UPDATE 1-NEWSMAKER-New Bank of Canada governor ambitious charmer

(Adds details on Canadian dollar reaching parity with U.S. dollar in paragraph 3) (Eds: Note language paragraph 13)

By Louise Egan

OTTAWA, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Canada's incoming central bank chief, former investment banker Mark Carney, is an ambitious charmer who promises not to rock the monetary boat.

At just 42, Carney is the youngest central bank governor in the Group of Seven rich nations. In fact he was not old enough to drive the last time the Canadian dollar hit parity with the U.S. dollar, in 1976.

The soaring currency -- which returned to parity with the greenback on Sept. 20 and is up about 17 percent on the year -- will be one of the key issues he will have to grapple with when he steps into the governor's job on Feb. 1. Carney will join the bank in November as an adviser to outgoing Governor David Dodge.

Carney may not look old enough for the job, but his resume is packed. He has worked closely with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty for the past year and a half as the second-highest ranking civil servant in the Finance Department.

He helped craft policy through the August credit crunch and financial market turmoil, and a Bank of Canada official said he had what it takes to "raise the bar" in terms of leadership at the central bank.

Carney has been the point-man on explaining Canada's position on complex international issues like China's foreign exchange policy and IMF reform.

Before he joined the public sector, he headed the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs Canada.

"It seemed that his particular expertise in global economics and global financial markets may have tipped the scale in his favor," said Michael Gregory, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.

Commonly described as a "boy wonder" and "whiz kid" in the media, he seems to dazzle many people who cross his path.

Financial market players describe him as straight-talking, knowledgeable of market issues and very persuasive.

But not everybody is equally dazzled by his personal style, described as a little rough around the edges and in contrast with Dodge's back-slapping affability.

One New York investment banker said Carney had no qualms about "correcting" him once on a dire forecasts for the Canadian economy.

"He is really sharp, he cuts to the chase. There's no bullshit about him," the banker said. "I like him. He rubs some people the wrong way ... he's a little bit cocky," he said.

Carney, who is married and has four children, is constantly on the road. "He's a slick banker; what hobbies do they have? ... he wears a swatch watch," said one source.

U.S. Treasury officials had been heard commenting on Carney as Ottawa's rising star who seemed destined for bigger things.

Carney said in a press conference on Thursday that he was a public servant at heart and described Dodge almost as his mentor, thanking him for bringing him to the bank in 2003. Carney left in 2004 to join the Finance Department.

Dodge was effusive in his admiration: "I regard Mark as part of the Bank of Canada who the former minister of finance happened to steal for a period of time away from the bank, and so this is someone of the bank who's coming back."