About Gord

Gord Hume is recognized as one of Canada’s leading voices on municipal government, cultural planning, and creative cities, and is an articulate and thoughtful commentator on civic government and community issues. He is a very popular public speaker, an advisor to municipal governments and a respected and often provocative author.

Gord’s first book, “Cultural Planning for Creative Communities”, was published in 2009 and is already in its third printing and is in more than 15 countries around the world.

His second book, “The Local Food Revolution” was published in 2010 and breaks important new ground by exploring how food has shaped municipalities and the health crisis now confronting our society.

His third book is his most controversial. Entitled “Taking Back Our Cities”, it is an unblinking look at the relationships between Canada’s various orders of government and why municipal government has become the most important. It was released in 2011 to great reviews and comment.  To order Gord's books, go to www.municipalworld.com then Bookshop.

Gord is also a well-known writer of numerous newspaper and magazine articles on various aspects of municipal government, cultural planning, local food issues, the new CRINK Economy, and building strong communities. He was a contributing author to the book “Rediscovering the Wealth of Places”, published in 2010.

Gord is a popular, highly respected and sought-after public speaker who is known for his passionate and inspiring presentations. He has addressed major audiences and local governments in Asia, Europe and across Canada and the United States. In the fall of 2010 Gord was the keynote speaker at the UNESCO Congress on Creative Cities in South Korea.

Gord was elected to London City Council four times. His strong leadership was shown by his record of accomplishment while in public service, which included: Chair, London Police Services Board; Chair, London Public Library Board; Chair, London’s Creative City Task Force; Chair, London’s Creative City Committee; Chair, Small Business Task Force, and many other key civic appointments.

As an author, entrepreneur, successful businessman and community leader, Gord has a remarkable record of success. He was in the media industry for many years, winning two “Broadcaster of the Year” awards plus many other national and international awards. He was President of London Broadcasters Limited. He was the founding Publisher of what became Canada’s largest independent community newspaper. Gord created Symphonia Canada, produced three record albums, wrote and produced many radio and TV shows, and served terms as President of the Central Canada Broadcasters Association, Treasurer of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, and board member of the International Broadcast Marketing Executives.

As a strong and respected community leader, Gord has consistently displayed his leadership skills and commitment to building strong, prosperous communities. He has served as President of the London Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Parkwood Hospital Foundation, Chair of the Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, board member of the Lawson Health and Research Institute, and many other community organizations and associations.

Gord was the first Chair of the Ontario Municipal Cultural Planning Inc, a unique private and public sector body devoted to helping municipalities with cultural mapping and planning. He was one of the original board members of Innovation Ontario, a unique Provincial government agency investing in hi-tech investments.

He has twice served as an international volunteer management consultant for CESO, assisting private radio stations in Guatemala and in Ukraine.

Gord has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, a college instructor at Conestoga College in Kitchener, and a guest lecturer at many other Canadian and US colleges and universities including Niagara University in New York, the University of Minnesota and the RIchard Ivey School of Business.

Gord today remains President of Hume Communications Inc, founded in 1988, which provides independent professional advice and assistance to municipalities and community organizations.

His personal interests include cooking, collecting chess sets from around the world, reading, and golf. He is a member of Sunningdale Golf Club in London. Gord remains fascinating by exploring the people, cultures and cuisines of the world, and has travelled extensively in Asia, Europe, South and Central America and across North America.