MacNaughton slips by TD, others to score big
David MacNaughton wasted no time in monetizing his Ottawa connections when he stepped down as Canada's ambassador to Washington last August and simultaneously signed on with the controversial Silicon Valley data-gathering firm Palantir Technologies. The Globe's Konrad Yakabuski writes that previous ambassadors have leveraged their ties in government to win lucrative gigs in business. Frank McKenna, a former Liberal premier of New Brunswick, went on to a high-paying career at TD Bank Group. Gary Doer, who served as the New Democrat premier of Manitoba, snagged directorships at Air Canada, Power Corp. of Canada and several of its subsidiaries. Mr. MacNaughton joining Palantir as president of its Canadian unit is different. First, he made no effort to hide the fact that he had been negotiating for his new job while he was still in his old one. Second, the company did not hire him as a trophy to sit on its board or lend prestige to its business. Its business model relies on winning government contracts for its data analytics and surveillance software. Those contracts enable it to access vast amounts of personal information and then sell that information.