The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Peter Godsoe, who rose from teller at Bank of Nova Scotia to chief executive officer died on Wednesday; he was 85. The Globe's Andrew Willis and James Bradshaw write that Mr. Godsoe led Scotiabank's expansion into Mexico during a 40-year career and was an early champion of gender equality. The Toronto-born executive was known for his strong command of numbers and of the mechanics of banking and credit, "which he understood better than anybody," said Onex's Gerry Schwartz, a friend. "Peter, though, was a wonderful banker because he really loved to bank people, rather than just numbers," Mr. Schwartz said. "Peter cared deeply about the bank's role in society, in Canada, in Jamaica, in all the countries where the bank operates, long before it became popular to do so," said Brian Porter, who worked with Mr. Godsoe over four decades and was also a Scotiabank CEO. "He was an enormously effective leader, with incredible bandwidth, and he devoted his career to making the whole bank run better," Mr. Porter said. When attending University of Toronto, Mr. Godsoe spent nights playing cards or shooting pool rather than studying. Friends recall him subsequently acing the exams.