The Mutual Fund Dealers Association has reformed its governance structure, and appointed Larry Waite as its president and CEO.

At the annual and special meeting held in Toronto on December 5, members of the MFDA confirmed amendments to its by-laws dealing with the recommendations of the MFDA Corporate Governance Committee.

With the approved changes, the board of directors now consists of 13 directors — six public directors, six industry directors, and the MFDA president and CEO. At least four directors must represent regions of Canada other than Ontario and Quebec; and five of the six industry directors must be officers or directors of an MFDA member.

At its first meeting, the new board appointed Waite, the MFDA’s first employee and its chief operating officer as president and CEO. It also appointed Terry Wright, chair of IFIC and senior VP general counsel and corporate secretary of Investors Group Inc., as its first chairman.

In addition to Waite and Wright, the other industry members of the board are:

  • George Aguiar, president and CEO, GP Capital Corp.;
  • Ted Cadsby, president and CEO, CIBC Securities Inc.;
  • Tim Calibaba, president TWC Financial Corp.;
  • Tom Hockin, president and CEO, Investment Funds Institute of Canada; and
  • David Wood, executive VP and chief administrative officer,National Bank Financial.

The public directors are:

  • Martin Friedland, professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto;
  • W.D. (Bill) Grace, chartered accountant;
  • Robert MacLellan, partner with Burchell MacDougall and former chair of the Nova Scotia Securities Commission;
  • Janet Pau, VP and treasurer, Canfor Corp.;
  • Irene Seiferling, senior associate, H.J. Linnen Associates;
  • Robert Wright, deputy chairman. Teck Cominco and former chair of the Ontario Securities Commission.