The Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology Section of the American College of Cardiology, together with colleagues worldwide, mourns the loss of Professor Gary Douglas Webb, MD, FRCPC, FACC, on October 19, 2021. Both visibly at the helm, and through inspiring those about him, Gary was foundational to nearly every initiative that sparked, sustained, and advanced the field of care for adults with congenital heart disease.

A graduate of Montreal's McGill University, Gary relocated to Toronto, where he trained at Royal Victoria Hospital, and ultimately joined the staff of Toronto General Hospital's (TGH) Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) program, which he directed from 1986 through 2004. There, he oversaw the growth and development of what was to become one of the world's largest and most renowned spawning grounds for master ACHD clinicians, educators, and clinical investigators. He later extended influence throughout North America, directing ACHD programs at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital of the University of Cincinnati, before returning to his native Canada and TGH in 2017, the same year he was awarded by the American Heart Association through its Eugene Braunwald Award for Academic Mentorship.

Beyond his hundreds of academic manuscripts, books, and editorials, Dr. Webb's greatest medical achievements perhaps lie in the impact that he had on the structure of ACHD practice, the accountability to quality in outcomes that remains central to ACHD training and care, and the core collegiality and deep friendships amongst ACHD practitioners that, in part, defines this medical subspecialty across the globe. Gary brought the ACHD world together towards such goals through the creation of the first national society dedicated to the care of adults with ACHD (the CACH, Canadian Adult Congenital Heart, network, 1991), formation of the International Society for Adult Congenital Heart (nee Cardiovascular) Disease (1994), chairing the earliest of ACHD consensus conferences in Canada (1996) and the US (2000) as well as US (2008) and Canadian (2009) ACHD clinical care guidelines committees, and in his instrumental role in supporting both the development of the home of ACHD patient and family advocacy and ultimately care center accreditation (the Adult Congenital Heart Association, 1998), as well as US ACHD care provider board certification (2012). Never ceasing in his aspirations to disseminate knowledge and quality care, Dr. Webb established the Toronto Congenital Cardiac Centre for Adults at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre in Toronto as an early proponent of ACHD-specific training, launching dozens of ACHD specialists. He founded the web-based ACHD Learning Center, and later Heart University and the Congenital Heart International Professionals (CHIP) network, during his time at Cincinnati Children's, extending the reach of ACHD education to trainees across the globe. Throughout his life, Dr. Webb successfully fostered personal connections and created a wonderfully collegial, global network of ACHD providers. Even with his many accomplishments, Dr. Webb may be best remembered for his international ACHD ambassadorship, a natural consequence of his deep passion, presence, self-deprecation, humor, and belly laughs.

The influence of Professor Gary Douglas Webb, MD, FRCPC, FACC, will remain etched on our field and felt through the greatest potentials for achieving optimal health for the millions of children and adults and their families affected by congenital heart disease. His commitment to the highest standards of performance continues to inspire each of us in the field of caring for adults with ACHD to dig deeper, to perform better, to go further, to partner and collaborate...and to smile as we strive to improve outcomes.