Chris Fowler has been appointed as the new president and chief operating officer for Canadian Western Bank (TSX:CWB), as existing president and CEO Larry Pollock prepares to retire next year, the company announced on Thursday.
Pollock, CWB’s long-serving president and CEO, will maintain the title of CEO until he steps down on March 7, 2013, at the bank’s 2013 annual meeting of shareholders. After retiring from the CEO role, Pollock plans to continue working with CWB in an advisory capacity for two years.
Fowler, 52, previously held the position of chief operating officer.
“After extensive and ongoing work by our board over the past number of years on the topic of succession, we are very pleased to appoint Chris Fowler as CWB’s new president and COO,” said Allan Jackson, chairman of CWB’s board of directors. “Chris’ breadth of experience, which includes extensive expertise in the areas of commercial banking and credit risk management, combined with his strategic vision for the future and strong belief in our corporate culture, confirmed to our board that he is the right choice for this position.”
Fowler has a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of British Columbia. He started his banking career in 1985 with the Continental Bank of Canada, and joined CWB in 1991. In his role as chief operating officer, he is primarily responsible for banking operations and credit risk management.
“I am honoured to have been selected as CWB’s president and COO,” said Fowler. “My primary goal in this new position will be to ensure our organization continues its long history of stellar financial performance.”
“I am so very pleased with the board’s decision to choose a member of our executive team as the new president of CWB,” commented Pollock. “I have worked with Chris for over 21 years and have witnessed first-hand his capabilities and commitment to leading our team, taking care of clients and growing our companies.”