Industry moves this week

Each week, Investment Executive summarizes notable moves across the financial industry.

• Claire Johnson will be CEO of RBC Investor Services (RBCIS), effective Oct. 16. She’ll succeed Francis Jackson, who’s stepping down, and report to Doug Guzman, group head with RBC Wealth Management and RBC Insurance. Johnson is coming from TSX Trust, a subsidiary of TMX Group, where she’s been president and CEO since 2018. Her more than 25 years in the industry include nearly 22 years with CIBC Mellon. A statement from RBCIS said she’ll help the company grow as it “renews its focus on the Canadian asset servicing market.” She’ll also collaborate with Jackson in the weeks to come.
• As part of iA Financial Group’s decision to restructure its capital markets activities, effective Sept. 21, 17 employees in that business with expertise in investment banking were “let go,” said a statement last week from Pierre Picard, head of public affairs with iA Financial. The employees worked out of Toronto and Montreal. The restructuring involved “stopping all institutional operations within iA Capital Markets, including the publication of analysts’ comments,” the statement said, a move that will allow the firm and division to focus on core advisor business and activities that support it. The remaining 30-plus members of the capital markets team will focus on tasks such as bond trading and foreign exchange, among others. Picard said in the statement that the restructuring was based on months of monitoring and analysis that took into account the “very challenging” market conditions in the past two years.
• Recent changes were announced for National Bank Financial’s Wealth Management leadership team, overseen by president Jonathan Durocher. Jennifer Plenert, formerly regional manager for Toronto, has been promoted to vice-president and national sales manager for Ontario; Simon Lemay will be senior vice-president and national manager for Quebec and Atlantic Canada; and the new position of vice-president and national manager for Western Canada has been created but not yet filled. The goal is to “establish closer proximity to the realities of each market and provide more support to our teams,” said an emailed statement from the bank.
• Lara Zink has become vice-president of client service and development with Delaney Capital Management (based in Toronto and led by Kiki Delaney). Zink was president and CEO with Women in Capital Markets for more than two years, and has decades of industry experience.
• Antaya Wealth Counsel, run by Mark Antaya and associate Ryan Raven out of Ottawa, has joined Richardson Wealth’s branch in that region. Antaya comes from IG Wealth Management, where he worked for nearly 20 years, while Raven most recently spent five years with MD Financial Management.
• Fourteen board directors were elected for the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO). Twelve will serve two-year terms, with that list consisting of industry veterans like Odlum Brown Ltd. leader Debra Doucette and Peak Financial Group founder and leader Robert Frances. The other two — Patricia Callon, senior vice-president and general counsel with Sun Life, and corporate director Janet Woodruff — will serve one-year terms. CIRO president and CEO, Andrew Kriegler, also is a member.
• For the 2023–2025 term, the members of the Ontario Securities Commission’s Investment Funds Technical Advisory Committee were unveiled. The committee is led by Raymond Chan, director of investment funds and structured products since 2019, and includes 15 members from major banks and investment firms across the industry. See the full list.
• Paloma Tonaco has joined Toronto-based Purpose Unlimited as chief people officer, coming from financial technology firm SAP Fioneer. She worked with Royal Bank of Canada prior to that.

If you know of other people moves in the financial industry and/or would like us to consider your announcement, email Katie Keir at katie@newcom.ca.