Friends and former colleagues remembered

Nigel Wright

as a savvy dealmaker with a legendary work ethic who embraced public service out of a sense of duty, as news of his unexpected death at 62 reverberated across

Bay Street

and through

political circles

this week.

A senior managing director at investment firm

Onex Corp.

and one-time chief of staff to former prime minister

Stephen Harper

, Wright earned respect in both realms, with colleagues lauding his intelligence and character.

Lionel Conacher, an investment banker, described Wright as serious but “super smart,” an opinion he formed over many years dealing with him starting in the late 1990s, first around boardroom tables as an advisor on Onex’s deals and later as part of an informal “kitchen table” cabinet that spit-balled ideas in the early days of Harper’s run for leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Wright’s ability to quickly size up a deal was crucial to the

mergers and acquisitions

Onex would pursue, but there was always a pull towards politics, recalled Conacher, the grandson of the Canadian hockey legend and federal politician of the same name.

“His integrity was above reproach,

whether in business

or politics,” Conacher said. “His … generosity was also exemplary.”

When Wright made the jump from backroom campaign worker and policy advisor to become Harper’s chief of staff in 2011, he was already known as one of the smartest guys on Bay Street, a dealmaker with a master of law degree from Harvard that caught the eye of Gerry Schwartz, founder of buyout powerhouse Onex. After witnessing Wright’s skills with mergers and acquisitions at law firm Davies Ward and Beck (now Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP), Schwartz snatched him up to work at Onex in 1997.

He quickly rose the ranks and helped reel in assets across sectors including energy, aerospace and defence.

“Nigel was a remarkably astute investor, an outstanding leader and an even more exceptional individual,” Schwartz, now chairman of Onex, said in a statement Tuesday announcing Wright’s passing.

“His passing is a loss not just for Onex but for anyone who had the privilege to know him. I take comfort in knowing that his legacy will carry on through the many enterprises, foundations, charities and individuals who benefited from his

kindness and generosity

.”

Wright’s charitable endeavours covered a wide range of causes, including support for the homeless and children with cancer.

His generosity and consideration of others were well known on Bay Street, said Bill Aziz, a former chair of the investment committee at the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System and seasoned corporate director and restructuring specialist whose path crossed with Wright over the years.

“He was a very thoughtful person of great integrity. Always calm and a good listener,” said Aziz, who first met Wright when he was a young lawyer working at Davies alongside Aziz’s brother, and kept up with his progress in the business and political spheres.

 

“He was also smart.”

 

There was much anticipation on Bay Street when Wright became Harper’s chief of staff in 2011, given his business acumen. Though Wright was seen as the point person for Harper’s plan to bring fiscal control to government, he was also astute about the need for innovation and access to capital at Canadian businesses, recalled John Ruffolo, who became head of venture capital investing at OMERS the same year.

“He was extremely strong on the file … deeply intelligent, thoughtful and principled,” recalled Ruffolo, now managing partner of Maverix Private Equity, who had already known Wright for about a decade from encounters in Bay Street circles.

Harper posted a brief statement about Wright on Tuesday on social media, saying he and his wife Laureen were “shocked and heartbroken” to learn of Wright’s “sudden” passing.

“A unique and deeply accomplished person, Nigel combined intellectual acumen with incredible capacity for work,” Harper wrote, calling him a “truly a special person whom we have lost far too soon.”

Wright’s interest in conservative politics can be traced back at least as far as his time in university, which brought him to Toronto from nearby Hamilton, Ont., where he was born. His classmates at the University of Toronto included Jim Balsillie, who would go on to found Research in Motion, the smartphone maker that became Blackberry Inc.

Wright’s time as Harper’s chief of staff was cut short after a scandal erupted over a

$90,000 loan Wright made to Mike Duffy, a television anchor turned senator, to repay controversial living expenses. Wright resigned from

his position as chief of staff in 2013

, although he always maintained that he extended the loan to ensure that taxpayers were made whole.

Still, in 2017, the federal ethics commissioner found that Wright had contravened conflict of interest rules.

Aziz said Wright was treated poorly in the affair, put in the crosshairs for being kind, while Ruffolo said Wright never lost his reputation on Bay Street, where he was regarded with “the highest respect and integrity” despite the scandal.

Conacher said the loan reflected good qualities for which Wright will be remembered.

“My take is that he was trying to do the right thing in a difficult situation,” he said. “As always, he put others ahead of himself which is what happened in that case. The worst I can say about it is that is was perhaps poor judgment, but his intentions were honourable.”

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Wright returned to Onex in 2014 after leaving politics, and moved to the United Kingdom.

In the Tuesday news release,

Onex said Wright had been “instrumental” in establishing the firm’s London office and growing the investment manager’s European footprint.

• Email: bshecter@nationalpost.com