From commerce to concert halls: Grad keeps his passion alive by supporting the Faculty of Music

In an interview, Phillips spoke about his volunteerism, how he’s addressing his concerns about AI safety and the U of T professor who inspired his commitment to the Faculty of Music.

You’ve been supporting the Faculty of Music as a volunteer and donor for the past decade. What’s that been like?

Supporting the Faculty of Music has been incredibly rewarding, as the students we are helping are so enthusiastic and appreciative, and working with other volunteers has been a real pleasure.

The Faculty of Music is one of the jewels of the University of Toronto. For an outsider, it is larger than one might expect, with approximately 950 students and over 600 public concerts per year. It makes a remarkable contribution to life on campus and, more broadly, to the soul of the university.

I sit on the faculty’s advisory council, which is a group of outstanding volunteers with a wide range of musical experience. We advise the faculty on fundraising and “friend-raising,” and we help think through ideas where the faculty leadership seeks input.

How does “friend-raising” work in practice?

It’s about getting people interested in the faculty. That’s often through inviting them to events, which is very easy at the Faculty of Music because we have so many concerts. I attend them myself whenever I can, and the quality of the musicians is very high. It helps generate awareness of who we are and the exceptional talent within the faculty.

Do you have any favourite memories from your time as a student?

I think my favourite memory was attending an elective Arts & Science class in music history. One of the professors from the Faculty of Music, Mary Ann Parker, an esteemed musicologist, was the lecturer, and she was an absolutely superb educator and very motivating for the students. I was very engaged and wanted to learn more. Mary Ann is now retired, but we are still friends to this day. She’s probably the biggest reason I decided to get involved with the Faculty of Music.

One of the Defy Gravity campaign’s goals is to encourage more alumni to engage with the university in acts such as volunteering and mentoring students. As a very engaged alumnus and member of the Defy Gravity campaign steering committee, what would you say to others considering getting involved?

I absolutely encourage it. It’s very fulfilling to support university students who are eager to learn in their selected disciplines. My advice would be to choose the area where you have the most personal interest and reach out to the leadership of that area to find a way to get involved.

Congratulations on your recent Arbor Award for exceptional volunteer service to U of T. Of your many volunteer experiences with the university, what’s been the most rewarding?

I have loved brainstorming with my volunteer and staff colleagues on the various university development and advisory committees about how we can make large strides towards our goals in furthering the mission of the university. These people are brilliant and articulate, and the learning never stops.

You’re chair of the AI Safety Foundation, and you recently made a gift to support Schwartz Reisman Chair in Technology and Society Roger Grosse’s work on AI alignment and safety. Why is this so important to you?

AI safety has quickly become one of the most pressing issues the world has to deal with today, and the risks continue to grow – within a small number of years, society may face catastrophic or even existential challenges.

That’s why I started working with Professor Emeritus and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, the leading light in this area, and others at U of T and in the business world to put together the AI Safety Foundation. There are many other inspirational leaders in this field at the university, Roger Grosse and David Duvenaud among them, who are doing excellent work and deserve our support.

How did your U of T degree in commerce and economics help shape your career in finance?

The BCom degree was an ideal grounding in accounting, finance, marketing, tax and economics, and it absolutely helped to launch me in my career. At the time, there was a lot of innovation in finance, and the commerce professors were very plugged into these changes and channelled the information to us in a very constructive way. They motivated me to want to work the long days that were a part of the next stage of my life after graduating.

Any favourite spots when you come back to campus?

I love walking outside among the beautiful architecture. I think it has an amazing emotional quality. You can feel the history and all the interesting things that have happened at the university. There are so many beautiful areas – Philosopher’s Walk, of course, and the area south of Victoria College alongside St. Michael’s College, as well as my alma mater, Trinity College.