Laurentian Bank of Canada has named Rania Llewellyn its new president and chief executive officer, effective Oct. 30, 2020.
Llewellyn, who will also serve as a member of the banks’ board of directors, is the first woman to lead Laurentian.
“Rania Llewellyn is the right leader to usher in a new era at Laurentian Bank. She has a proven track record as an energetic, strategic thinker focused on customer experience and tangible results,” said Michelle Savoy, a member of the bank’s board of directors, in a release.
Llewellyn joins Laurentian from the Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank) where she began as a part-time teller 26 years ago. She held many senior roles during her time at Scotiabank, including vice-president, multicultural banking; senior vice-president, commercial banking; and, most recently, executive vice-president, global business payments.
Llewellyn also headed the diversity and inclusion office for Scotiabank’s global banking and markets division and was a member of Scotiabank’s Executive All Bank Inclusion Council.
“This is a really exciting time for our industry, with rapidly changing customer expectations driven by new technologies and broader macro-economic uncertainties that are affecting our customers every day,” Llewellyn said in a release. “I look forward to working with my new colleagues across Canada and in the U.S. to develop a strategy for long-term growth and success that meets the needs and expectations of all our stakeholders.”
Lellwellyn immigrated to Canada from Egypt in 1992 after the Gulf War. She holds a bachelor of commerce degree and an MBA from Saint Mary’s University.