Executive moves this week

Each week, Investment Executive summarizes notable management shifts across the financial and wealth management industry.

• Meghan Meger and Geoff Newton will take over as co-heads of BMO Private Wealth in Canada, effective June 1. The pair succeeds Andrew Auerbach, following his December 2021 notice that he planned to retire this year. Newton was named BMO Private Wealth’s head of strategy and execution last fall, while Meger has been working as regional president for BMO Private Wealth in the Prairies for the past three years.
• At Carte Wealth Management Inc., Maria Jose Flores was appointed the firm’s new president on Tuesday. Flores will retain her role as chief compliance officer, though the firm will appoint a co-chief compliance officer in the coming months. Read more about her plans for the firm.
• Chris Haines, who’s worked at firms such as Sun Life Financial Inc. and AGF Management Ltd. throughout his decades-long career, has taken on the role of regional vice-president for Western Canada with CI Assante Wealth Management. Éric Lauzon, vice-president of business development and recruiting with Assante Wealth Management, said in a LinkedIn post this week that Haines will “bring exceptional value to our great advisors in Western Canada,” while Haines himself noted his new firm has seen “phenomenal” growth across North America since its leadership shift in 2019.
• Within Manulife Financial Corp., three appointments were made for Manulife Canada. Head of strategy and transformation with Manulife Canada, Pamela Wong, announced that Jovana Tomanic was named assistant vice-president of strategy and transformation this week, while two strategy analysts also joined the team (Ben Cai and Manjinder Kamboj). Tomanic has been with Manulife for almost nine years, most recently serving as assistant vice-president, global marketing transformation portfolio oversight, for about two-and-a-half years.
• Tanya Desrosiers announced this week that she has left BMO Financial Group after more than 10 years to become district leader for Calgary North at TD, effective May 16. She was most recently vice-president of financial planning with BMO, a role she held for nearly seven years.
• Pete Molenaar started this week as head of corporate banking with Edmonton, Alta.-based ATB Financial. His most recent role was senior vice-president and head of commercial banking for the Western region with HSBC Commercial Banking, and he previously spent more than 20 years with Scotiabank. He said in a LinkedIn post, “Growing up in Alberta I always felt that this was a place that valued hard work, that welcomed new ideas and that encouraged and rewarded entrepreneurial risk.”
• At the end of April, Maggie Childe became head of sustainable investing with iA Financial Group. She moved from Manulife Investment Management, where she spent two of her five years as head of ESG Canada. Throughout her career, she’s also worked at Sustainalytics, RBC Capital Markets and CIBC Capital Markets. A LinkedIn post by Daphne King of iA Clarington Investments stated, “[Childe] is considered a leader in terms of sustainable investment in Canada,” adding that she’ll help the firm develop in the area.
• Effective April 30, the Toronto-based Global Risk Institute in Financial Services appointed three new members to its board of directors: Naveed Irshad, head of North American legacy business with Manulife; Craig Pinnock, CFO with Northbridge Financial Corporation; and Lisa Raitt, vice-chair, global investment banking with CIBC. They replaced Alister Campbell, Janet Ecker and Rahim Hirji.

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.