After helping raise hundreds of millions of dollars for hospitals and other public institutions across Canada, veteran philanthropy leader Paul McIntyre Royston is joining the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation (UHKF) as its new President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Paul (who also goes by PMR) officially joined the Foundation on Monday, August 17, following an extensive national search. With more than 20 years of fundraising and leadership experience, he has built a reputation for building organizations, inspiring philanthropy and bringing communities together to achieve ambitious goals.
Most recently, PMR served as President and CEO of Grand River Hospital Foundation in Waterloo, Ont., where he led the organization through a period of remarkable growth, transforming it into a $25-million-per-year fundraising foundation. During his tenure, the Foundation secured more than $100 million to enhance patient care and support plans for a new regional hospital. He has also held senior leadership roles with Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation, Canadian Olympic Foundation and the Calgary Public Library Foundation.
"Paul is an exceptional leader whose commitment to philanthropy stood out throughout the search process," said Brett Patterson, past chair of the UHKF Board of Directors and chair of CEO Search Committee. "His track record of building strong organizations and engaging communities made him the ideal person to lead UHKF into its next chapter."
For PMR, the opportunity to lead UHKF is about far more than fundraising, it is about community building. He is bringing his family with him to Kingston—all five daughters and his spouse Christine.
The chance to work with an outstanding team and a passionate community to create a new hospital for Kingston is a tremendous and critical opportunity,” he said.
As PMR begins his new role, his first priority will be listening to the community, donors and supporters, health leaders and partners, and the foundation team both staff and volunteers.
"I don't have a list of fixed priorities yet,” he said. “My focus is going to be immersing myself in the organization and the community and building on the incredible foundation that's already here."
"Health care belongs to all of us," he said. "Our role as a foundation is to help people connect their experiences with the opportunity to make things better. When a community comes together around a common cause, the impact can be truly transformational."
PMR succeeds Tom Zsolnay, who is retiring at the end of August after seven years as UHKF’s CEO. During his tenure, Tom successfully guided the foundation through the COVID-19 pandemic, implemented a new strategic plan and helped significantly increase philanthropic investment in support of Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) and Providence Care.