Richard Brown

Richard joined the board in 2020, and continues to be an AFV student.  

He previously studied at L’Alliance Française Hong Kong, where one night he was shocked to have dreamt in French for the first time.  Consequently, he is a believer in the power of the inspirational cultural overlay as provided by AFV to assist in learning the language. He hopes to enable other AFV students to be similarly inspired and to enjoy achieving their own linguistic and cross-cultural dreams.Fascinated by the Côte d’Azur at the age of 12, he enjoys exploring and learning about French and francophone culture, and now spends part of each year in France to immerse in the work of great artists, visit small villages by bicycle, and sample the delights of local markets, vineyards, and restaurants.  He collects works of Provencal artists.  He also belongs to a local beekeeping group in Provence. 

Richard returned to Canada following retirement as an investment banker in 2019 after two decades covering pan-Asian markets from Hong Kong, most recently as the Senior Banker for Brookfield Financial. He currently runs a small investment fund.  His former career included McKinsey & Company, Citibank, and Bank of New York Mellon. 

He graduated in mechanical engineering from Imperial College, University of London, and earned an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario.