Sue Dabarno has left her position as executive chairman of Richardson GMP Ltd., and has been offered a position on the board of directors, the company confirmed on Friday.

Richardson GMP revealed last week that Win Smith, former head of international retail operations for Merrill Lynch, has been appointed chairman of the board.

Richardson GMP also confirmed this week that James Werry, former CEO of the company, has also been offered a position on the board of directors. The firm revealed last week that Werry had left his position as CEO, and that Andrew Marsh, the firm’s former managing director of national sales, had been appointed its new CEO.

“[Werry] continues to have a position on the board of directors, and will continue to provide a contribution to me and my team,” Marsh said in an interview on Thursday.

Marsh said the management changes are part of broader changes at the firm, connected to the merger of GMP Capital Inc. and James Richardson & Sons, Ltd., which took place in November.

Dabarno has 30 years of experience in the financial services sector. She was previously president and CEO of Richardson Partners Financial, where she was responsible for leading the firm’s growth strategy.

Prior to that, she worked at Canada Trust for two decades, before being appointed president of Atlas Asset Management and, later, executive vice president of the wealth management group at Midland Walwyn Capital Inc.

Following the acquisition of Midland Walwyn Capital by Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc., Dabarno was appointed senior vice president of the international private client group, and was later appointed president and chief operating officer of Merrill Lynch Canada Inc.

“With any merger comes a ton of change,” Marsh said. “We were at a point where we needed to move forward. We felt that to really complete that change – after successfully completing our merger and getting everyone on the same platform – part of that change led to a change in leadership.”

With files from Olivia Glauberzon



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Andrew Marsh, CEO of Richardson GMP Ltd., discusses the firm’s top performance in the 2010 Brokerage Report Card, the firm’s culture, and the circumstances of his appointment as CEO in April. He spoke with IE:TV producer Gavin Adamson at the TMX Broadcast Centre in Toronto. WATCH