader in an industry transformed by deregulation. The bond trader became president of his firm in 1990, after it was purchased by Bank of Nova Scotia. In 1993, he stepped into the CEO's shoes.

In 1998, Mr. Cheesbrough left to lead a leveraged buyout of money manager Altamira Investment Services, turning the company around as CEO before selling it to National Bank.

Mr. Cheesbrough and a handful of partners then created Blair Franklin - his middle name and that of co-founder Steven Sharp - to provide advice to corporations, and run a hedge fund with a fixed-income focus. Both ventures have prospered. He was also a director of Canadian National Stock Exchange (CNSX) and chairman of North York General Hospital.

A weekend warrior, Mr. Cheesbrough fell seriously ill in recent weeks, and died on Wednesday. There will be a funeral Tuesday in Toronto.